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The Secret Signals That Rule Transport Networks
From ACM Opinion

The Secret Signals That Rule Transport Networks

It is early morning on Brighton beach, and we are sitting on a slope of pebbles, looking out to sea.

Will Smell Ever Come to Smartphones?
From ACM Opinion

Will Smell Ever Come to Smartphones?

Two years ago, at the American Museum of Natural History, in New York, I witnessed David Edwards receive what he claimed was the world's first transatlantic ...

One Easy Way to Make Wikipedia Better
From ACM Opinion

One Easy Way to Make Wikipedia Better

The Pacific Northwest tree octopus existed years before Wikipedia was founded. I’m using "existed" loosely here, of course, because there's no such thing as a Pacific...

Do Patent Commons and Standards-Setting Organizations Help Navigate Patent Thickets?
From Communications of the ACM

Do Patent Commons and Standards-Setting Organizations Help Navigate Patent Thickets?

Examining the institutions underlying the patent system for information and communication technologies.

Europe's Web Privacy Rules: Bad For Google, Bad For Everyone
From ACM Opinion

Europe's Web Privacy Rules: Bad For Google, Bad For Everyone

It's been a rough few months for Google in Europe.

What Cyberwar Against Isis Should Look Like
From ACM Opinion

What Cyberwar Against Isis Should Look Like

Pentagon officials have publicly said, in recent weeks, that they're hitting ISIS not only with bullets and bombs but also with cyberoffensive operations.

Who's Responsible When a Self-Driving Car Crashes?
From ACM Opinion

Who's Responsible When a Self-Driving Car Crashes?

Valentine's Day was a bummer in Mountain View, Calif. For the first time, one of Google's self-driving cars, a modified Lexus SUV, caused a crash.

A Year with the Apple Watch: What Works, What Doesn't, and What Lies Ahead?
From ACM Opinion

A Year with the Apple Watch: What Works, What Doesn't, and What Lies Ahead?

About a year ago, Apple announced and released its first Apple Watch. The long-rumored product was Apple’s first all-new product category since the iPad and its...

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...

Have Comment Sections on News Media Websites Failed?
From ACM Opinion

Have Comment Sections on News Media Websites Failed?

Many newspapers and online media companies have begun disabling comment sections because of widespread abuse and obscenity.

All Hail Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, King of the Bots
From ACM Opinion

All Hail Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg, King of the Bots

Mark Zuckerberg was once the boy king of Silicon Valley. Now he wants to be the bot king of Silicon Valley.

A Court Is About to Make One of the Most Important Decisions in the History of the Internet
From ACM Opinion

A Court Is About to Make One of the Most Important Decisions in the History of the Internet

If you thought the battle over net neutrality ended when the Federal Communications Commission slapped a series of unprecedented rules on Internet providers last...

How Early Computer Games Influenced Internet Culture
From ACM Opinion

How Early Computer Games Influenced Internet Culture

Sometimes it seems the Internet is, at its core, a tremendous nostalgia machine.

Intelligence Committee Leaders Release Discussion Draft of Encryption Bill
From ACM Opinion

Intelligence Committee Leaders Release Discussion Draft of Encryption Bill

Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and Vice Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today released the Compliance with Court Orders...

I'm the First Quadriplegic Person to Regain Thought-Control of My Arm
From ACM Opinion

I'm the First Quadriplegic Person to Regain Thought-Control of My Arm

I'm the first quadriplegic person in the world to use my own thoughts to control my own arm. It's a pretty neat experience.

The Internet Archive, Bricks and Mortar Version
From ACM Opinion

The Internet Archive, Bricks and Mortar Version

A heavily rusted cast iron ring sits on a bookshelf inside a neoclassical church a few blocks north of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. The ring is about an inch...

­nite to Build a Quantum Internet
From ACM Opinion

­nite to Build a Quantum Internet

Almost 25 years ago, physicists discovered a way of 'teleporting' a quantum system from one place to another without moving it.

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.

Why Robots Need to Be Able to Say 'no'
From ACM Opinion

Why Robots Need to Be Able to Say 'no'

Should you always do what other people tell you to do?
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