Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
September 2010
From ACM News
Multicore May Not Be So Scary
Research suggests that the free operating system Linux will keep up with the addition of more "cores," or processing units, to computer chips.
From ACM News
Scientists Creates 'smart Cane' For Blind to 'see'
Applied scientists at the University of Arkansas as Little Rock are developing a "smart" cane to give the blind a better tool to navigate their environments.
From ACM News
Physicists Break Color Barrier For Sending, Receiving Photons
University of Oregon scientists have invented a method to change the color of single photons in a fiber optic cable. The feat could be a quantum step forward for transferring and receiving high volumes of secured data for future…
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Generate Compelling Results on Tacc's Visualization Cluster
The Texas Advanced Computing Center's hardware-accelerated interactive visualization cluster, called Longhorn, is providing researchers with new visualization capabilities and enabling them to analyze large volumes of data.
From ACM TechNews
Five Federal Agencies Want Big Robot Technology Advances
Five U.S. agencies recently announced plans to fund innovative research and development of robotic technologies with the goal of enriching human lives. DARPA seeks approaches that exhibit the potential for low-cost manufacturing…
From ACM News
Iran Thwarts Viral Attack on Nuclear Plant System: Atomic Chief
Head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali-Akbar Salehi said Wednesday that the enemy's efforts to infect Iranian nuclear systems with a computer virus have failed, the local satellite Press TV reported.
From ACM News
Mapping the Brain on a Massive Scale
Scanning 1,200 brains could help researchers chart the organ's fine structure and better understand neurological disorders.
From ACM News
Dust Models Paint Alien's View of Solar System
New supercomputer simulations tracking the interactions of thousands of dust grains show what the solar system might look like to alien astronomers searching for planets. The models also provide a glimpse of how this view…
From ACM News
Metric Week Begins 10/10/10!
The 34th annual celebration of Metric Week will be held the week of Oct. 10—the tenth day of the tenth month.
From ACM News
Smart Grid Information Clearinghouse Web Portal Launched
Virginia Tech is releasing its full version of the Smart Grid Information Clearinghouse web portal today (Sept. 30). The portal is the platform for direct sharing and dissemination of relevant smart grid information to ongoing…
From ACM News
Growing Nanowires Horizontally Yields New Benefit: 'nano-Leds'
While refining their novel method for making nanoscale wires, chemists at NIST discovered an unexpected bonus—a new way to create nanowires that produce light similar to that from light-emitting diodes.
From ACM News
Apple Patent Shows Future of Biometrics Isn
A recent Apple patent and a strongly worded report from the National Research Council suggest that the future of biometrics lies with personalization, not security.
From ACM News
World's First 'cyber Superweapon' Attacks China
A computer virus dubbed the world's "first cyber superweapon" by experts and which may have been designed to attack Iran's nuclear facilities has found a new target—China. The Stuxnet worm has infected millions of computers…
From ACM News
In a Computer Worm, a Possible Biblical Clue
Deep inside the computer worm that some specialists suspect is aimed at slowing Iran's race for a nuclear weapon lies what could be a fleeting reference to the Book of Esther, the Old Testament tale in which the Jews pre-empt…
From ACM News
In a Computer Worm, a Possible Biblical Clue
Deep inside the computer worm that some specialists suspect is aimed at slowing Iran’s race for a nuclear weapon lies what could be a fleeting reference to the Book of Esther, the Old Testament tale in which the Jews pre-empt…
From ACM News
.s. Trying to Wage Cyber Warfare Against Iran: Minister
The United States seeks to launch a cyber war against Iran in retaliation to Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s remarks at the UN, says Communications and Information Technology Minister Reza Taqipour.
From ACM TechNews
Nokia Touchscreen Creates Texture Illusion
Nokia has developed a prototype of its N900 smartphone featuring technology that lets users feel the texture of icons on the screen. "The idea is to have everything on a touchscreen give tactile feedback," says Nokia researcher…
From ACM TechNews
Technology to Improve Safety in the 'danger Zone'
University of Southampton professor Nick Jennings says the ALADDIN project is developing "autonomous agents which will make decisions on their own without direct human control and can then interact with other autonomous agents…
From ACM TechNews
Nsf rges Lawmakers to Back se of Better Science Data
The U.S. House's Research and Scientific Education Subcommittee recently held a hearing on the National Science Foundation's approach to scientific policy. The science of science policy must be able to change direction and cross…
From ACM TechNews
Census: Women Closing in on Male-Dominated Fields
Younger generations of women are closing the gender gap in science and business and now account for nearly half of those college majors traditionally dominated by men, according to a USA Today analysis of the latest Census data…
From ACM TechNews
Saying High-Tech Is a Meritocracy Doesn't Make It So
It is hard to support the assertion that Silicon Valley is a meritocracy that rewards good ideas regardless of gender, according to Caroline Simard, leader of the Anita Borg Institute's research and executive program initiative…
From ACM TechNews
Researcher Builds Machines That Daydream
Murdoch University professor Graham Mann told the recent World Computer Congress in Brisbane, Australia, that intelligent systems should have emotions built into them before they can function.
From ACM News
Internet Pioneers Protest Senate Anti-Piracy Bill
Some of the rock stars of Internet engineering (yes, they exist) on Tuesday protested a Senate bill aimed at fighting online piracy, saying the legislation could lead to censorship and destabilize the architecture of the Web…
From ACM TechNews
Vigilant Camera Eye
Researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Information Technology have developed an automated camera system that replicates some functions of the human eye and brain.
From ACM News
Does Science Education Need a Dose of Danger?
Under the shadow of the Cold War-era Titan II and Atlas rockets set up outside the New York Hall of Science, this weekend's World Maker Faire extravaganza was, more than anything, a tribute to the more colorful fringes of…
From ACM News
What Twitter Learns from All Those Tweets
The company's head of analytics explains how Twitter mines the data users produce.
From ACM News
India Launches Project to Id 1.2 Billion People
India's vaunted tech savvy is being put to the test this week as the country embarks on a daunting mission: assigning a unique 12-digit number to each of its 1.2 billion people.
From ACM News
Semiconductor Could Turn Heat Into Computing Power
Computers might one day recycle part of their own waste heat, using a material being studied by researchers at Ohio State University.
From ACM TechNews
Michigan Researchers Develop Rfid-Based Sensors to Measure Physical Activity
Michigan State University researchers have developed a system using RFID-enabled sensors to track the movements of different body parts as well as their angle and proximity to each other.
From ACM News
npublished Iraq War Logs Trigger Internal Wikileaks Revolt
A domino chain of resignations at the secret-spilling site WikiLeaks followed a unilateral decision by autocratic founder Julian Assange to schedule an October release of 392,000 classified U.S. documents from the war in Iraq…