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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.


Was the Space Shuttle a Mistake?
From ACM Opinion

Was the Space Shuttle a Mistake?

Forty years ago, I wrote an article for Technology Review titled "Shall We Build the Space Shuttle?" Now, with the 135th and final flight of the shuttle at hand...

Interview with Key Lulzsec Hacker
From ACM News

Interview with Key Lulzsec Hacker

It was early May when LulzSec's profile skyrocketed after a hack on the giant Sony corporation. LulzSec's name comes from Lulz, a corruption of LOL, often denoting...

A Roboticist's Trip From Mines to the Moon
From ACM News

A Roboticist's Trip From Mines to the Moon

Robots created by William "Red" Whittaker have crawled into mines and volcanoes, crossed deserts, won a 60-mile road race, helped clean up nuclear waste and harvested...

Autopiloted Glider Knows Where to Fly For a Free Ride
From ACM News

Autopiloted Glider Knows Where to Fly For a Free Ride

Hawks and albatrosses soar for hours or even days without having to land. Soon robotic gliders could go one better, soaring on winds and thermals indefinitely...

Who
From ACM News

Who

My dad, who at 98 no longer drives, used to complain about women drivers, defensive drivers, slow drivers, cab drivers and, occasionally, fast drivers. I should...

New Animation Depicts Next Mars Rover in Action
From ACM News

New Animation Depicts Next Mars Rover in Action

Although NASA's Mars Science Laboratory will not leave Earth until late this year nor land on Mars until August 2012, anyone can watch those dramatic events now...

From ACM Opinion

Doing the Math on News Corp.'s Disastrous Myspace Years

Once upon a time, MySpace was the king and pioneer of social networking. When Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. bought the company for $580 million, it looked like...

From ACM News

Bug-Squashing Tools Offered to Improve Network Security

The Department of Homeland Security has announced an initiative to shore up security by squashing software bugs. This follows a slew of high-profile attacks on...

Robert Morris, Pioneer in Computer Security, Dies at 78
From ACM News

Robert Morris, Pioneer in Computer Security, Dies at 78

Robert Morris, a cryptographer who helped developed the Unix computer operating system, which controls an increasing number of the world's computers and touches...

From ACM News

Massive Botnet 'indestructible,' Say Researchers

A new and improved botnet that has infected more than four million PCs is "practically indestructible," security researchers say. "TDL-4," the name for both the...

Minds, Machines Merge to Offer New Hope For Overcoming Impairments
From ACM News

Minds, Machines Merge to Offer New Hope For Overcoming Impairments

Scientists are creating a new generation of artificial body parts to help people with disabilities see, walk, swim, grip and run among other things. Miles O'Brien...

From ACM News

Google Takes On Friend Sprawl

Google Inc. launched its most ambitious social-networking effort yet, broadening a battle with Facebook Inc. to grab the attention of Web users and future advertising...

Nasa Aims For Jupiter, Mars, and the Moon
From ACM News

Nasa Aims For Jupiter, Mars, and the Moon

Like pretty much every other agency in the government, NASA is likely to be hurting for money over the next few years. The end of the Space Shuttle program, which...

Lady of the Rings: Saturn Surveyor Carolyn Porco
From ACM Opinion

Lady of the Rings: Saturn Surveyor Carolyn Porco

When Carolyn Porco started exploring the outer solar system, it was all about the rings. Her 1983 doctoral thesis at Caltech focused on shifting spokes in Saturn’s...

New Patriot Act Controversy: Is Washington Collecting Your Cell-Phone Data?
From ACM News

New Patriot Act Controversy: Is Washington Collecting Your Cell-Phone Data?

The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee is weighing fresh concern about the sweeping nature of domestic spying using one controversial section of the Patriot Act...

From ACM News

Post-9/11 Security: A Rational Student Debate

The 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks is approaching, and you can count on the flow of remembrances and where-are-we-now updates swelling...

The Cop on the Cyber Beat
From ACM Opinion

The Cop on the Cyber Beat

Homeland Security's Bruce McConnell on the government's role in helping companies fight online attacks.

From ACM News

Cooperative Robots That Learn = Less Work For Human Handlers

Learning a language can be difficult for some, but for babies it seems quite easy. With support from the National Science Foundation, linguist Jeffrey Heinz and...

From ACM News

Smarter Task-Transfers ­se Mobile Cameras

MIT and Google have devised a method of transferring tasks between your smartphone and your computer by merely pointing the cell-phone camera at your PC's screen...

From ACM News

Protect Your Computer and Phone from Illegal Police Searches

Your computer, your phone, and your other digital devices hold vast amounts of personal information about you and your family. Can police officers enter your...
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