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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.


Think You Can Drive a Bulldozer?
From ACM News

Think You Can Drive a Bulldozer?

As he closed the door, leaving me alone at the controls of a 41,000-pound bulldozer with list price of nearly $432,000, a Komatsu Ltd. executive shouted, "No worries...

Researcher Controls Colleague's Motions in First Human Brain-to-Brain Interface
From ACM News

Researcher Controls Colleague's Motions in First Human Brain-to-Brain Interface

University of Washington researchers have performed what they believe is the first noninvasive human-to-human brain interface, with one researcher able to send...

Nasa's Mars Curiosity Debuts Autonomous Navigation
From ACM News

Nasa's Mars Curiosity Debuts Autonomous Navigation

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has used autonomous navigation for the first time, a capability that lets the rover decide for itself how to drive safely on Mars.

How Surveillance Changes Behavior: A Restaurant Workers Case Study
From ACM News

How Surveillance Changes Behavior: A Restaurant Workers Case Study

Surveillance is certainly much in the news lately. Most notably, of course, there is the continuing outcry over the National Security Agency’s call-tracking program...

NASA's Plan to Put a Landsail Rover on Venus
From ACM News

NASA's Plan to Put a Landsail Rover on Venus

Venus is like a reclusive celebrity that gets the public's attention every couple of years, though in the planet's case it's more like every century.

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.

How Snowden Did It
From ACM News

How Snowden Did It

When Edward Snowden stole the crown jewels of the National Security Agency, he didn't need to use any sophisticated devices or software or go around any computer...

NASA's Spitzer Telescope Celebrates 10 Years in Space
From ACM News

NASA's Spitzer Telescope Celebrates 10 Years in Space

Ten years after a Delta II rocket launched NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, lighting up the night sky over Cape Canaveral, Fla., the fourth of the agency's four...

In Markets' Tuned-­p Machinery, Stubborn Ghosts Remain
From ACM News

In Markets' Tuned-­p Machinery, Stubborn Ghosts Remain

A generation ago, when the stock market crashed on Oct. 19, 1987, the Nasdaq stock market appeared to have done much better than the New York Stock Exchange.

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...

Magnetic Diversion For Electronic Switches
From Communications of the ACM

Magnetic Diversion For Electronic Switches

'Chameleon processors' could function as programmable logic or nonvolatile memory.

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...

Quantum Paradox Seen in Diamond
From ACM News

Quantum Paradox Seen in Diamond

A quantum effect named after an ancient Greek puzzle has been observed in diamond, paving the way for the use of diamond crystals in quantum computer chips.

A Quantum Leap for the Government in Mining Twitter Feeds
From ACM News

A Quantum Leap for the Government in Mining Twitter Feeds

Last August, around fifty government employees and private contractors gathered at a Defense Department development laboratory in Crystal City, Virginia.

Life After Siri: Nuance's ­phill Climb To Being Your Digital Assistant
From ACM Opinion

Life After Siri: Nuance's ­phill Climb To Being Your Digital Assistant

In the gleaming Silicon Valley branch office of speech-recognition firm Nuance Communications, a small room has been made to look like a homey den.

NASA Spacecraft Reactivated to Hunt for Asteroids
From ACM News

NASA Spacecraft Reactivated to Hunt for Asteroids

A NASA spacecraft that discovered and characterized tens of thousands of asteroids throughout the solar system before being placed in hibernation will return to...

Apple Patents 3d Gesture ­i For Ios Based on Proximity Sensor Input
From ACM News

Apple Patents 3d Gesture ­i For Ios Based on Proximity Sensor Input

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday published an Apple patent for a method of generating and manipulating a 3D object on a computing device, with the...

How Pay-Per-Gaze Advertising Could Work With Google Glass
From ACM News

How Pay-Per-Gaze Advertising Could Work With Google Glass

Google wants to see what you see. And then, of course, make money from those images.

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...
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