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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.


'leap Second' Lengthens Weekend
From ACM News

'leap Second' Lengthens Weekend

The world is about to get a well-earned long weekend but don't make big plans because it will only last an extra second. A so-called "leap second" will be added...

Minitel: The Rise and Fall of the France-Wide Web
From ACM News

Minitel: The Rise and Fall of the France-Wide Web

Many years ago, long before the birth of the Web, there was a time when France was the happening-est place in the digital universe.

How Google Is Teaching Computers to See
From ACM News

How Google Is Teaching Computers to See

Google is attempting to teach computers to recognize human faces without telling the computing algorithms which faces are human.

Design Reduces Nanowire Transistor Footprint
From ACM TechNews

Design Reduces Nanowire Transistor Footprint

A*STAR Institute of Microelectronics researchers have integrated two transistors onto a single vertical silicon nanowire, which they say could further push the...

Voice Algorithms Spot Parkinson's Disease
From ACM News

Voice Algorithms Spot Parkinson's Disease

Parkinson's is a devastating disease for those living with the condition, and currently there is no cure. Diagnosis can also be slow, as there are no blood tests...

It's Not an Entertainment Gadget, It's Google's Bid to Control the Future
From ACM News

It's Not an Entertainment Gadget, It's Google's Bid to Control the Future

Joe Britt hands me his latest creation, a black ball with glittering LED lights around the middle, and implores me to examine it.

Graph500 Adds New Measurement of Supercomputing Performance
From ACM TechNews

Graph500 Adds New Measurement of Supercomputing Performance

The Graph500 executive committee recently announced new specifications for a more representative way to rate large-scale data analytics in high-performance computing...

Computer Science Tackles 30-Year-Old Economics Problem
From ACM TechNews

Computer Science Tackles 30-Year-Old Economics Problem

MIT researchers have developed an algorithm for finding an almost perfect approximation of the optimal design of a multi-item auction.  

Bot With Boyish Personality Wins Biggest Turing Test
From ACM TechNews

Bot With Boyish Personality Wins Biggest Turing Test

The chatbot Eugene Goostman fooled Turing test judges 29 percent of the time into thinking it was human to take first place in the recent contest in the United...

You Will Want Google Goggles
From ACM Opinion

You Will Want Google Goggles

At first glance, Thad Starner does not look out of place at Google. A pioneering researcher in the field of wearable computing, Starner is a big, charming man with...

How Many Computers to Identify a Cat? 16,000
From ACM News

How Many Computers to Identify a Cat? 16,000

Inside Google’s secretive X laboratory, known for inventing self-driving cars and augmented reality glasses, a small group of researchers began working several...

The Man Who Keeps Facebook Humming
From ACM Opinion

The Man Who Keeps Facebook Humming

Jay Parikh is happy to never get a call from Mark Zuckerberg. Why? It means he's doing his job well. As the vice president of infrastructure engineering at Facebook...

Digital Domain Grapples With Fur, Feathers
From ACM News

Digital Domain Grapples With Fur, Feathers

You may not have heard of the special-effects studio Digital Domain, but you've probably seen their work. They sank the Titanic for James Cameron; they aged Brad...

What Nasa's Next Mars Rover Will Discover
From ACM News

What Nasa's Next Mars Rover Will Discover

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory is on its way. In a little more than a month, the 1-ton rover, whichlaunched in November, will descend to the Martian surface.

U.s. Military Hunts For Safe Smartphones For Soldiers
From ACM News

U.s. Military Hunts For Safe Smartphones For Soldiers

The military has long needed computers that are tough enough on the outside to withstand the rough and tumble of the battlefield. Now, with the proliferation of...

Researchers Amplify Variations in Video, Making the Invisible Visible
From ACM News

Researchers Amplify Variations in Video, Making the Invisible Visible

At this summer's Siggraph—the premier computer-graphics conference—researchers from MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory will present new...

Infinite-Capacity Wireless Vortex Beams Carry 2.5 Terabits Per Second
From ACM News

Infinite-Capacity Wireless Vortex Beams Carry 2.5 Terabits Per Second

American and Israeli researchers have used twisted, vortex beams to transmit data at 2.5 terabits per second. As far as we can discern, this is the fastest wireless...

What, Exactly, Is a Supercomputer?
From ACM Opinion

What, Exactly, Is a Supercomputer?

It's official: The United States is home to the world's fastest supercomputer. But what exactly are supercomputers and why should we care about them? I decidedLawrence...

Microsoft's Research Boss Celebrates Legacy of Alan Turing
From ACM Opinion

Microsoft's Research Boss Celebrates Legacy of Alan Turing

What does Alan Turing mean to Microsoft and the rest of the modern tech world? Rick Rashid can tell you.

Exascale Computing: The View From Argonne
From ACM TechNews

Exascale Computing: The View From Argonne

In an interview, U.S. Argonne National Laboratory directors Rick Stevens, Michael Papka, and Marc Snir contextualize the challenges and advantages of developing...
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