Communications of the ACM
The opinion archive provides access to past opinion stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
May 2013
From ACM Opinion
Escape Plans
When the Russian asteroid became a fireball in the air over Chelyabinsk, destroying buildings and injuring hundreds, we were lucky it wasn’t worse.
From ACM Opinion
A Multi-Screen and Conversational Search Experience
Search has always been about giving you the best answers quickly, regardless of what device you use.
From ACM News
Laptop
Gregory Nagy, a professor of classical Greek literature at Harvard, is a gentle academic of the sort who, asked about the future, will begin speaking of Homer and the battles of the distant past.
From ACM Opinion
The Coming Political Battle Over Bitcoin
Given that Bitcoin first broke into mainstream attention when Gawker explained how to use it to buy drugs, perhaps the surprise is that it took federal regulators this long to take action against it.
From ACM Opinion
Hear Ye, Future Deep Throats: This Is How to Leak to the Press
We now live in a world where public servants informing the public about government behavior or wrongdoing must practice the tradecraft of drug dealers and spies.
From ACM Opinion
Ok, Glass, Don't Make Me Look Stupid
A man sitting alone at his kitchen table pauses before eating his breakfast.
From ACM Opinion
New Android Boss Finally Reveals Plans For World's Most Popular Mobile Os
For the past few years, Sundar Pichai has been part of a tag-team routine staged at Google's annual I/O developer conference.
From ACM Opinion
Tedxstanford Highlights Breakthroughs in Research and Creativity, Stanford-Style
They sacrificed a spectacular sunny Saturday afternoon by the hundreds, forgoing all else to sit in a darkened hall to witness hours of intense lectures and art works. Happily. Eagerly. Hungrily.
From ACM Opinion
Why Teaching a Robot to Fetch a Cup of Coffee Matters
In robotics, as in life, it often takes small steps to reach a big goal.
From ACM Opinion
Sorry, College Grads, I Probably Won't Hire You
Dear college graduates: The next month is going to be thrilling as you cross this major milestone in your education.
From ACM Opinion
Nicole Ozer, Tech Policy Director For Aclu of Northern California
If you think you're hearing about privacy all the time, you're probably right.
From ACM Opinion
4 Big Problems with Social Security Numbers
A Social Security number is like a skeleton key, able to unlock a kingdom of untold riches for identity thieves.
From ACM Opinion
Sal Khan: 'i Love Learning'
"If there was a Ph.D. in learning everything, I would do that," the always-enthusiastic Sal Khan '98, MEng '98 said in a talk Wednesday at MIT's Kresge Auditorium.
From ACM Opinion
What Is the Syrian Electronic Army Trying to Accomplish, Anyway?
In June 2011, just a few short months after protests first erupted in Syria, the country's president, Bashar Al-Assad, made a speech in which he thanked a group called the "Syrian Electronic Army" (SEA). Calling it a "virtual…
From ACM Opinion
Syrian Electronic Army Hacks Israel's Main Infrastructure Control System
The Syrian Electronic Army launched a successful cyberattack on the main infrastructure system of Haifa, one of the most important ports in Israel, disrupting the operation of the servers in charge of urban management systems…
From ACM Opinion
Measuring the Benefits of Tech Tools
When I was a young reporter we could not afford cellphones.
From ACM News
Is Massively Open Online Education a Threat or a Blessing?
In fall 2011, Sebastian Thrun, a research professor at Stanford, and Peter Norvig, the top scientist at Google, teamed up to develop and teach a free, online course on artificial intelligence.
From ACM Opinion
Apple: An End to Skeuomorphic Design?
Why do most smartphones make a clicking noise, like a camera shutter closing, when you take a picture with them? Why do the virtual pages of a book on a tablet appear to turn as you swipe across the screen?
From ACM Opinion
Why Vertical Search Is Threatening Google's Reign
Until recently, Google has dominated search. It has been the main stomping ground for consumers looking to buy products, visit sites, or conduct research.
From ACM Careers
Netflix, Reed Hastings Survive Missteps to Join Silicon Valley's Elite
On a normal weeknight, Netflix accounts for almost a third of all Internet traffic entering North American homes. That's more than YouTube, Hulu, Amazon.com, HBO Go, iTunes, and BitTorrent combined.
From ACM Opinion
Stephen Wolfram on Personal Analytics
Don't be surprised if Stephen Wolfram, the renowned complexity theorist, software company CEO, and night owl, wants to schedule a work call with you at 9 p.m. In fact, after a decade of logging every phone call he makes, Wolfram…
From ACM Opinion
The Man Behind the Google Brain: Andrew Ng and the Quest For the New AI
There's a theory that human intelligence stems from a single algorithm.
From ACM Opinion
Bruces Sterling's Vision of the Future City
In 2050, the Earth's population is expected to hit 10 billion, and 75% of those people will live in cities.
From ACM Opinion
Jaron Lanier on the Cheap Treats and Religious Emotion of Moore's Law
Moore's Law is Silicon Valley’s guiding principle, like all 10 commandments wrapped into one.
From ACM Opinion
Intelligent Robots Will Overtake Humans By 2100, Experts Say
Are you prepared to meet your robot overlords?
From ACM Opinion
Innovation Starvation
My lifespan encompasses the era when the United States of America was capable of launching human beings into space.
From ACM Opinion
Superhero or Supervillain?
From invisibility to superhuman strength to telekinesis, a wave of emerging technologies promise to give people powers once reserved for comic-book characters.
From ACM Careers
Why iPhone Accessory Makers Love Bluetooth
Apple's closed ecosystem is losing the battle for how we connect our mobile devices to accessories as open solutions like Bluetooth dominate over Apple's proprietary dock connector and AirPlay standards.
From ACM Opinion
Why We Often View Digital Culture Through Insect Metaphors
Swarms. Hive minds. The Web.
From ACM News
China Sees Cyberwar as Reducing .s. Advantage in Future Conflict
It's one thing to read news concerning the latest report to Congress by the U.S. Department of Defense on China's latest military activities. But with regard to China's evolving stance and capabilities in the cyber arena, it's…