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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.

Edward Snowden, The Dark Prophet
From ACM Opinion

Edward Snowden, The Dark Prophet

To avoid surveillance, the first four Americans to visit Edward Snowden in Moscow carried no cell phones or laptops.

Google Puts Money on Robots, ­sing the Man Behind Android
From ACM Opinion

Google Puts Money on Robots, ­sing the Man Behind Android

In an out-of-the-way Google office, two life-size humanoid robots hang suspended in a corner.

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...

Google ­nveils Tools to Access Web From Repressive Countries
From ACM Opinion

Google ­nveils Tools to Access Web From Repressive Countries

Google Ideas, the New York City–based "think/do tank" run by the Internet search giant, is launching several new technologies designed to highlight hacker attacks...

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...

The Argument For Making the Misuse of Your Personal Data a Felony
From ACM Opinion

The Argument For Making the Misuse of Your Personal Data a Felony

Craig Mundie is Microsoft's senior advisor to the CEO, spending his time on big-picture stuff such as (according to his bio) "key strategic projects within the...

A Conversation With Lavabit's Founder
From ACM Opinion

A Conversation With Lavabit's Founder

In a video interview, Lavabit founder Ladar Levison discusses how he has become a symbol in the backlash against U.S. government spying.

The Science Author Clive Thompson Does Not Think Tech Is Ruining Your Mind
From ACM TechNews

The Science Author Clive Thompson Does Not Think Tech Is Ruining Your Mind

Technology writer Clive Thompson believes technology is improving human intelligence. 

The Fatal Mistake That Doomed Blackberry
From ACM Opinion

The Fatal Mistake That Doomed Blackberry

Beleaguered gadgetmaker BlackBerry said on Monday that it's signed a tentative agreement to be purchased by a group led by Canadian holding company Fairfax Financial...

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.

Imagining a Cyberattack on the Power Grid
From ACM Opinion

Imagining a Cyberattack on the Power Grid

It's electrifying.

Who Will Prosper in the New World
From ACM Opinion

Who Will Prosper in the New World

Self-driving vehicles threaten to send truck drivers to the unemployment office.

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.

In Markets' Tuned-­p Machinery, Stubborn Ghosts Remain
From ACM News

In Markets' Tuned-­p Machinery, Stubborn Ghosts Remain

A generation ago, when the stock market crashed on Oct. 19, 1987, the Nasdaq stock market appeared to have done much better than the New York Stock Exchange.
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