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Barefoot Networks' New Chips Will Transform the Tech Industry
From ACM Opinion

Barefoot Networks' New Chips Will Transform the Tech Industry

Nick McKeown and his new startup, Barefoot Networks, just launched out of stealth. That's Silicon Valley-speak for trumpeting the arrival of your new startup in...

The Woeful Tsa Doesn't Need More Staff. It Needs This Tech
From ACM Opinion

The Woeful Tsa Doesn't Need More Staff. It Needs This Tech

American airport security has never been something to look forward to, but in the past few weeks, it's attained new levels of misery.

The Oracle-Google Case Will Decide the Future of Software
From ACM Opinion

The Oracle-Google Case Will Decide the Future of Software

The legal battle  between Oracle and Google is about to come to an end. And nothing less is as stake than the future of programming.

Peek Into the Weird and Wonderful Age of AI (yes, There's a Chatbot)
From ACM Opinion

Peek Into the Weird and Wonderful Age of AI (yes, There's a Chatbot)

On March 23, Microsoft revealed Tay, a Twitter bot trained to chat like a millennial. It worked … too well.

Okcupid Study Reveals the Perils of Big-Data Science
From ACM Opinion

Okcupid Study Reveals the Perils of Big-Data Science

On May 8, a group of Danish researchers publicly released a dataset of nearly 70,000 users of the online dating site OkCupid, including usernames, age, gender,...

The Future of Encryption Is in These Politicians' Hands
From ACM Opinion

The Future of Encryption Is in These Politicians' Hands

Encryption is complicated. Legislating for it, even more so.

Making the Web Just a Second Faster Would Be a Big Deal
From ACM Opinion

Making the Web Just a Second Faster Would Be a Big Deal

The web is too damn slow.

700 Million People Just Got Encryption That Congress Can't Touch
From ACM Opinion

700 Million People Just Got Encryption That Congress Can't Touch

Last month, WhatsApp, the hugely popular messaging service that Facebook owns, made end-to-end encryption the default for its 1 billion users. On Tuesday, Viber...

You Pay to Read Research You Fund. That's Ludicrous
From ACM Opinion

You Pay to Read Research You Fund. That's Ludicrous

In 2011, developer and researcher Alexandra Elbakyan launched Sci-Hub, an online archive that shares research articles freely and openly without paywalls or restrictions...

Synthetic Biology Is … Complex. But This Exhibit Makes It a Blast
From ACM Opinion

Synthetic Biology Is … Complex. But This Exhibit Makes It a Blast

It takes at least a master's degree to fully understand synthetic biology, but grasping its importance requires far less.

The Senate's Draft Encryption Bill Is 'ludicrous, Dangerous, Technically Illiterate'
From ACM Opinion

The Senate's Draft Encryption Bill Is 'ludicrous, Dangerous, Technically Illiterate'

As Apple Battled the FBI for the last two months over the agency's demands that Apple help crack its own encryption, both the tech community and law enforcement...

Feds Set a Risky Precedent By Indicting 7 Iranian Hackers
From ACM Opinion

Feds Set a Risky Precedent By Indicting 7 Iranian Hackers

This week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) created a potentially dangerous precedent when it indicted seven Iranian hackers involved in attacks on the US financial...

Apple's Carekit Is the Best Argument Yet For Strong Encryption
From ACM Opinion

Apple's Carekit Is the Best Argument Yet For Strong Encryption

On the eve of his company’s court date with the FBI, where it will defend its right to not weaken the security of its own devices, Apple CEO Tim Cook took the stage...

Self-Driving Cars Won't Work ­ntil We Change Our Roads—and Attitudes
From ACM Opinion

Self-Driving Cars Won't Work ­ntil We Change Our Roads—and Attitudes

Autonomous vehicles will join human drivers on our roads sooner than most people think.

How the Feds Could Get Into Iphones Without Apple's Help
From ACM News

How the Feds Could Get Into Iphones Without Apple's Help

It's a showdown that has the country mesmerized.

Forcing Apple to Hack That Iphone Sets a Dangerous Precedent
From ACM Opinion

Forcing Apple to Hack That Iphone Sets a Dangerous Precedent

Are Apple and other tech companies somehow against America's national security if they create uncrackable encryption software that government investigators or even...

Apple's Fbi Battle Is Complicated. Here's What's Really Going On
From ACM News

Apple's Fbi Battle Is Complicated. Here's What's Really Going On

The news this week that a magistrate ordered Apple to help the FBI hack an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooter suspects has polarized the nation—and...

Obama's Cybersecurity Plan Is Meant to Secure His Legacy
From ACM Opinion

Obama's Cybersecurity Plan Is Meant to Secure His Legacy

The end of White House terms are often about trying to shape historic legacies, and President Obama is out to build his in the new area of cybersecurity.

AI Is Transforming Google Search. The Rest of the Web Is Next
From ACM Opinion

AI Is Transforming Google Search. The Rest of the Web Is Next

Yesterday, the 46-year-old Google veteran who oversees its search engine, Amit Singhal, announced his retirement. And in short order, Google revealed that Singhal's...

Proposed State Bans on Phone Encryption Make Zero Sense
From ACM Opinion

Proposed State Bans on Phone Encryption Make Zero Sense

American politics has long accepted the strange notion that just a pair of states—namely Iowa and New Hampshire—get an outsize vote in choosing America’s next president...
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