Communications of the ACM
The opinion archive provides access to past opinion stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
September 2011
From ACM Opinion
The Calm Before the Storm
Revelations of wholesale electronic fraud and massive data heists have become weekly, even daily affairs.
From ACM Opinion
Myth-Making: Say It Often, People Will Believe
The United States is reeling from a hurricane, drought, heat waves, and even an earthquake in Virginia. And we're already well into a nasty national election campaign. Now is the time to get those rumors flying, because science…
From ACM News
Cryptocurrency
The bitcoin, a virtual medium of exchange, could be a real alternative to government-issued money—but only if it survives hoarding by speculators.
From ACM Opinion
Eff to Court: Don't Let Government Hide Illegal Surveillance
The Electronic Frontier Foundation urged the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday to preserve lawsuits challenging the government's illegal mass surveillance of millions of ordinary Americans.
From Communications of the ACM
Managing Time, Part 2
Masterful time management means not just tracking of messages in your personal environment, but managing your coordination network with others.
From Communications of the ACM
Remix Nation
Assessing the threat the anticircumvention provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act pose for fair use.
From Communications of the ACM
Corporate Social Responsibility and Global IT Outsourcing
How to improve IT outsourcing relationships while doing good for society.
From Communications of the ACM
Realizing the Value of Social Media Requires Innovative Computing Research
How social media are expanding traditional research and development topics for computer and information scientists.
From Communications of the ACM
Arrogance in Business Planning
Technology business plans that assume no competition — ever.
From Communications of the ACM
In Praise of 'Wilkes, Wheeler, and Gill'
Sixty years ago, Maurice Wilkes, David Wheeler, and Stanley Gill produced the first textbook on programming: The Preparation of Programs for an Electronic Digital Computer. It was a publication that spearheaded the software revolution…