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What Would Happen If G.p.s. Failed?
From ACM Opinion

What Would Happen If G.p.s. Failed?

The radio signal that is the lifeblood of the Global Positioning System originates from a constellation of twenty-four satellites, orbiting more than twelve thousand...

How Wooden Toys Teach Kids to Code
From ACM Opinion

How Wooden Toys Teach Kids to Code

Like most parents,  I want my young children to be prepared for the future—one in which knowing how to program a computer will be a basic skill, like clicking "Skip...

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.

An Ipad Misplaced at the Airport Takes Its Own Vacation
From ACM Opinion

An Ipad Misplaced at the Airport Takes Its Own Vacation

Last month, Shelby Bonnie's iPad vanished from his carry-on bag somewhere at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport after a red-eye flight from San Francisco...

You Can't Escape Data Surveillance In America
From ACM Opinion

You Can't Escape Data Surveillance In America

In America, surveillance has always played an outsized role in the relationship between creditors and debtors.

Is Predictive Policing the Law-Enforcement Tactic of the Future?
From ACM Opinion

Is Predictive Policing the Law-Enforcement Tactic of the Future?

As big data transforms industries ranging from retailing to health care, it’s also becoming a more important tool for police departments, which are turning to data...

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.

Can Starshot Work?
From ACM Opinion

Can Starshot Work?

A couple of weeks ago the world heard about the most seriously funded (and perhaps the most serious) effort yet for starting us on the pathway to interstellar travel...

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...

Preserving Hybrid Objects
From Communications of the ACM

Preserving Hybrid Objects

Brutal lessons from contemporary art.

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.

Beyond Blocks
From Communications of the ACM

Beyond Blocks: Syntax and Semantics

How the future of general-purpose programming tools could include blocks-based structured editing, and how we should study students transitioning to text-based...

The Internet of Things We Don't Own?
From Communications of the ACM

The Internet of Things We Don't Own?

Who will control the 'ordinary pursuits of life' in the digital economy?

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...
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