Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
June 2011
From ACM News
New Animation Depicts Next Mars Rover in Action
Although NASA's Mars Science Laboratory will not leave Earth until late this year nor land on Mars until August 2012, anyone can watch those dramatic events now in a new animation of the mission.
From ACM News
Robert Morris, Pioneer in Computer Security, Dies at 78
Robert Morris, a cryptographer who helped developed the Unix computer operating system, which controls an increasing number of the world's computers and touches almost every aspect of modern life, died on Sunday in Lebanon…
From ACM TechNews
Study: World's Colleges Lack Bi, Analytics Concentration
Just a few colleges and universities worldwide offer dedicated degree programs for business intelligence, despite the quickly growing popularity of analytics technology among businesses, according to a recent report.
From ACM TechNews
The Robot Doctor Will See You Now
Computer scientists are developing artificial intelligence systems that could take more responsibility in diagnosing diseases, assigning treatments, and facilitating general hospital functions.
From ACM TechNews
Center Stresses Need For Integrated Science, Computer Education
At the University of Texas at Austin's recent 10th anniversary celebration of the Texas Advanced Computing Center, scientists and industry leaders discussed the problems industry faces, and some participants said educating students…
From ACM TechNews
Google Debuts Flash-To-Html5 Converter
Google recently introduced Swiffy, an experimental online tool that can convert Flash (SWF) files into HTML5, which allows the converted files to be rendered in Web browsers without the Flash Player plug-in.
From ACM Opinion
Doing the Math on News Corp.'s Disastrous Myspace Years
Once upon a time, MySpace was the king and pioneer of social networking. When Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. bought the company for $580 million, it looked like a steal.
From ACM News
Graphene Technology Moves Closer
Graphene is a "wonder material" waiting to happen. Since this super-conductive form of carbon, made from single-atom-thick sheets, was first produced in 2004, it has promised to revolutionise electronics.
From ACM News
Layer pon Layer
Graphene, a form of pure carbon arranged in a lattice just one atom thick, has interested countless researchers with its unique strength and its electrical and thermal conductivity. But one key property it lacks—which would…
From ACM News
Bug-Squashing Tools Offered to Improve Network Security
The Department of Homeland Security has announced an initiative to shore up security by squashing software bugs. This follows a slew of high-profile attacks on government and corporate computer systems that have led to sensitive…
From ACM News
Massive Botnet 'indestructible,' Say Researchers
A new and improved botnet that has infected more than four million PCs is "practically indestructible," security researchers say. "TDL-4," the name for both the bot Trojan that infects machines and the ensuing collection of…
From ACM TechNews
Cerf: Streaming Network Crunch Could Be Eliminated
Google technology evangelist Vint Cerf recently suggested that increasing bandwidth capacity exponentially could lead to more efficient ways of streaming media services on the Internet.
From ACM News
Minds, Machines Merge to Offer New Hope For Overcoming Impairments
Scientists are creating a new generation of artificial body parts to help people with disabilities see, walk, swim, grip and run among other things. Miles O'Brien reports on the latest advances in prosthetics.
From ACM News
Google Takes On Friend Sprawl
Google Inc. launched its most ambitious social-networking effort yet, broadening a battle with Facebook Inc. to grab the attention of Web users and future advertising dollars.
From ACM TechNews
New Project Could Improve Results From School Web Searches
Creative Commons and the Association of Educational Publishers have launched a partnership aimed at improving Internet search results for teachers and students by creating a metadata framework for learning resources.
From ACM TechNews
New Report Offers Roadmap For Success in K-12 STEM Education
A new U.S. National Research Council report, "Successful K-12 STEM Education," identifies the characteristics of successful K-12 schools and programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The report outlines…
From ACM TechNews
.s. Military Expanding Arsenal of Cyber-Warfare Capabilities
Experts say the U.S. government is fortifying its cyberwarfare capabilities as a defensive measure against enemies.
From ACM TechNews
Stanford's Video Processing in the Cloud Allows Interactive Streaming of Online Lectures
Stanford University researchers recently released the program code for ClassX, software that converts static videos of class lectures into interactive online video streams.
From ACM TechNews
World's Data Will Grow By 50x in Next Decade, Idc Study Predicts
The number of servers managing the world's data will grow tenfold over the next 10 years, according to the IDC Digital Universe study. The study also predicts that overall data will grow by 50 times by 2020, mostly due to the…
From ACM News
Nasa Aims For Jupiter, Mars, and the Moon
Like pretty much every other agency in the government, NASA is likely to be hurting for money over the next few years. The end of the Space Shuttle program, which comes with Atlantis's final flight next month, will free up…
From ACM News
Yahoo Creates Company to Profit From Hadoop Software
Recent successes at Yahoo are few and far between as it tries to overhaul a slumping business. One notable exception—at least for Silicon Valley’s engineers—is the company's role in pioneering Hadoop, free software for managing…
From ACM Opinion
Lady of the Rings: Saturn Surveyor Carolyn Porco
When Carolyn Porco started exploring the outer solar system, it was all about the rings. Her 1983 doctoral thesis at Caltech focused on shifting spokes in Saturn’s rings discovered by the Voyager spacecraft. As Voyager sailed…
From ACM News
New Patriot Act Controversy: Is Washington Collecting Your Cell-Phone Data?
The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee is weighing fresh concern about the sweeping nature of domestic spying using one controversial section of the Patriot Act.
From ACM TechNews
niversities Advance High-Speed Trans-Atlantic Network
The University of Indiana is working on two projects aimed at linking U.S.-based universities with research institutions in Europe and Asia.
From ACM TechNews
Report Recommends Ways to Improve K-12 STEM Education
The U.S. National Research Council recently released a report that calls on policymakers at all levels of government to elevate science education in grades K-12 to the same level of importance as reading and mathematics.
From ACM TechNews
Google Builds Developer Tool to Flag Web App Vulnerabilities
Google has released DOM Snitch, an experimental extension for its Chrome browser that enables developers to scan Web applications and flag code that could be exploited by malware attacks.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Turn Twitter Into Real-Time Sports Commentator
Rice University researchers, led by Siqi Zhao, say that Twitter can offer an accurate commentary of a sporting event that is accurate to within a few seconds of the action.
From ACM TechNews
Rag-Trade Robots: From Body Scan to Bespoke Suit
The Leapfrog project, a collaboration of 35 industrial and academic partners from 11 countries, aims to develop completely automated clothing-production systems.
From ACM News
Post-9/11 Security: A Rational Student Debate
The 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks is approaching, and you can count on the flow of remembrances and where-are-we-now updates swelling into a deluge soon enough. Over the weekend, Stuyvesant High…
From ACM News
Down with Pi! The Math Nerds Behind the Tau Movement
Happy Tau Day, everyone! Every June 28, a rogue fleet of math nerds makes its case for the abolition of arguably the most important irrational number in the world: pi. These men and women of the "tau" are adamant that pi,…