Communications of the ACM
The opinion archive provides access to past opinion stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
May 2016
From ACM Opinion
What Would Happen If G.p.s. Failed?
The radio signal that is the lifeblood of the Global Positioning System originates from a constellation of twenty-four satellites, orbiting more than twelve thousand miles above Earth.
From ACM Opinion
After Moore's Law: Predicting The Future Beyond Silicon Chips
For several decades now, Georgia Tech professor Tom Conte has been studying how to improve computers: "How do we make them faster and more efficient next time around versus what we just made?"
From ACM Opinion
How Wooden Toys Teach Kids to Code
Like most parents, I want my young children to be prepared for the future—one in which knowing how to program a computer will be a basic skill, like clicking "Skip Ad" on YouTube.
From ACM TechNews
Promoting Women in Science
Utrecht University professor Lynda Hardman discusses the pressing need to promote participation of women in science in the Netherlands.
From ACM Opinion
The Future of Encryption Is in These Politicians' Hands
Encryption is complicated. Legislating for it, even more so.
From ACM Careers
Is the Tech Bubble Popping? Ping Pong Offers an Answer
Twitter's gloomy quarterly report last week unsettled investors. They might have anticipated trouble more than a year ago had they noticed one key indicator.
From ACM Opinion
An Ipad Misplaced at the Airport Takes Its Own Vacation
Last month, Shelby Bonnie's iPad vanished from his carry-on bag somewhere at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after a red-eye flight from San Francisco. He figured he would never see it again.
From ACM Opinion
Left Behind in the Mobile Revolution, Intel Struggles to Innovate
Intel was once known for its success in branding personal computers with microprocessors, a technology that fueled the digital revolution. But the Silicon Valley veteran announced last month it would lay off 11 percent of its…
From ACM Opinion
You Can't Escape Data Surveillance In America
In America, surveillance has always played an outsized role in the relationship between creditors and debtors.
From ACM Opinion
Is Predictive Policing the Law-Enforcement Tactic of the Future?
As big data transforms industries ranging from retailing to health care, it’s also becoming a more important tool for police departments, which are turning to data and analysis in an effort to boost their effectiveness.
From Communications of the ACM
Beyond Blocks: Syntax and Semantics
How the future of general-purpose programming tools could include blocks-based structured editing, and how we should study students transitioning to text-based programming tools.
From Communications of the ACM
Preserving Hybrid Objects
Brutal lessons from contemporary art.
From Communications of the ACM
How to Increase the Security of Smart Buildings?
Surveying unresolved security problems for automated buildings.
From Communications of the ACM
The Internet of Things We Don't Own?
Who will control the 'ordinary pursuits of life' in the digital economy?
From Communications of the ACM
Do Patent Commons and Standards-Setting Organizations Help Navigate Patent Thickets?
Examining the institutions underlying the patent system for information and communication technologies.