Communications of the ACM
Innovation Is Overrated: A Provocation
Digital innovation is not working in the interest of the whole of society. It is time to radically rethink its purpose without…
From ACM Opinion
Why Big Data Has Some Big Problems When It Comes to Public Policy
For all the talk about using big data and data science to solve the world’s problems—and even all the talk about big data as one of the world’s problems—it seems...
From ACM Opinion
dacity Founder: Moocs Can Help the Economy, Even If They Can't Replace College
Sebastian Thrun was instrumental in building Google's self-driving car and Glass projects, and helped launch the company's Google X wing to spearhead "moonshot"...
From ACM Opinion
When Google Closes the Nest Deal, Privacy Issues For the Internet of Things Will Hit the Big Time
Google rocked the smart home market Monday with its intention to purchase connected home thermostat maker Nest for $3.2 billion, which will force a much-needed...
From ACM Opinion
Design Thinker Don Norman on His Stealth Startup, Apple vs. Android vs. Microsoft, and Experience Design
Don Norman's The Design of Everyday Things is the bible for design thinking and technology.
From ACM Opinion
Here's What You Need to Know About the Future of Gesture-Based i Design
Smartphone screens across the globe are embracing clean design in an effort to feature content on high-end pixel real estate.
From ACM Opinion
Pgp Inventor and Silent Circle Co-Founder Phil Zimmermann on the Surveillance Society
Phil Zimmermann might be a technologist, but he tends to get philosophical when it comes to the issues of privacy and security and how they intersect with our society...
From ACM Opinion
Did Facebook Miss a Massive Opportunity By Building a Walled Garden Instead of a Truly Open Platform?
When Facebook first launched its platform strategy in 2007, it seemed as though a new world of opportunity had opened up for anyone interested in the social web—a...
From ACM Opinion
Meet the Designer Behind Some of the Web’s Newest Killer Fonts
Thanks to newer browsers and greater bandwidth, there's been an explosion of new Web fonts—tens of thousands of them over the last decade.
From ACM Opinion
Why Microsoft's Reorganization Closes the Books on an Era of Computing
Nothing ever stays the same. On more than one occasion, it has taken Microsoft, one of the most important engines powering the rise of the technology industry,...
From ACM Opinion
Internet Inventor: No Technological Cure For Privacy Ills
Is there technological solution for protecting people from online surveillance?
From ACM Opinion
Why Google Is the Big Data Company That Matters Most
Every now and then, someone asks "Who’ll be the Google of big data?"
From ACM Opinion
How Technology Is Slowly Developing Its Sense of Smell
Last week I attended what was, I think it is fair to say, the oddest conference I have been to yet. It was the first world congress of the Digital Olfaction Society...
From ACM Opinion
Yes, You Should Care About Bitcoin, and Here's Why
Everybody's talking about Bitcoin these days, which is quite remarkable given the highly technical nature of the crypto-currency. So why is it such a big deal?
From ACM Opinion
Google's 10 Rules For Designing Data Centers
Google has long pushed the envelope of data center infrastructure design, particularly when it comes to renewable energy, efficient cooling, new power electronics...
From ACM Opinion
Why the Pencil Is Still the Most Important Tool For Digital Designers
Looking for digital inspiration, or staring at an empty computer screen?
From ACM Opinion
Want to See in the Dark? One Day They'll Have an App For That
The combination of man and machine has been so entrenched in our popular culture that for many, the idea that you could attach a sensor to a mouse brain which enables...
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...
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...
From ACM Opinion
Ford Engineers Have 3D Printers on Their Desks. When Will You Get One?
Ford has caught the DIY revolution and now puts 3D printers at workstations for its engineers.
From ACM Opinion