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From ACM Opinion

No Objections to Nano?

Some forms of biotechnology have become notoriously controversial. Genetic modification of crops, for example, altered the food supply in ways some consumers...

From ACM Opinion

Facebook Is Using You

Last week, Facebook filed documents with the government that will allow it to sell shares of stock to the public. It is estimated to be worth at least $75 billion...

'a Clockwork Orange' Strikes 40
From ACM Opinion

'a Clockwork Orange' Strikes 40

The New York Times recently ran an opinion piece about the concept of a morality pill, a theoretical-but-apparently-not-implausible panacea for humankind's ethical...

From ACM Opinion

Privacy, Technology, and Law

Every day, those of us who live in the digital world give little bits of ourselves away. On Facebook and LinkedIn. To servers that store our email, Google searches...

From ACM Opinion

How to Tackle Cybersecurity

There is a right way and a wrong way to address cybersecurity.

Beyond Sopa
From ACM Opinion

Beyond Sopa

We welcomed the collapse this month of two flawed bills to prevent online piracy, bills that could have stifled speech and undermined Internet safety. But piracy...

How Can the U.s. Seize a 'hong Kong Site' Like Megaupload?
From ACM Opinion

How Can the U.s. Seize a 'hong Kong Site' Like Megaupload?

The Megaupload takedown, and the arrest of its key employees, might seem to vindicate late 1990s worries about the Internet and jurisdiction. Does putting a site...

From ACM Opinion

Why 2012, Despite Privacy Fears, Isn't Like Orwell's 1984

Last week was a remarkable one for the Web: A week that proved George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four" incredibly prescient yet woefully incorrect.

What Have We Learned About Software Engineering?
From Communications of the ACM

What Have We Learned About Software Engineering?

Upon closer examination, everything old appears to be new again in the realm of software engineering.

Emotion and Security
From Communications of the ACM

Emotion and Security

Examining the role of human emotional response in making complex security-related decisions.

Wanton Acts of Debuggery
From Communications of the ACM

Wanton Acts of Debuggery

Keep your debug messages clear, useful, and not annoying.

Yet Another Technology Cusp
From Communications of the ACM

Yet Another Technology Cusp: Confusion, Vendor Wars, and Opportunities

Considering the unexpected risks associated with seemingly minor technological changes.

Peer Instruction
From Communications of the ACM

Peer Instruction: A Teaching Method to Foster Deep Understanding

How the computing education community can learn from physics education.

Incentive Auctions
From Communications of the ACM

Incentive Auctions

Reallocating valuable wireless spectrum can generate billions of dollars in revenue to the U.S. federal government while also benefiting consumers.

From ACM Opinion

Internet Access Is Not a Human Right

From the streets of Tunis to Tahrir Square and beyond, protests around the world last year were built on the Internet and the many devices that interact with...

Smoke Screening
From ACM Opinion

Smoke Screening

Not until I walked with Bruce Schneier toward the mass of people unloading their laptops did it occur to me that it might not be possible for us to hang around...

Interfaces For the Ordinary User
From Communications of the ACM

Interfaces For the Ordinary User: Can We Hide Too Much?

Increasing the visibility and access to underlying file structure on consumer devices can vastly improve the user experience.

The IBM PC
From Communications of the ACM

The IBM PC: From Beige Box to Industry Standard

Looking back at three decades of PC platform evolution.

The Difference Engine
From Communications of the ACM

The Difference Engine

Observations on cognitive diversity and team performance.

The Yin and Yang of Copyright and Technology
From Communications of the ACM

The Yin and Yang of Copyright and Technology

Examining the recurring conflicts between copyright and technology from piano rolls to domain-name filtering.
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