Communications of the ACM
The opinion archive provides access to past opinion stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
July 2011
From ACM TechNews
It Security: Staying Ahead of the Curve
The size and scope of cybersecurity needs to account for the integration of information technology into everything, says Robert Brammer with the Northrop Grumman Cybersecurity Research Consortium in an interview.
From ACM News
Former CIA Director: Build a New Internet to Improve Cybersecurity
The United States may seriously want to consider creating a new Internet infrastructure to reduce the threat of cyberattacks, said Michael Hayden, President George W. Bush's CIA director.
From ACM Opinion
A Gold Standard in Cyber-Defense
The history of Internet security is both worrisome and instructive. When the first virus — the "Morris worm"—was launched in 1988, the Internet was a closed system of 60,000 computers used almost exclusively by academic, government…
From ACM News
Kevin Mitnick Shows How Easy It Is to Hack a Phone
British tabloid News of the World said it is closing down over a phone hacking scandal in which workers for the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspaper allegedly snooped on voice mail messages left on the mobile phones of murder victims…
From ACM News
Should the Government Need a Search Warrant to Track Your Car with Gps?
The Supreme Court ended its term with a high-profile ruling that violent video games are protected by the First Amendment, but a bigger technology decision could be looming. The court agreed to hear a case next term about…
From ACM Opinion
Nasa's Lessons From The Outer Limits
In April 1981, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration launched a space shuttle program meant to take astronauts, cargo, research experiments and military equipment into low Earth orbit. The shuttle mission, called…
From ACM Opinion
The Tragic Decline of Blackberry
Research In Motion (RIM), makers of the venerable BlackBerry devices, will always be remembered as the company that liberated corporate email from the PC. In fact, you could make a compelling case that the first BlackBerrys…
From ACM Opinion
A Collision of Creativity and Cash at Disney/pixar
When the Walt Disney Company bought Pixar Animation Studios for $7.4 billion in 2006, there was understandable concern that the media conglomerate that drove the famed Disney animation unit into the ground with duds like "Home…
From ACM TechNews
The A-Z of Programming Languages: Shakespeare
In an interview, Swedish programmers Jon Aslund and Karl Wiberg say they created the Shakespeare Programming Language in one night while they were studying at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm.
From ACM Opinion
Google+ Contributor and Mac Pioneer Talks with CNET
Thirty years ago, Andy Hertzfeld was a young computer engineer working at Apple Computer on the first Macintosh under the leadership of Steve Jobs. As Jobs had repeatedly promised the small team, their creation would change…
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, and the benefit of hindsight, it seems appropriate to ask a…
From ACM News
Real .s. Stealth-Tech Advantage: Its Assembly Lines
For more than 20 years, the U.S. Air Force had a world monopoly on radar-evading technology—and with it, a huge advantage over any rival. Several generations of stealth fighters and bombers, from the earliest F-117s to the…
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 laughter at the victim of a prank. For 50 days until it disbanded…
From ACM News
Games and Learning: Seven Questions For Mary Flanagan
A professor of digital humanities at Dartmouth College, Mary Flanagan has spent her career thinking critically about a topic that most of us take for granted: Play.
From Communications of the ACM
Too Many Copyrights?
Reinstituting formalities — notice of copyright claims and registration requirements — could help address problems related to too many copyrights that last for too many years.
From Communications of the ACM
Values in Design
Focusing on socio-technical design with values as a critical component in the design process.
From Communications of the ACM
Non-Myths About Programming
Viewing computer science in a broader context to dispel common misperceptions and provide more accurate guidance to students who are deliberating its study.
From Communications of the ACM
Driving Power in Global Supply Chains
Supply chains are increasingly global. We pour energy into managing them efficiently, with their risks and rewards. Yet we do not know enough about how profits are…
From Communications of the ACM
The Status of Women of Color in Computer Science
Addressing the challenges of increasing the number of women of color in computing and ensuring their success.