Communications of the ACM
The opinion archive provides access to past opinion stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
August 2012
From ACM TechNews
How Algorithms Rule the World
Christopher Steiner talks about his book, "Automate This: How Algorithms Came to Rule Our World," which explores how the power of algorithms has spread far beyond Wall Street and now touches all aspects of modern life.
From ACM Opinion
Samsung Defeats Apple (in South Korea and Japan)
Did Samsung really steal Apple’s innovations? It all depends on where you live.
From ACM News
From Smart to Genius: Will Design Define Future Gadgets?
In a pre-iPhone age, mobile phones came in all shapes and sizes. Remember the clamshell, candy bar, swivel, backflip, slider, dual-slider, lipstick, and, of course, the taco?
From ACM Opinion
How Steve Jobs' Love of Simplicity Fueled A Design Revolution
Steve Jobs' interest in design began with his love for his childhood home.
From ACM Opinion
10 Things We'd Like to See Tim Cook Do in His Next Year at Apple
It's officially the anniversary of the day Steve Jobs resigned as CEO of Apple and let Tim Cook take the reins.
From ACM Opinion
Connoisseur of Chaos
As a high school student in a Detroit suburb in the 1990s, Russ Tedrake did not fit the standard profile of a future computer science professor.
From ACM Opinion
The 'surround Computing' Era Is Just Around the Corner
The 'surround computing' era is coming soon, according to Mark Papermaster, the chief technology officer of chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices.
From ACM Opinion
Why You Should Probably Disable Java on Your Browser Right Now
Hackers have found a flaw in Oracle's Java software that allows them to break into users' computers and install nasty malware, security experts report.
From ACM News
Massive Cyberattack: Act 1 of Israeli Strike on Iran?
Talk in Israel of a military strike on Iranian nuclear facilities has reached a fever pitch.
From ACM Opinion
Apple-Samsung Jury Foreman Recalls 'aha! Moment'
According to Velvin Hogan, the 67-year-old foreman of the jury in the U.S. trial between the Apple and Samsung, one of the turning points in group's journey to a verdict came after some deep thinking at home.
From ACM Opinion
Todd Akin and the Anti-Science House Science Committee
Aside from the sheer biological ludicrousness of Todd Akin's ideas on female physiology, one unsettling subplot to the debacle is his presence on the House of Committee on Science, Space and Technology.
From ACM Opinion
Apple's Big Win Over Samsung—what Does It Mean?
History buffs will note that Apple scored one of the most lopsided victories since Agincourt on Tim Cook's one-year anniversary as the company's CEO.
From ACM Opinion
Apple Case Muddies the Future of Innovations
Apple's victory on Friday in a patent lawsuit against Samsung could, if upheld, give its rivals a kick in the pants to create more original products.
From ACM Opinion
The ncanny Valley of Internet Advertising
If you ask an Internet ad guy to defend himself—to explain why you, dear Web surfer, should feel comfortable letting him serve you ads based on everything you do online—you’ll likely hear two arguments.
From ACM Opinion
Giving In to the Surveillance State
In March 2002, John M. Poindexter, a former national security adviser to President Ronald Reagan, sat down with Gen. Michael V. Hayden, the director of the National Security Agency. Mr. Poindexter sketched out a new Pentagon…
From ACM Opinion
Our Favorite 'forgotten Tech'—from Beos to Zip Drives
We all know about the gadgets that get showered with constant praise—the icons, the segment leaders, and the game changers. Tech history will never forget the Altair 8800, the Walkman, the BlackBerry, and the iPhone.
From ACM Opinion
Christopher Soghoian
Christopher Soghoian sniffs out security holes and privacy shortcomings on the Web. Then he urges companies that are responsible—Google, AT&T, and Dropbox have been among them—to halt practices that put consumers' personal information…
From ACM Opinion
One Year In: What We've Learned About Ceo Tim Cook
When Tim Cook was named permanent chief executive of Apple a year ago Friday, most discussion centered on what Jobsian qualities and trademark values Cook didn't possess: He's not a product visionary, or "crazy" or charismatic…
From ACM Opinion
New Guide from Eff: Keeping Your Site Alive
Denial of service attacks—flooding Web sites with traffic in order to make them unavailable to the public—have become an increasingly popular way to take down or block Internet content.
From ACM Opinion
Neal Stephenson on Kickstarter, Swordfighting, and the Big Novel's Staying Power
The first line in any story about Neal Stephenson will reference his massive, massively complicated, and massively successful novels.
From ACM TechNews
The Big Apple's Big Data Advantage
Microsoft's new research lab in Manhattan will focus on big data analysis, examining massive amounts of information created by the world's digital users, says lab director Jennifer Chayes.
From ACM Opinion
Bring It: A Call For Candidates to Debate Science Policy
Innovation, economic growth, and climate change are just a few of the challenges and opportunities that face the U.S. They are also firmly linked to science.
From ACM Opinion
Why Apple Might Be Better Off Losing Its Patent Lawsuit
Could it be in Apple’s self-interest to lose its bitter court battle with Samsung?
From ACM Opinion
Forget the Desktop
Every morning I wake up too early, reach for my iPad, and scan the morning's tech headlines. This is a pathetic enough existence, but the Web sites I frequent aren't helping.
From ACM Opinion
Plagiarism, Defamation, and the Power of Hyperlinks
What do Fareed Zakaria, Jonah Lehrer, and Gawker Media have in common? In different ways, the incidents that have thrust all three into the news recently help to show the power of the simple hyperlink, which Sir Tim Berners-Lee …
From ACM Opinion
Will the Next Election Be Hacked?
Two years ago, hackers gained access to an online voting system created by the District of Columbia and altered every ballot on behalf of their own preferred candidates.
From ACM Opinion
Kentucky Lawmakers Shocked to Find Evolution in Biology Tests
A report surfaced this week that suggests Kentucky legislators may be experiencing a sort of cognitive dissonance that is likely to be a preview of things we can expect elsewhere.
From ACM Opinion
Five Things I've Learned from 20 Years of Email
It's been 20 years since I got my first-ever email address. Back then, I read email with a 2,400 bps modem. Today, emails reach me instantaneously on my phone whereever I am.
From ACM Opinion
Epic Mickey Creator Wants to 'shame' Doom and nreal Makers: Why He's Not Wrong
I never got around to playing Epic Mickey, and that’s a shame, because I’ve played nearly everything else by game design luminary Warren Spector.
From ACM TechNews
Climate Science Triggers Torrent of Big Data Challenges
ORNL supercomputers running models to assess climate change ramifications and mitigation tactics are rapidly generating a wide variety of big data in vast volumes.