Communications of the ACM
The opinion archive provides access to past opinion stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
October 2015
From ACM Opinion
Convicted By Code
Secret code is everywhere—in elevators, airplanes, medical devices.
From ACM Opinion
Tech Companies Can Blame Snowden For Data Privacy Decision
A ruling the Europe Union’s highest court yesterday may create enormous headaches for US tech companies like Google and Facebook.
From ACM Opinion
'the Martian,' Nasa and the Rise of a Science-Entertainment Complex
When Navy flyboy Tom Cruise got too close for missiles and switched to guns in the spring of 1986, what seemed like an entire nation got up to follow him.
From ACM Opinion
What's in a Boarding Pass Barcode? A Lot
The next time you're thinking of throwing away a used boarding pass with a barcode on it, consider tossing the boarding pass into a document shredder instead.
From ACM Opinion
How to Make a Rubber Ducky Comet: Smash Two Comets Together! Carefully.
It was a bit of a surprise when the Rosetta probe, after a decade of travel around the Sun, approached the comet and sent the first decently resolved pictures of it back to Earth.
From ACM Opinion
Apple Ceo Tim Cook: 'privacy Is a Fundamental Human Right'
Apple has long touted the power and design of its devices, but recently the world's most valuable company has been emphasizing another feature: privacy.
From ACM Opinion
Apple's 3d Touch Is the Start of a New Interface Revolution
If you want to understand the potential of 3D Touch, the new of method of tapping and pressing on the screens of the latest iPhones, forget about the marketing lingo.
From ACM Opinion
Three Questions With: Ames Laboratory Cybersecurity Manager Chris Strasburg
Chris Strasburg discusses his role as computer protection program manager at the U.S. Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory.
From ACM Opinion
Two Paths Toward Our Robot Future
In 1970, Life magazine published an article about a Stanford University research project that had resulted in the construction of what it called the first-ever "electronic person."
From ACM Opinion
Fighting Isis Online
The two men pecked out messages on opposite sides of the country.
From ACM Opinion
'martian' Author Andy Weir Figured Out Faster-Than-Light Travel For His New Novel
Readers and astrophysicists alike praised Andy Weir's The Martian for a fact-first approach to the sci-fi disaster model.
From Communications of the ACM
Keys Under Doormats
Mandating insecurity by requiring government access to all data and communications.
From Communications of the ACM
Storming the Cubicle
Acquisitive redux.
From Communications of the ACM
Thinking Thoughts
On brains and bytes.
From Communications of the ACM
Life After MOOCs
Online science education needs a new revolution.
From Communications of the ACM
Rise of Concerns About AI: Reflections and Directions
Research, leadership, and communication about AI futures.
From Communications of the ACM
In Defense of IBM
The ability to adjust to various technical and business disruptions has been essential to IBM's success during the past century.
From Communications of the ACM
Computing Is History
Reflections on the past to inform the future.