Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
October 2013
From ACM News
The Clever Circuit That Doubles Bandwidth
A startup spun out of Stanford says it has solved an age-old problem in radio communications with a new circuit and algorithm that allow data to be sent and received on the same radio frequency—thus doubling wireless capacity…
From ACM News
It's Time For Smartwatches!
Smartwatches are moving from science fiction to reality, but there are questions on whether they will become a part of mainstream computing.
From ACM News
Web Giants Threaten End to Cookie Tracking
The end could be near for cookies, the tiny pieces of code that marketers deploy on Web browsers to track people's online movements, serve targeted advertising, and amass valuable user profiles.
From ACM News
Who Tracks the Trackers that Track You Online? You Can, with Lightbeam.
When your browser landed on this article, it didn't just talk to the friendly servers at washingtonpost.com.
From ACM TechNews
Google Launches Build-Your-Own-Phone Project Ara
Motorola wants to allow users of its smartphones to customize the device's components. The company has been working on Project Ara for more than a year, and has partnered with a designer who has created a modular phone idea …
From ACM TechNews
.s. Joins Global Effort on Open Data
The United States is involved in an international open-data network that seeks to bring together companies, universities, and non-governmental organizations that support open-data projects and communities.
From ACM TechNews
Sticky Memory May Turn Post-It Notes Into Flash Drives
The National Taiwan University's Yang-Fang Chen and colleagues have developed a self-adhesive memory card using a layer of graphene coated with conductive polymers and topped with aluminum electrodes.
From ACM TechNews
Computer Scientist Mines Electronic Medical Record Data For Better Health Care
University of Texas at Arlington professor Heng Huang is leading a research effort to use electronic medical records data to help physicians personalize patient treatment, predict health care needs, and identify risks that can…
From ACM Opinion
Why We Should Think About the Threat of Artificial Intelligence
If the New York Times's latest article is to be believed, artificial intelligence is moving so fast it sometimes seems almost "magical."
From ACM News
Japan: A Haven For Humanoid Robots
Noriko Arai is not the first woman to spotlight the hazard that boys and their toys can present, and she won't be the last.
From ACM News
Making Robots More Like S
On a recent morning Natanel Dukan walked into the Paris offices of the French robot maker Aldebaran and noticed one of the company's humanoid NAO robots sitting on a chair.
From ACM News
Best Microscope Photos of the Year Bring Tiny, Amazing Worlds to Light
From ACM News
Dm Warns of Enemies' Cyber War Against Iran
Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan warned of enemies' possible plots to wage a cyber war against the country to destroy Iran's scientific and industrial infrastructures.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Integrate Social Science Into Cyberattack Project
Carnegie Mellon University researchers are helping to develop methods for computers to make security decisions in cyberspace by investigating psychological and human factor issues.
From ACM Opinion
Driverless Cars Are Further Away Than You Think
A silver BMW 5 Series is weaving through traffic at roughly 120 kilometers per hour (75 mph) on a freeway that cuts northeast through Bavaria between Munich and Ingolstadt.
From ACM TechNews
First-of-Its-Kind Online Master's Draws Wave of Applicants
Since implementing a new low-cost online master's program in computer science based on MOOC technology, Georgia Tech has received almost twice as many applications for the program in the past three weeks as its residential program…
From ACM TechNews
'mundane' Classes Put Thousands Off Computer Science
Reading University is launching what is believed to be the United Kingdom's first free online university programming course, as the school's vice-chancellor Sir David Bell warns that failing to address technology training will…
From ACM TechNews
Software Beats Captcha, the Web's 'are You Human?' Test
California-based startup Vicarious says it has developed software that can successfully crack any text-based CAPTCHA program, defeating Google's reCAPTCHA program 90 percent of the time.
From ACM TechNews
'li-Fi' Via Led Light Bulb Data Speed Breakthrough
Several U.K. institutions are collaborating on the ultra-parallel visible light communications project. The researchers have used a micro-LED light bulb to transmit data at speeds of more than 10 Gbit/s.
From ACM TechNews
Can Quantum Cryptography Work in the Real World?
Battelle Memorial Institute researchers say they have developed the first production system for quantum distribution of cryptographic keys and are planning to create a 400-mile link enabling quantum-key distribution by 2015.
From ACM News
Intelligence Chief Clapper Cites 'casablanca' in Dismissing Merkel Mess
You must remember this: A kiss is just a kiss, a spy is just a spy.
From ACM News
Tor Trouble: Anonymizing Service Faces Vulnerability Claims
Tor, a service that helps cautious Internet users stay anonymous online, is facing increased scrutiny and potentially new attacks as the global debate on surveillance and privacy escalates.
From ACM News
Software Firm Claims Breakthrough in Computer Vision Will Lead to Better AI
Luis von Ahn has heard it all before.
From ACM TechNews
Research Brings nbreakable Phones One Step Closer
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology researchers have developed a method to transfer electronics with versatile functionality onto a flexible surface. RMIT's Philipp Gutruf says the process could lead to fully functional…
From ACM TechNews
Mozilla Developing Geolocation Data Service For Public se
Mozilla plans to offer developers a more privacy-aware geolocation service using cell towers and Wi-Fi signals.
From ACM TechNews
Surgical Simulations You Can Bet On
University of Texas at Austin researchers are working with Texas Advanced Computing Center supercomputers to facilitate prospective planning for near-term surgeries.
From ACM News
'feel' Objects in Thin Air: The Future of Touch Technology
Touch technology has come a long way in the last decade.
From ACM Opinion
Craig Venter: Why I Put My Name in Synthetic Genomes
How has the definition of life changed during your lifetime?
From ACM News
Raising Money the Old-Fashioned Way
Technology initiatives have long depended on deep-pocketed governments and venture capital firms. But the growth of online crowdfunding sites is inspiring project leaders to turn to public subscription models for investment.
From ACM News
Of Fact, Fiction and Defibrillators
In a chilling episode of "Homeland" last year, a terrorist killed the vice president with a fiendishly clever weapon: a remote-control device that attacked the computerized defibrillator implanted in his chest.