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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.


E-Zpasses Get Read All Over New York (not Just at Toll Booths)
From ACM News

E-Zpasses Get Read All Over New York (not Just at Toll Booths)

After spotting a police car with two huge boxes on its trunk—that turned out to be license-plate-reading cameras—a man in New Jersey became obsessed with the loss...

The Maps Transforming How We Interact With the World
From ACM News

The Maps Transforming How We Interact With the World

The modern map is no longer an unwieldy printed publication we wrestle with on some blustery peak, but digital, data-rich, and dynamic.

How Facebook Makes ­s ­nhappy
From ACM Opinion

How Facebook Makes ­s ­nhappy

No one joins Facebook to be sad and lonely.

Nsa Surveillance Makes For Strange Bedfellows
From ACM Opinion

Nsa Surveillance Makes For Strange Bedfellows

The controversy over U.S. government surveillance has produced a king-size collection of strange bedfellows. Beneath the covers one finds both amusing ironies and...

The Big Data Employment Boom
From ACM Careers

The Big Data Employment Boom

Big data has been favorably cast as "the new oil" and held up as the economic counterweight to America's sinking manufacturing sector.

How the N.S.A Cracked the Web
From ACM News

How the N.S.A Cracked the Web

It's been nearly three months since Edward Snowden started telling the world about the National Security Agency's mass surveillance of global communications.

Beyond The Shadows: Apple's Ios 7 Is All About The Screen
From ACM Opinion

Beyond The Shadows: Apple's Ios 7 Is All About The Screen

At some point in the coming weeks, users of Apple iPhones and iPads will wake up to an alert that there is a new version of the company's mobile operating system...

Your Phone Is Blabbing Your Location to Anyone Who Will Listen
From ACM News

Your Phone Is Blabbing Your Location to Anyone Who Will Listen

Everywhere you go, your phone is sending out signals that can be assembled to form a picture of your movements.

Drug Agents ­se Vast Phone Trove, Eclipsing N.s.a.'s
From ACM News

Drug Agents ­se Vast Phone Trove, Eclipsing N.s.a.'s

For at least six years, law enforcement officials working on a counternarcotics program have had routine access, using subpoenas, to an enormous AT&T database that...

How 'cell Tower Dumps' Caught the High Country Bandit—and Why It Matters
From ACM News

How 'cell Tower Dumps' Caught the High Country Bandit—and Why It Matters

On February 18, 2010, the FBI field office in Denver issued a "wanted" notice for two men known as "the High Country Bandits"—a rather grandiose name for a pair...

How Scholars Hack the World of Academic Publishing Now
From ACM News

How Scholars Hack the World of Academic Publishing Now

If you want to understand the modern academy, it wouldn't hurt to start at "impact factor."

How a Look at Your Gmail Reveals the Power of Metadata
From ACM News

How a Look at Your Gmail Reveals the Power of Metadata

Sometimes you have to give up a little privacy in order to find out how much—or how little—privacy you really have.

Laser Listening: Could You Eavesdrop on the Guardian?
From ACM News

Laser Listening: Could You Eavesdrop on the Guardian?

The U.K. government has warned the Guardian newspaper that foreign agents could use laser technology to eavesdrop on them, in the wake of recent surveillance leaks...

Ephemeral Data
From Communications of the ACM

Ephemeral Data

Privacy issues can evaporate when embarrassing content does likewise.

Remembering Douglas Engelbart
From Communications of the ACM

Remembering Douglas Engelbart

"Inspiring," "visionary," "humble," "honest," "impeccable integrity," "passionate and stubborn about his work." Tributes poured in for Douglas Engelbart, inventor...

Competition: Computer Science Teams Determine the Perfect Baby Name
From ACM TechNews

Competition: Computer Science Teams Determine the Perfect Baby Name

Computer scientists are applying knowledge engineering methods to the task of helping parents-to-be choose the right name for their child.

Google Maps Trained ­S to Follow Directions. Now Its Former Developer Wants ­S to Explore.
From ACM Opinion

Google Maps Trained ­S to Follow Directions. Now Its Former Developer Wants ­S to Explore.

It's not evident from the way his hair flops casually down and across, nor from his equally relaxed demeanor, but John Hanke is one of Google's most important idea...

When You Can't Tell Web Suffixes Without a Scorecard
From ACM News

When You Can't Tell Web Suffixes Without a Scorecard

On the Web, there's no place like .home.

How Big Data Could Help Identify the Next Felon—or Blame the Wrong Guy
From ACM Careers

How Big Data Could Help Identify the Next Felon—or Blame the Wrong Guy

Think of it as big data meets "Minority Report."

Among the Nsa's Own Tips For Securing Computers: Remove the Webcam
From ACM News

Among the Nsa's Own Tips For Securing Computers: Remove the Webcam

Seems like everything gets hacked these days. Baby monitors. White House employees' personal email. Toilets.
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