Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
February 2013
From ACM Careers
Autopsy of a Dead Social Network
Friendster is a social network that was founded in 2002, a year before Myspace and two years before Facebook.
From ACM News
This Amazing 3d Desktop Was Born at Microsoft
The history of computer revolutions will show a logical progression from the Mac to the iPad to something like this SpaceTop 3D desktop, if computer genius Jinha Lee has anything to say about it.
From ACM Opinion
On Today's Battlefield, Is Information More Important Than Firepower?
Halo, Borderlands, Call of Duty, Medal of Honor, Battlefield, Metal Gear Solid—these kinds of games taught a generation to see enemies as red dots on a mini-map.
From ACM TechNews
Social Network Could Revolutionize Disease Treatment
The social network PatientsLikeMe plans to build an open science platform to aid chronic disease sufferers in measuring the progression of their ailments.
From ACM TechNews
Wearable Computers Struggle to Go Mainstream: 10 Reasons Why
The market for wearable technology remains small and faces obstacles to widespread use.
From ACM TechNews
Onr-Funded Software Boosts Marines Civilian Operations at Fleet Exercise
The U.S. Navy's Office of Naval Research recently software that utilizes mobile devices to streamline civilian assistance operations.
From ACM TechNews
Chinese Hackers Seen as Increasingly Professional
China's government denies involvement in a wave of cyberattacks against international targets, but the hackers appear to be professionals who keep regular work hours.
From ACM News
China Says .s. Routinely Hacks Defense Ministry Websites
Two major Chinese military websites, including that of the Defense Ministry, were subject to about 144,000 hacking attacks a month last year, almost two-thirds of which came from the United States, the ministry said on Thursday…
From ACM News
Sd College Tests Fingerprint Purchasing Technology
Futurists have long proclaimed the coming of a cashless society, where dollar bills and plastic cards are replaced by fingerprint and retina scanners smart enough to distinguish a living, breathing account holder from an identity…
From ACM News
White House Opens More Federally Funded Scientific Research to the Public
A new White House directive will allow the general public more access to federally funded scientific research, the Obama administration announced at the end of last week.
From ACM News
After M.t.a. Setbacks, No-Swipe Fare Cards Are Still Stuck in the Future
For nearly 50 years, coins were the currency in New York’s subway and bus system. Tokens carried the next 40 years, until the MetroCard first slid into riders’ wallets in 1993. The next big thing was to be a contactless fare…
From ACM TechNews
The Melting Pot of New York, Seen in Its Multilingual Tweets
A Twitter map visualizes, by language, the locations of 8.5 million geolocated tweets sent in the city between January 2010 and February 2013.
From ACM TechNews
Quantum Algorithm Breakthrough
A research group says it has made an important step toward practical quantum computing by implementing a full quantum algorithm without knowing its solution.
From ACM TechNews
Happy, Snappy Tweets Gain the Most Twitter Followers
The content of tweets, rather than a followers list, that has the biggest impact on the size of a Twitter audience, researchers have found.
From ACM TechNews
Coming to a Smartphone Near You: Personalized Experiences
A new study suggests future apps will provide personalized experiences through systems that integrate across all service platforms.
From ACM TechNews
It Security Organizations Facing Shortage of Skilled Professionals
A global survey of information security professionals has uncovered a severe shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals.
From ACM TechNews
Stanford Researchers Build Complex Circuits Made of Carbon Nanotubes
Stanford University researchers say they have developed one of the most complex carbon nanotube circuits to date.
From ACM News
Stuxnet Missing Link Found, Resolves Some Mysteries Around the Cyberweapon
As Iran met in Kazakhstan this week with members of the UN Security Council to discuss its nuclear program, researchers announced that a new variant of the sophisticated cyberweapon known as Stuxnet had been found, which predates…
From ACM Opinion
The Art of Cyberwar
The New York Times’ front-page report last week that the Chinese army is hacking into America's most sensitive computer networks from a 12-story building outside Shanghai might finally persuade skeptics that the threat of "cyber…
From ACM News
Three Radical New Brain-Mapping Tools Scientists Want Obama to Deliver
The Obama administration wants to make a huge investment in mapping the human brain,according to The New York Times. How can they get the most bang for their buck?
From ACM TechNews
What's Next For the Presidential Innovation Fellows?
The Presidential Innovation Fellows program is seeking its next wave of fellows, to build on the foundation of the projects launched by the first wave.
From ACM TechNews
Linux-Savvy It Pros Are in High Demand, Low Supply
A new survey finds that businesses and government agencies are aggressively seeking to hire IT professionals with Linux skills.
From ACM TechNews
Sandia Draws From Nuclear Science in Inaugurating New Cyber Lab
Sandia National Laboratories has launched the Cybersecurity Engineering Research Laboratory, testing hardware vulnerabilities and modeling cyberweapons on supercomputers.
From ACM Opinion
The Next Frontier Is Inside Your Brain
The Obama administration is planning a multiyear research effort to produce an "activity map" that would show in unprecedented detail the workings of the human brain, the most complex organ in the body.
From ACM News
A Genetic Code For Genius?
At a former paper-printing factory in Hong Kong, a 20-year-old wunderkind named Zhao Bowen has embarked on a challenging and potentially controversial quest: uncovering the genetics of intelligence.
From ACM News
Diamond Idea For Quantum Computer
Quantum mechanics isn't what it used to be.
From ACM Opinion
How Augmented-Reality Content Might Actually Work
Augmented reality is very exciting. The promise of it is this: all the information on the Internet overlaid on the real world exactly where and when you need it.
From ACM Opinion
The Ar-15 Is More Than a Gun. It's a Gadget
I was shaking as I shouldered the rifle and peered through the scope at the small steel target 100 yards downrange.
From ACM TechNews
Touchy-Feely Bionic Hand Closer to Reality
A bionic hand under development features an interface that links the hand to a person's nervous system.
From ACM TechNews
Could a Computer on the Police Beat Prevent Violence?
A team of University of Michigan researchers have used police data to show how computer models can help identify a city's most violent areas.