acm-header
Sign In

Communications of the ACM

News


bg-corner

An edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.


How the Home Telephone Sparked the ­ser-Centered Design Revolution
From ACM Opinion

How the Home Telephone Sparked the ­ser-Centered Design Revolution

Have you ever thought about why doorknobs are positioned at around two-fifths of the door's height, instead of right in the middle? Or why a washing machine is...

Even Elusive Animals Leave Dna, and Clues, Behind
From ACM News

Even Elusive Animals Leave Dna, and Clues, Behind

You wouldn't think hellbenders would be hard to find: The gargantuan salamanders, the biggest amphibians in North America, can grow up to 30 inches long.

Telescope to Seek Dust Where Other Earths May Lie
From ACM News

Telescope to Seek Dust Where Other Earths May Lie

The NASA-funded Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer, or LBTI, has completed its first study of dust in the "habitable zone" around a star, opening a new door...

Time to Change Global Clock Management? It's ­nder Debate
From ACM News

Time to Change Global Clock Management? It's ­nder Debate

Does anybody really know what time it is?

Optimizing Optimization Algorithms
From ACM News

Optimizing Optimization Algorithms

Optimization algorithms, which try to find the minimum values of mathematical functions, are everywhere in engineering. Among other things, they're used to evaluate...

Hands-On With Microsoft's ­nbelievable New Holographic Goggles
From ACM Opinion

Hands-On With Microsoft's ­nbelievable New Holographic Goggles

It's the end of October, when the days have already grown short in Redmond, Washington, and gray sheets of rain are just beginning to let up.

10 Cool Network and Computing Research Projects
From ACM News

10 Cool Network and Computing Research Projects

If you think the latest enterprise and consumer network and computer technologies rolling into your data center and being snuck into your offices by end users are...

Atlas Drc Robot Is 75 Percent New, Completely ­nplugged
From ACM News

Atlas Drc Robot Is 75 Percent New, Completely ­nplugged

We've always known that the ATLAS DRC humanoid robot was due for some serious upgrades before the DARPA Robotics Challenge Finals, because having a robot that's...

Astronomy: Laser Focus
From ACM News

Astronomy: Laser Focus

On clear, moonless evenings, most of the biggest optical telescopes around the world begin the night's observations by firing a golden laser beam at the sky.

Revealed at Last: Magic Leap’s Vision For Augmented Reality, in 32 Patent Illustrations
From ACM Careers

Revealed at Last: Magic Leap’s Vision For Augmented Reality, in 32 Patent Illustrations

A new patent application titled Planar Waveguide Apparatus with Diffraction Element(s) and System Employing Same sounds like a scientific snoozefest, but just also...

Rice-Sized Laser, Powered One Electron at a Time, Bodes Well For Quantum Computing
From ACM TechNews

Rice-Sized Laser, Powered One Electron at a Time, Bodes Well For Quantum Computing

Princeton University researchers have developed a rice grain-sized laser powered by single electrons tunneling through artificial atoms known as quantum dots. 

Have We Found Alien Life?
From ACM News

Have We Found Alien Life?

Kenneth Nealson is looking awfully sane for a man who’s basically just told me that he has a colony of aliens incubating in his laboratory.

The Daunting Challenge of Reporting on Cyberwar
From ACM News

The Daunting Challenge of Reporting on Cyberwar

The US and UK are soon to take part in cyber war games, testing each other out for when the inevitable real cyberwar kicks off.

Dawn Delivers New Image of Ceres
From ACM News

Dawn Delivers New Image of Ceres

As NASA's Dawn spacecraft closes in on Ceres, new images show the dwarf planet at 27 pixels across, about three times better than the calibration images taken in...

High-Tech Warriors: A Glimpse Into the Stadium of the Future
From ACM News

High-Tech Warriors: A Glimpse Into the Stadium of the Future

Floor tiles that generate electricity when people walk on them. Streetlamps that transmit data to people passing beneath them.

Mathematician Tries to Solve Wave Equations
From ACM TechNews

Mathematician Tries to Solve Wave Equations

University of California, Los Angeles professor Terence Tao is using computers to help him solve a tricky mathematical question.

Attempts to Predict Terrorist Attacks Hit Limits
From ACM News

Attempts to Predict Terrorist Attacks Hit Limits

From France to Nigeria, the world is reeling from a wave of deadly terrorist attacks.

Here's What Helped Sony's Hackers Break In: Zero-Day Vulnerability
From ACM News

Here's What Helped Sony's Hackers Break In: Zero-Day Vulnerability

The hackers behind the devastating attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment late last year exploited a previously undisclosed vulnerability in its computer systems...

The Hidden Ways Traffic Flows Around ­s
From ACM News

The Hidden Ways Traffic Flows Around ­s

Get in your car and drive.

Nasa Begins Countdown to Pluto Flyby
From ACM News

Nasa Begins Countdown to Pluto Flyby

Today marks the beginning of the world’s encounter with Pluto, as a NASA spacecraft that has journeyed for nine years begins its first phrase of approach to the...
Sign In for Full Access
» Forgot Password? » Create an ACM Web Account