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Stupid, Stupid xBox!!
From ACM Opinion

Stupid, Stupid xBox!!

I was a founder of the original xBox project at Microsoft and gave it its name.

Apple and Samsung, Frenemies For Life
From ACM Opinion

Apple and Samsung, Frenemies For Life

It was the late Steve Jobs' worst nightmare. A powerful Asian manufacturer, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, uses Google Inc's Android software to create smartphones...

The Threat of Silence
From ACM Careers

The Threat of Silence

For the past few months, some of the world's leading cryptographers have been keeping a closely guarded secret about a pioneering new invention.

Can Machines Learn Morality?
From ACM Opinion

Can Machines Learn Morality?

When John Brennan, President Obama's choice to be the next head of the CIA, appeared before a Senate committee yesterday, one question supplanted all others at...

­nseen, All-Out Cyber War on the ­.s. Has Begun
From ACM Opinion

­nseen, All-Out Cyber War on the ­.s. Has Begun

There's a war going on, and it's raging here at home—not in the streets or the fields, but on the Internet.

Phreaks and Geeks
From ACM Opinion

Phreaks and Geeks

One of the most heartfelt—and unexpected—remembrances of Aaron Swartz, who committed suicide last month at the age of 26, came from Yale professor Edward Tufte.

Don't Like Television? Then You're Not Going to Like the Future of Twitter Very Much
From ACM Opinion

Don't Like Television? Then You're Not Going to Like the Future of Twitter Very Much

According to a number of anonymous reports, Twitter is in the process of buying Bluefin Labs, an analytics company that specializes in broadcast media—an acquisition...

Geeks Are the New Guardians of Our Civil Liberties
From ACM Opinion

Geeks Are the New Guardians of Our Civil Liberties

A decade-plus of anthropological fieldwork among hackers and like-minded geeks has led me to the firm conviction that these people are building one of the most...

The Increasingly Blurry Line Between Big Data and Big Brother
From ACM Opinion

The Increasingly Blurry Line Between Big Data and Big Brother

The potential benefits of "big data" have been well described, both by us and others: the ability to spot flu trends earlier and potentially save lives, for example...

Eric Schmidt ­nloads on China in New Book
From ACM Opinion

Eric Schmidt ­nloads on China in New Book

Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt is brutally clear: China is the most dangerous superpower on Earth.

Inside the Targeted Attack on The New York Times
From ACM Opinion

Inside the Targeted Attack on The New York Times

The Chinese group behind the targeted attack on The New York Times was laser focused on accessing the email of a reporter and the newspaper’s former Beijing bureau...

How to Build the Perfect Gaming Pc For 2013–and Beyond
From ACM Opinion

How to Build the Perfect Gaming Pc For 2013–and Beyond

There's little doubt that PC gaming is undergoing a renaissance at the moment.

A Fuzzy and Shifting Line Between Hacker and Criminal
From ACM Opinion

A Fuzzy and Shifting Line Between Hacker and Criminal

In January 2011, I was assigned to cover a hearing in Newark, where Daniel Spitler, then 26, stood accused of breaching AT&T's servers and stealing 114,000 email...

The Two Classes of Cyber Threats
From ACM Opinion

The Two Classes of Cyber Threats

There is one number that matters most in cybersecurity.

Cellphone Chips Will Remake the Server World. Period.
From ACM News

Cellphone Chips Will Remake the Server World. Period.

Facebook recently ran an experiment. Inside a test lab, somewhere behind the scenes at the world's most popular network, engineers sidled up to a computer server...

Talking, Walking Objects
From ACM Opinion

Talking, Walking Objects

Meeting Simon for the first time was one of the most sublime experiences I've had. With every coy head nod, casual hand wave and deep eye gaze, I felt he already...

Becoming Biohackers: Learning the Game
From ACM Careers

Becoming Biohackers: Learning the Game

When you have lunch courtesy of the FBI, you are offered chicken Caesar salad, hamburger, or fish.

Innovation Is Messy Business
From ACM Opinion

Innovation Is Messy Business

Nine years ago, Boeing Co. BA executives decided to take the biggest leap in airliner technology in a generation and develop the 787 Dreamliner.

Crapware Won't Crap Out
From ACM Opinion

Crapware Won't Crap Out

For a few years now, I've been expecting to write an obituary for crapware. Or not an obit, exactly—I was hoping to dance on its grave.

Apple Shouldn't Make Software Look Like Real Objects
From ACM Opinion

Apple Shouldn't Make Software Look Like Real Objects

Last fall Apple fired executive Scott Forstall, considered by many to be a Steve Jobs protégé.
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