Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
January 2012
From ACM News
Movement in Space
Microsoft's drive to integrate Kinect technology into a wide array of products is not slowing.
From ACM News
Hacking Cars to Keep Them Safe
Tiffany Rad got interested in hacking cars because she wanted to drive her Land Rover off-road on rugged terrain without worrying about setting off the air bags.
From ACM News
Russia Blames Mars Probe Failure on Space Radiation
Russia blamed radiation on Tuesday for a computer glitch that doomed its Mars moon mission, but space industry experts cast doubt on the findings of an investigation into the crash of what was to be Moscow's first deep space…
From ACM TechNews
New Breed of Electron Interactions in Quantum Systems
University of New South Wales scientists have published research suggesting that quantum electronics could be driven by the orbital nature of electrons, and not just the spin or charge as was previously believed.
From ACM News
Apple Introduces S to the Wild World of Coded Magnets
Once in a while we're treated to a new Apple invention that virtually contains a new self-contained world of possibilities and vocabulary to enrich it.
From ACM TechNews
Pinch-Screen Puts All Your Fingers in Control
Tablet computers and smartphones are designed to be used by a person's thumbs, but a new device developed by the Technical University of Berlin's Katrin Wolf enables people to use their other eight digits.
From ACM News
What The Fbi Wants In A Social Media Monitoring App
The FBI has raised eyebrows in the tech world with a public document that asks for advice on how to harvest information from social networking sites.
From ACM News
Build p Your Phone's Defenses Against Hackers
Chuck Bokath would be terrifying if he were not such a nice guy. A jovial senior engineer at the Georgia Tech Research Institute in Atlanta, Mr. Bokath can hack into your cellphone just by dialing the number.
From ACM News
Intel Sees Exabucks in Supercomputing's Future
Last Monday, Intel shelled out $125 million to buy Infiniband from Qlogic, a little-known maker of data-center networking switches and cards. At first blush, it seems like an odd move.
From ACM News
Researchers Corral Chip Power-Performance Requirements
Researchers are exploring ways to improve the energy efficiency of microprocessor hardware and software as next-generation chips and languages grow even more power-hungry.
From ACM TechNews
Car Control Software Chaos Revealed in Major Safety Study
While automated software control systems are increasingly being used in vehicles, safety authorities do not have enough expertise to measure or regulate them, according to a recent U.S. National Research Council report.
From ACM TechNews
sing Real-Time Road Traffic Data to Evaluate Congestion
Cambridge University researchers are working on the Transport Information Monitoring Environment (TIME) project, which aims to provide data that enables businesses, government, and the public to make better use of roads.
From ACM TechNews
Oxford, Harvard Scientists Lead Data-Sharing Effort
More than 50 collaborators at over 30 scientific organizations worldwide have developed a common standard that will enable scientists to share data from different databases.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Devise New Means For Creating Elastic Conductors
North Carolina State University researchers have developed a method for creating elastic conductors made of carbon nanotubes, which they say could lead to the large-scale production of a new generation of elastic electronic devices…
From ACM TechNews
Fbi Seeks Data-Mining App For Social Media
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation wants to develop a data-mining application that will enable the agency to monitor social media network activity for intelligence purposes, according to a request for information posted…
From ACM TechNews
Sensor Networks Could End Parking Rage
The anger many drivers feel from having to search and wait for parking spaces to open up might be quelled by arrays of networked sensors embedded in city streets, a solution that also could help reduce traffic accidents, pollution…
From ACM TechNews
Technology That Translates Content to the Internet Protocol of the Future
Carlos III University of Madrid researchers working on the Trilogy project have developed technology that enables Internet protocol version 6 (IPv6) users to access Internet content that is currently only available to IPv4 users…
From ACM News
Pursuing Iphone Thief, Officer Knew Right Buttons to Push
As crime-solving tools go, it may not have the same pedigree as, say, the oversize magnifying glass.
From ACM News
Humans Lose, Robots Win in New Defense Budget
The big loser in the Pentagon’s new budget? Ordinary human beings.
From ACM News
Fbi Plans Social Network Map Alert Mash-p Application
The FBI is seeking to develop an early-warning system based on material "scraped" from social networks.
From ACM News
What If a Virus Infected a Virus? 'frankenware' Spotted By Security Firm
It does happen, says security firm BitDefender, and the result is more mutant than mutt.
From ACM News
Companies Worry About Sec's Advice to Disclose Cyberthreats
Deluged by cyberattacks they've mostly hidden from the public, companies in Silicon Valley and elsewhere are being prodded by federal regulators to finally fess up to this fast-growing threat to their businesses and their customers…
From ACM TechNews
Computer Simulation of Tuberculosis Bacteria Could Lead to Discovery of New Ways to Fight Disease
Rutgers University researchers recently received a Lockheed Martin grant to continue their work using the Genetic Regulatory Analysis of Networks Investigational Tool Environment (GRANITE), a software platform designed to simulate…
From ACM TechNews
Art-Ificial: The Virtual Virtuosos Redefining Creativity
Imperial College London computer scientist Simon Colton has created Painting Fool, software that can seek artistic inspiration and has basic creativity.
From ACM TechNews
Cracking Teenagers' Online Codes
Microsoft senior researcher Danah Boyd, a professor at New York University, is focusing on children and teenagers' use of social media.
From ACM TechNews
Smallest-Ever Nanotube Transistors Outperform Silicon
IBM researchers have developed a nine-nanometer carbon-nanotube transistor that performs better than any other transistor at its size.
From ACM Careers
No More R
Union Square Ventures recently posted an opening for an investment analyst.
From ACM News
Durable Nasa Rover Beginning Ninth Year of Mars Work
Eight years after landing on Mars for what was planned as a three-month mission, NASA's enduring Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity is working on what essentially became a new mission five months ago.
From ACM News
Serious Flaw Emerges In Quantum Cryptography
The perfect secrecy offered by quantum mechanics appears to have been scuppered by a previously unknown practical problem, say physicists.
From ACM News
The Mathematics of Taste
The design of aromas—the flavors of packaged food and drink and the scents of cleaning products, toiletries and other household items—is a multibillion-dollar business.