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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...

Who's Downloading Pirated Papers? Everyone
From ACM Opinion

Who's Downloading Pirated Papers? Everyone

In increasing numbers, researchers around the world are turning to Sci-Hub, the world's largest pirate website for scholarly literature, to access research papers...

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.

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.

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.

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.
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