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Latest News News Archive Refine your search:
subjectPersonal Computing
authorThe Atlantic
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An edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.


A Machine That Makes Cameras: The Aesthetics of the Lytro
From ACM News

A Machine That Makes Cameras: The Aesthetics of the Lytro

Let's think about photography as people live it.

For Lonely Astronauts, a Robotic Companion
From ACM News

For Lonely Astronauts, a Robotic Companion

You know the only thing lonelier than Sgt. Pepper's Hearts Club Band, and the Heartbreak Hotel, and the number one? Being alone and also not on Earth.

In China, 25 Million People ­se Only Their Cell Phones to Read Books
From ACM Opinion

In China, 25 Million People ­se Only Their Cell Phones to Read Books

On vacation in China earlier this month, I stopped by Shanghai's seven-story downtown "Book City," bustling with activity on a weekday afternoon that, as a publisher...

An Amazon Engineer Had a Little Idea That Turned Into a Billion-Dollar Business
From ACM News

An Amazon Engineer Had a Little Idea That Turned Into a Billion-Dollar Business

Once upon a time, Amazon was a dot-com-era technology company best known for selling books.

The World Is Not Enough: Google and the Future of Augmented Reality
From ACM News

The World Is Not Enough: Google and the Future of Augmented Reality

It is The Future. You wake up at dawn and fumble on the bedstand for your (Google) Glass. Peering out at the world through transparent screens, what do you see?

Iphone 5? Yawn. What Will the 'phone' of 2022 Look Like?
From ACM Opinion

Iphone 5? Yawn. What Will the 'phone' of 2022 Look Like?

The near-term future of phones is fairly well-established. The iPhone 5 was released Wednesday and its similarity to every Apple phone since 2007 serves as a reminder...

How Google Builds Its Maps—and What It Means For the Future of Everything
From ACM News

How Google Builds Its Maps—and What It Means For the Future of Everything

Behind every Google Map, there is a much more complex map that's the key to your queries but hidden from your view.

The Measured Man
From ACM TechNews

The Measured Man

Computer scientist Larry Smarr envisions the development of "a distributed planetary computer of enormous power," one that comprises 1 billion processors and that...

Inside Google's Plan to Build a Catalog of Every Single Thing, Ever
From ACM Opinion

Inside Google's Plan to Build a Catalog of Every Single Thing, Ever

The ugly truth is that computers don't know anything. They have no common sense.

Microsoft Wants to Serve You Ads Based on What You Do in Your Living Room
From ACM News

Microsoft Wants to Serve You Ads Based on What You Do in Your Living Room

A new patent application from Microsoft points to a future in which your Kinect watches you, and sends ads based on your mood.

The Average Person Alive During Wwii and Now on Facebook Has 42 Friends
From ACM News

The Average Person Alive During Wwii and Now on Facebook Has 42 Friends

People who are older than 75 have seen the world do some crazy things. They were born during or before Hitler's rise to power, lived through the deprivation and...

The Philosopher Whose Fingerprints Are All Over the Ftc's New Approach to Privacy
From ACM Opinion

The Philosopher Whose Fingerprints Are All Over the Ftc's New Approach to Privacy

A mile or two away from Facebook's headquarters in Silicon Valley, Helen Nissenbaum of New York University was standing in a basement on Stanford's campus explaining...

From ACM News

I'm Being Followed: How Google

This morning, if you opened your browser and went to NYTimes.com, an amazing thing happened in the milliseconds between your click and when the news appeared on...

From ACM Careers

Here's the Number That Matters in Facebook's Ipo Filing

After waiting for so long to see the numbers inside Facebook's success, it's easy to be overwhelmed by all the new data we have about the social network and company...

What Hacker Apprenticeships Tell ­S About the Future of Education
From ACM Careers

What Hacker Apprenticeships Tell ­S About the Future of Education

Three very similar compressed software development training programs have emerged in the past few months: Code Academy (not to be confused with the startup Codecademy)...

From ACM News

The Big Data Boom Is the Innovation Story of Our Time

The data revolution has turned customers into unwitting business consultants, as our purchases and searches are tracked to improve everything from Web sites to...

Are You Following a Bot?
From ACM Opinion

Are You Following a Bot?

How to manipulate social movements by hacking Twitter.
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