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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.


Inside the Cunning, Unprecedented Hack of Ukraine's Power Grid
From ACM News

Inside the Cunning, Unprecedented Hack of Ukraine's Power Grid

It was 3:30 p.m. last December 23, and residents of the Ivano-Frankivsk region of Western Ukraine were preparing to end their workday and head home through the...

Methane Snow on Pluto's Peaks
From ACM News

Methane Snow on Pluto's Peaks

One of Pluto's most identifiable features, Cthulhu (pronounced kuh-THU-lu) stretches nearly halfway around Pluto's equator, starting from the west of the great...

Chip Hacking Might Help Fbi ­nlock Iphones
From ACM News

Chip Hacking Might Help Fbi ­nlock Iphones

Even if the Justice Department loses its legal showdown with Apple Inc. over access to a killer's iPhone, the government might still be able to extract the data...

Log In to Your Phone with a Finger-Drawn Doodle Instead of a Password
From ACM News

Log In to Your Phone with a Finger-Drawn Doodle Instead of a Password

Rather than painstakingly typing in passwords on your smartphone, you may eventually just swipe a shape or other pattern on its display to authenticate yourself...

A New Look at Ancient Mars
From ACM News

A New Look at Ancient Mars

Among Earth/s planetary neighbors, Mars has been the one on which humanity has most often, and most variously, projected its hopes and fears.

Defense Secretary Favors Strong Encryption, Not 'back Doors'
From ACM News

Defense Secretary Favors Strong Encryption, Not 'back Doors'

Declaring that strong encryption is essential to the nation's security, Defense Secretary Ash Carter told a tech industry audience Wednesday that he's "not a believer...

How the Feds Could Get Into Iphones Without Apple's Help
From ACM News

How the Feds Could Get Into Iphones Without Apple's Help

It's a showdown that has the country mesmerized.

Tiny Cameras to See in the Intestines
From ACM News

Tiny Cameras to See in the Intestines

The digestive tract can be inhospitable terrain to examine.

Advertising Company Will ­se Its Billboards To Track Passing Cellphones
From ACM News

Advertising Company Will ­se Its Billboards To Track Passing Cellphones

Clear Channel Outdoor—one of the largest outdoor advertising companies in the U.S.—is starting a new program called Radar that will use billboards to map real-world...

Isis Turns to Foreign Encryption Products as Apple-Fbi Fight Rages in ­.s.
From ACM News

Isis Turns to Foreign Encryption Products as Apple-Fbi Fight Rages in ­.s.

FBI and Apple officials spent Tuesday afternoon on Capitol Hill, debating American encryption laws with members of Congress. Prompted by a case related to the ...

White House Officials Soften Approach at Rsa Conference
From ACM News

White House Officials Soften Approach at Rsa Conference

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch joined a parade of Obama administration officials to tech's home turf on Tuesday. Their message: National security depends on...

In Memoriam: Edward J. Mccluskey 1929 – 2016
From ACM News

In Memoriam: Edward J. Mccluskey 1929 – 2016

"A storied engineer who made some of the most important and early contributions to computer hardware design," McCluskey died recently at the age of 86.

Et Search: Look For the Aliens Looking For Earth
From ACM News

Et Search: Look For the Aliens Looking For Earth

By watching how the light dims as a planet orbits in front of its parent star, NASA's Kepler spacecraft has discovered more than 1,000 worlds since its launch in...

In Fighting FBI, Apple Says Free Speech Rights Mean No Forced Coding
From ACM News

In Fighting FBI, Apple Says Free Speech Rights Mean No Forced Coding

The Justice Department wants Apple to write special software to help it break into the iPhone used by one the San Bernardino terrorists.

Building Living, Breathing Supercomputers
From ACM TechNews

Building Living, Breathing Supercomputers

McGill University researchers says the substance that provides energy to human cells also could be used to power the next generation of supercomputers. 

Exoplanet Census Suggests Earth Is Special After All
From ACM News

Exoplanet Census Suggests Earth Is Special After All

More than 400 years ago Renaissance scientist Nicolaus Copernicus reduced us to near nothingness by showing that our planet is not the center of the solar system...

Report Cites Dangers of Autonomous Weapons
From ACM News

Report Cites Dangers of Autonomous Weapons

The report warns about a range of real-world risks associated with weapons systems that are completely autonomous.

Google ­nveils Neural Network with 'superhuman' Ability to Determine the Location of Almost Any Image
From ACM News

Google ­nveils Neural Network with 'superhuman' Ability to Determine the Location of Almost Any Image

Here's a tricky task. Pick a photograph from the Web at random. Now try to work out where it was taken using only the image itself.

Facebook Is Making a Map of Everyone in the World
From ACM News

Facebook Is Making a Map of Everyone in the World

Americans inhabit an intricately mapped world.

When Computers Stand in the Schoolhouse Door
From Communications of the ACM

When Computers Stand in the Schoolhouse Door

Classification algorithms can lead to biased decisions, so researchers are trying to identify such biases and root them out.
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