Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
May 2010
From ACM News
Cyber Command: We Don
Members of the military’s new Cyber Command insist that they’ve got no interest in taking over civilian Internet security--or even in becoming the Pentagon’s primary information protectors.
From ACM News
Wireless Revolution May Reach Inside Microchips
Wireless technology is often credited with making us more productive. Now it looks like it could also improve the inner workings of our computers. Wireless transmission may become the most efficient method of moving data the…
From ACM News
Spinoffs Reveal Earth Benefits of Nasa Technologies
Congressional staffers in the Rayburn House Office Building on May 20 were wondering why a robot was roaming the halls. Those who followed the robot were led to further surprises: an igloo-shaped life raft, long socks full of…
From ACM TechNews
Outstanding in Their Field Effect
Rice University researchers have developed thin films of nanotubes made with ink-jet printers that offer a new way to make field-effect transistors (FETs).
From ACM News
Educators Seek New Ways to Steer Kids Toward Technical Fields
Students at the new Hughes STEM High School, in collaboration with the University of Cincinnati, learn concepts of science, technology, engineering and math by using their hands. The school mirrors a national trend aimed at…
From ACM News
Tokyo Tech Announces Plans For 2.4 Petaflop Supercomputer
The Tokyo Institute of Technology announced that the TSUBAME 2.0 supercomputer, a green, cloud-based supercomputer system with a top speed of 2.4 petaflops, will begin operation this fall.
From ACM News
Advances Made in Walking, Running Robots
Oregon State University researchers say they have made a fundamental advance in robotics that could lead to robots that use little energy to walk and run effectively.
From ACM News
Worldwide R&d Expenditures Top $330 Billion
U.S.-owned businesses and U.S. affiliates of foreign companies had worldwide R&D expenses of $330 billion in calendar year 2008 and worldwide sales of $11 trillion, according to the U.S. National Science Foundation.
From ACM News
China's Fastest Computer Developed in Tianjin
A supercomputer that runs at more than one quadrillion calculations per second in practical use has been developed in Tianjin, making it the fastest one in China, its developers said.
From ACM News
Japan Plans a Moon Base By 2020, Built By Robots For Robots
An ambitious $2.2 billion project in the works at JAXA, the Japanese space agency, plans to put humanoid robots on the moon by 2015, and the Japanese could have an unmanned lunar base up and running by 2020.
From ACM News
Japan's Ipad Frenzy Signals a Sea Change
The debut of Apple Inc.'s iPad tablet computer in Japan is generating a level of hype and excitement rarely seen these days for a new electronics product in the gadget-loving nation, underscoring the paucity of buzz-worthy…
From ACM News
Fujitsu Supercomputer Achieves World Record in Computational Quantum Chemistry
Researchers in Japan used Fujitsu's T2K Open Supercomputer to successfully compute with high precision an optimization problem to reveal the molecular behavior of ethane (CH3), ammonia (NH3) and oxygen (O2).
From ACM TechNews
Despite Green Diet, Data Centers Still Gobble Power
Despite U.S. government warnings on exploding energy consumption, data centers are not getting more power-efficient.
From ACM TechNews
Google Gives Away Video Software to Lure Developers
Google recently gave away a piece of intellectual property the company gained after its $120 million acquisition of On2 three months ago.
From ACM News
Mobile Data: A Gold Mine For Telcos
Cell phone companies are finding that they're sitting on a gold mine--in the form of the call records of their subscribers.
From ACM News
Apple Passes Microsoft as No. 1 in Tech
Wall Street has called the end of an era and the beginning of the next one: The most important technology product no longer sits on your desk but rather fits in your hand.
From ACM News
Submissions Invited For Green500 Supercomputer Ranking
The next submission deadline for the Green500 List, which ranks the most energy-efficient supercomputers in the world, will be June 7.
From ACM News
Robots Are the Key to Stopping the Oil Spill
At its greatest depths, the sea floor is a dark, tranquil, and foreboding place, beyond the reach of both sunlight and human divers. Yet the area around the Deepwater Horizon wellhead, nearly a mile below the surface of the Gulf…
From ACM TechNews
Software Helps Researchers Find Meaning in Massive Scientific Data Sets
Researchers at Indiana University's Data to Insight Center have released XMC Cat, software that makes sorting the massive amounts of data produced by advanced scientific instruments and supercomputers more manageable.
From ACM TechNews
Scientist Infects Himself With Computer Virus
University of Reading scientist Mark Gasson has deliberately infected himself with a computer virus in order to study the potential risks of implanting electronic devices in humans.
From ACM News
Major Step Ahead For Cryptography
Researchers at the University of Bristol and Katholieke University have developed a new system for encrypted data computing that they say could have a broad impact on areas such as database access, electronic auctions, and…
From ACM News
The Doctor Is Out, but New Patient Monitoring and Robotics Technology Is In
A new generation of medical devices using wireless communications, sophisticated software and data center-driven "cloud" computing promises to deliver health care in ways previously limited to the confines of fancy hospital rooms…
From ACM News
DARPA Builds Cyber Range to Test Security Measures
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is working with industry to develop the National Cyber Range, a cybersecurity testbed for researching network attack-and-defend strategies on a wide scale.
From ACM News
Mistakes in Silicon Chips to Help Boost Computer Power
Silicon chips that are allowed to make mistakes could help ensure computers continue to get more powerful, say US researchers.
From ACM News
Paper Supercapacitor Could Power Future Paper Electronics
Stanford University researchers have developed an onboard power source for paper transistors and paper displays.
From ACM News
Researchers Design & Test Microfabricated Planar Ion Traps
Georgia Tech Research Institute is designing, fabricating and testing planar ion traps that can be more readily combined into large, interconnected trap arrays. In the future, these arrays may be used to create a useful quantum…
From ACM News
Engineer Goes from Race Track to Classroom
Moving from the inner circles of professional automotive racing to the halls of academia has given Andrew Borme the second life he's wanted—teaching a new generation of motorsports engineers.
From ICT Results
Lights, Camera, Real-Time 3-D Action!
The 3-D movies on today's cinema screens rely on visual tricks to cope with fast action. A new generation, produced at lower cost but delivering higher quality with real-time action, is soon to follow.
From ACM News
Idea Man of Limewire at a Crossroads
Mark Gorton is a confident guy. He’s confident about his ideas. He’s confident about his enthusiasms. And he’s confident that his successes--like making money on Wall Street and promoting alternative transportation in New York…
From ACM News
App Watch: Searching Without Words
At some point, scientists think, you’ll be able to point a lens at almost any object and get information about what you’re seeing.