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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.


Computing Glitch May Have Doomed Mars Lander
From ACM News

Computing Glitch May Have Doomed Mars Lander

Photos of a huge circle of churned-up Martian soil leave few doubts: a European Space Agency (ESA) probe that was supposed to test landing technology on Mars crashed...

Will Visual Programming Crack the Code on Learning?
From ACM News

Will Visual Programming Crack the Code on Learning?

An emerging generation of visual coding platforms is introducing software development to young people and other beginners.

The Pentagon's 'terminator Conundrum': Robots That Could Kill on Their Own
From ACM News

The Pentagon's 'terminator Conundrum': Robots That Could Kill on Their Own

The small drone, with its six whirring rotors, swept past the replica of a Middle Eastern village and closed in on a mosque-like structure, its camera scanning...

How Nasa Fights To Keep Our Dying Spacecraft Alive
From ACM News

How Nasa Fights To Keep Our Dying Spacecraft Alive

Sometime in the next 10 or so years, the massive antennas that comprise NASA's Deep Space Network will pick up a faint, distant signal for the final time.

Webcams ­sed to Attack Reddit and Twitter Recalled
From ACM News

Webcams ­sed to Attack Reddit and Twitter Recalled

Chinese electronics firm Hangzhou Xiongmai issued the recall soon after its cameras were identified as aiding the massive web attacks.

Icy Heart Could Be Key to Pluto's Strange Geology
From ACM News

Icy Heart Could Be Key to Pluto's Strange Geology

Pluto's icy heart beats with a planetary rhythm.

New Technique Allows Scientists to 'listen' to Proteins
From ACM News

New Technique Allows Scientists to 'listen' to Proteins

Researchers have come up with a bold new method for representing and understanding a protein's shape: translating it into music.

A New Era of Internet Attacks Powered By Everyday Devices
From ACM News

A New Era of Internet Attacks Powered By Everyday Devices

When surveillance cameras began popping up in the 1970s and '80s, they were welcomed as a crime-fighting tool, then as a way to monitor traffic congestion, factory...

The Amazing Cloud Cities We Could Build on Venus
From ACM News

The Amazing Cloud Cities We Could Build on Venus

It's hot enough to melt lead, the acid rain will scorch the flesh from your bones – and it's the perfect place to raise a family. Venus, not Mars, might be the...

Inside Microsoft's Quest For a Topological Quantum Computer
From ACM Opinion

Inside Microsoft's Quest For a Topological Quantum Computer

The race is on build a "universal" quantum computer. Such a device could be programmed to speedily solve problems that classical computers cannot crack, potentially...

If Planet Nine Is Out There, It Tilts Our Solar System
From ACM News

If Planet Nine Is Out There, It Tilts Our Solar System

Most people think the eight planets in our solar system orbit the sun along a straight plane, like a disc on a record player.

Camera on Mars Orbiter Shows Signs of Latest Mars Lander
From ACM News

Camera on Mars Orbiter Shows Signs of Latest Mars Lander

NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has identified new markings on the surface of the Red Planet that are believed to be related to Europe's Schiaparelli test lander...

The Power of Prediction Markets
From ACM News

The Power of Prediction Markets

It was a great way to mix science with gambling, says Anna Dreber.

New Horizons: Possible Clouds on Pluto, Next Target is Reddish
From ACM News

New Horizons: Possible Clouds on Pluto, Next Target is Reddish

The next target for NASA's New Horizons mission—which made a historic flight past Pluto in July 2015—apparently bears a colorful resemblance to its famous, main...

The Perpetual Lineup: Half of ­S Adults in a Face-Recognition Database
From ACM News

The Perpetual Lineup: Half of ­S Adults in a Face-Recognition Database

Half of American adults are in a face-recognition database, according to a Georgetown University study released Tuesday.

Europe Lost Contact with Mars Lander 1 Minute Before Touchdown
From ACM News

Europe Lost Contact with Mars Lander 1 Minute Before Touchdown

After a suspenseful night waiting for a signal from the ExoMars Schiaparelli lander, the European Space Agency (ESA) confirmed today that the spacecraft went silent...

The Polling Crisis: How to Tell What People Really Think
From ACM News

The Polling Crisis: How to Tell What People Really Think

Hillary Clinton is heading for a landslide victory over Donald Trump. But wait.

The Surprisingly Easy Way to Visit Mars
From ACM News

The Surprisingly Easy Way to Visit Mars

It's midday on Mars. The scarlet skies are clear and it's a balmy zero degrees—the perfect conditions for a day out.

Could Obama's Threat of Retaliation Against Russia Lead to Cyberwar?
From ACM Opinion

Could Obama's Threat of Retaliation Against Russia Lead to Cyberwar?

Late last week Obama administration officials used NBC News to send Moscow a cryptic threat: The U.S. government is "contemplating an unprecedented cyber covert...

Humanity's War on Latency: Semaphore to Silicon Photonics and Beyond
From ACM News

Humanity's War on Latency: Semaphore to Silicon Photonics and Beyond

For most of humanity's existence, communication has been incredibly slow.
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