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Patently Obvious
From ACM Opinion

Patently Obvious

On Monday the Supreme Court will consider whether to fundamentally alter the way American patent law is litigated. Specifically, in the context of an otherwise...

The Web's Trust Issues
From ACM Opinion

The Web's Trust Issues

The most dubious phrase in English after "act natural" is "trust me." A party asking for trust without offering a reason why is probably untrustworthy. And yet...

Just How Creepy Is 'creepy'? A Test-Drive
From ACM News

Just How Creepy Is 'creepy'? A Test-Drive

You probably know that some Internet and cell phone applications like Foursquare or Twitter can broadcast your location to the world. And you might know that...

Why Cisco's Flip Flopped in the Camera Business
From ACM News

Why Cisco's Flip Flopped in the Camera Business

Cisco is shutting down a business unit that it bought for over half-a-billion dollars: the Flip camcorder division. That's a shame, considering how high the Flip...

Forget Space Travel: It's Just a Dream
From ACM Opinion

Forget Space Travel: It's Just a Dream

The clash of two titans—physics and chemistry—are major barriers to human space travel to Mars and beyond, and may well make it impossible... at least with current...

No More Privacy Paranoia
From ACM Opinion

No More Privacy Paranoia

Want Web companies to stop using our personal data? Be ready to suffer the consequences.

Why I Don't Own a Kindle
From ACM Opinion

Why I Don't Own a Kindle

I've done my part to prop up the consumer-electronics industry in recent years: a flat-panel TV downstairs and one upstairs, his and hers smartphones, not-too...

From ACM Opinion

Patents and Innovation

The tech world has recently seen an explosion in patent litigation, often involving low-quality software patents, which threatens to stifle innovation.

Where Will Larry Page Lead Google?
From ACM Opinion

Where Will Larry Page Lead Google?

In the 10 years since the last time Larry Page was Google's chief executive, the company has changed a bit. It has gone from an ambitious startup to a publicly...

From ACM Opinion

China's War in Cyberspace, August

Strategic theorists frequently lament that military planners are very effective at preparing for the last war, not the next one. Planners today must cope with...

Coder's Block
From Communications of the ACM

Coder's Block

Programming is a creative endeavor, and therefore there is such a thing as coder's block. What does it take to clear the blockage?

Platform Wars Come to Social Media
From Communications of the ACM

Platform Wars Come to Social Media

The world can absorb more social media sites, but how many?

Managing Global IT Teams: Considering Cultural Dynamics
From Communications of the ACM

Managing Global IT Teams: Considering Cultural Dynamics

Successful global IT team managers combine general distributed team management skills enhanced with cultural sensitivity.

Japan Has Shifted 13 Feet!
From ACM News

Japan Has Shifted 13 Feet!

What does Japan's earthquake mean for GPS? Friday's 9.0-magnitude earthquake was so powerful that it actually widened Japan. While parts of the country barely...

The Future of Mobile Gadgets
From ACM Opinion

The Future of Mobile Gadgets

I got my first cell phone a little more than a decade ago, just as I was finishing college and looking for my first job. I didn't need a mobile phone; none of...

Another Win For Artificial Intelligence: The Turing Award
From ACM Opinion

Another Win For Artificial Intelligence: The Turing Award

It's been a banner year or so for artificial intelligence, from the recent triumph of I.B.M.'s Jeopardy-winning supercomputer to a wave of news coverage of the...

From ACM Opinion

Google Schools Its Algorithm

To humans, computer intelligence is a puzzle, as if the machines have split personalities. They can be so remarkably smart at times, yet so bafflingly dumb at...

From ACM News

Is the Navy Trying to Start the Robot Apocalypse?

Whenever the military rolls out a new robot program, folks like to joke about SkyNet or the Rise of the Machines. But this time, the military really is starting...

My Puny Human Brain
From ACM Opinion

My Puny Human Brain

Jeopardy! genius Ken Jennings on what it's like to play against a supercomputer.

Gadget Politics: Why Tech Fans Share the Love and Hate
From ACM Opinion

Gadget Politics: Why Tech Fans Share the Love and Hate

I’ve been a consumer technology critic for over 10 years. During that time, hate mail has been part of my job every day.
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