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Bitcoin and the Fictions of Money
From ACM Opinion

Bitcoin and the Fictions of Money

How should we think about a currency like Bitcoin?

Why Bitcoin Matters
From ACM Opinion

Why Bitcoin Matters

A mysterious new technology emerges, seemingly out of nowhere, but actually the result of two decades of intense research and development by nearly anonymous researchers...

Ann Cavoukian
From ACM Opinion

Ann Cavoukian

Ann Cavoukian is the information and privacy commissioner in Ontario, Canada, and a longtime advocate of default online confidentiality.

When Doctors 'google' Their Patients
From ACM Opinion

When Doctors 'google' Their Patients

I remember when I first looked up a patient on Google.

Edward Snowden, Whistle-Blower
From ACM Opinion

Edward Snowden, Whistle-Blower

Seven months ago, the world began to learn the vast scope of the National Security Agency's reach into the lives of hundreds of millions of people in the United...

Viewing Where the Internet Goes
From ACM Opinion

Viewing Where the Internet Goes

Will 2014 be the year that the Internet is reined in?

From ACM Opinion

Bits and Barbarism

This is a tale of three money pits.

An Homage to Douglas Engelbart and a Critique of the State of Tech
From ACM Opinion

An Homage to Douglas Engelbart and a Critique of the State of Tech

Theodor Holm Nelson, who coined the term hypertext, has been a thorn in the side of the computing establishment for more than a half century.

Internet's Sad Legacy: No More Secrets
From ACM Opinion

Internet's Sad Legacy: No More Secrets

Anyone who can watch you will watch you.

Nest's Tony Fadell on Smart Objects, and the Singularity of Innovation
From ACM Opinion

Nest's Tony Fadell on Smart Objects, and the Singularity of Innovation

Tony Fadell is the founder and chief executive of Nest, a company that is trying to bring a high-end technology experience to some of the most prosaic areas of...

A Force For Face-to-Face Communication
From ACM Opinion

A Force For Face-to-Face Communication

Clifford I. Nass, a professor of communication at Stanford who died on Saturday, regaled me several times over the years about his method for torturing students...

The Information-Gathering Paradox
From ACM Opinion

The Information-Gathering Paradox

Consumer trust is a vital currency for every big Internet company, which helps to explain why the giants of Silicon Valley have gone to great lengths in recent...

Dina Katabi
From ACM Opinion

Dina Katabi

Syrian-born Dina Katabi is a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She was awarded a MacArthur last...

N.s.a. Director Gives Firm and Broad Defense of Surveillance Efforts
From ACM Opinion

N.s.a. Director Gives Firm and Broad Defense of Surveillance Efforts

The director of the National Security Agency, Gen. Keith B. Alexander, said in an interview that to prevent terrorist attacks he saw no effective alternative to...

Does Digital Age Overcomplicate Design?
From ACM Opinion

Does Digital Age Overcomplicate Design?

There is a scene in the television series "Boss" in which the mayor of Chicago, played by Kelsey Grammer, is discovered by his wife washing bed sheets by hand at...

How Robots Can Trick You Into Loving Them
From ACM Opinion

How Robots Can Trick You Into Loving Them

I like to think of my Roomba as cute and industrious.

From ACM Opinion

Visit to the World's Fair of 2014

The New York World's Fair of 1964 is dedicated to "Peace Through Understanding."

From ACM Opinion

On the Symmetry Between Microsoft and Apple

I am not a tech industry maven, so I am busy coming up to speed on the implications of the Ballmer resignation.

A Day in the Life of My Iphone
From ACM Opinion

A Day in the Life of My Iphone

Each morning at 7 a.m., I am awakened by the sound of a spaceship next to my bed.

I'm Still Waiting For My Phone to Become My Wallet
From ACM Opinion

I'm Still Waiting For My Phone to Become My Wallet

During the sweltering heat wave earlier this month, it seemed too hot to wear much, carry much or do much of anything at all.
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