Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
October 2010
From ACM News
Should We Be Worried About a Cyberwar?
Some experts say that the real danger lies in confusing cyber espionage with cyber war.
From ACM TechNews
Dhs rged to Bolster Cyber Infrastructure Security
A new U.S. Government Accountability Office report says the Department of Homeland Security is not doing enough to ensure that critical infrastructure such as power grids and telecommunications networks will continue to operate…
From ACM TechNews
One-Time Niche Programming Languages on the Rise
A number of increasingly popular niche programming languages—Python, Ruby, MatLab, JavaScript, R, Erlang, Cobol, and CUDA—offer features that cannot be found in the dominant languages.
From ACM TechNews
Japanese Printer Syncs Pictures With Smells
Keio University researchers will present an ink-jet printer that can print out a photo with the appropriate scent for the image at the upcoming ACM Multimedia 2010 conference in Florence, Italy.
From ACM News
Get Ready For Verizon's 'dream Phone'
The soon-to-be-unveiled Verizon iPhone is the answer to many consumers' prayers. But a deal with Apple will test the company that Ivan Seidenberg has spent his career building.
From ACM News
Sensing a Parking Spot
In the first taste of a technology that could transform the way people park their cars in the city, Roosevelt Island is installing a system of sensors designed to make it easier for drivers to find a curbside spot—or get a…
From ACM News
Where Good Ideas Come From
New search technologies can identify influential documents without relying on links.
From ACM News
Better Hands May Help Robots Grasp Meaning
Two recent studies show that roboticists are applying some fresh thinking to the building and operation of robot hands, and a third suggests why the work is so important, possibly vital for domestic robots learning how to…
From ICT Results
Robot, Object, Action!
Robotic demonstrators developed by European researchers produce compelling evidence that 'thinking-by-doing' is the machine cognition paradigm of the future. Robots act on objects and teach themselves in the process.
From ACM News
Programming Crowds
With the Web, people worldwide can work on distributed tasks. But getting reliable results requires algorithms that specify workflow between people, not transistors.
From ACM TechNews
Helping New Medical Graduates to Prescribe Safely
Aston University researchers have developed a software-based program designed to ensure that new doctors prescribe medicine safely from their first day on the job.
From ACM TechNews
Computer Software Program Allows Observation of Viruses
Two New Mexico State University scientists have developed software that generates approximate three-dimensional models of complex and unknown proteins, which could help researchers find treatments and cures for viruses.
From ACM TechNews
Eye Robot
As technology for robots continues to evolve, their wider use is being held back by the inability to see better. New York University's Yann LeCun has pioneered an approach to computer vision which tries to mimic the hierarchical…
From ACM News
Amid Criticism, Wikileaks Shifts Focus
When WikiLeaks launched with little fanfare in early 2007, its founders touted it as a unique collaboration that would rely on the same anyone-can-edit software and sense of community that made Wikipedia such a success.
From ACM News
Darpa: Fuse Nerves With Robot Limbs, Make Prosthetics Feel Real
Controlling robotic limbs with your brain is just step one. The Pentagon eventually wants artificial arms and legs to feel and perform just the same as naturally grown ones. Which means step two is hooking up those prosthetics…
From ACM News
Teen Sailor Meets Nasa Team That Helped Save Her Life
It has been almost six months since 16-year-old Abby Sunderland’s 40-foot vessel, Wild Eyes, was damaged in a storm, leaving her stranded in the middle of the Indian Ocean. But today, she finally got a chance to meet the people…
From ACM News
Rensselaer Creates New Center For Data Science Research
Researchers throughout Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are coming together to develop a new interdisciplinary Data Science Research Center. The center will bring together top researchers from Rensselaer as well as collaborators…
From ACM News
China Wrests Supercomputer Title From .s.
A Chinese scientific research center has built the fastest supercomputer ever made, replacing the United States as maker of the swiftest machine, and giving China bragging rights as a technology superpower.
From ACM News
Limewire Told to Shut
Popular file-sharing website LimeWire has been ordered to permanently shut down six months after a federal judge found it liable for copyright infringement on a "massive scale."
From ACM TechNews
W3c pdates Html5, Makes Math Easy
The W3C's updated MathML standard for rendering mathematical notations on Web pages better portrays math symbols and supports more languages. Designers will be able to add math symbols to pages without having to embed images…
From ACM TechNews
White House Forms Federal Committee on Internet, Privacy Policy
Officials from several U.S. government agencies are slated to join a new Internet privacy subcommittee being formed by the Obama administration. Consumer advocacy groups say it shows that the administration is increasingly taking…
From ACM News
Getting the Big Picture Quickly with Speedy Software
University of Utah computer scientists have developed software that quickly edits huge photographs. The software needs only seconds to produce "gigapixel" images that previously took to process.
From ACM News
Tools For Maintaining Privacy on the Web
Virtually everything you do online is scrutinized by search engines and advertising networks that evaluate you as a potential customer based on what you search for, the sites you visit and the ads you see—whether you click…
From ACM News
Researchers Attack Transistors to Slay Vampire Power
The European Union is sponsoring a multimillion-dollar research project to boost the efficiency of everyday electronics and choke the constant flow of wasted energy from their chips.
From ACM News
Army
It's not that the unpiloted aircraft that the Army flies aren’t already tricked out. Some of them carry the latest surveillance systems and powerful missiles. But some companies at the Association of the U.S. Army convention…
From ACM News
Wiring The Brain to Aid People With Paralysis
Scientists are reporting progress in their efforts to channel brain waves to power mechanical devices, a development that could someday help paralyzed people regain mobility.
From ACM TechNews
Virtual Engineer to Predict Machine Failure
University of Portsmouth scientists have created a system that uses artificial intelligence techniques and sensors to monitor vulnerable parts of a machine, plus predictive software to analyze performance, to predict when machines…
From ACM TechNews
On the Threshold of the Avatar Era
Humanity is technologically on the brink of the avatar era, in which it becomes possible for people to virtually embody digital avatars that are not restricted to the humanoid model, writes Microsoft Research partner architect…
From ACM TechNews
a Engineer Designs Better Error-Correction Code
University of Arizona professor Bane Vasic has led the development of an error-correction decoder that outperforms belief propagation algorithms. One company has already licensed the technology.
From ACM TechNews
Argonne Launches Tool to Help Auto Industry Reduce Costs
Researchers at the Argonne National Laboratory's Center for Transportation recently unveiled Autonomie, a modeling tool designed to address the auto industry's interest in reducing costs by accelerating the development of new…