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 News
Wikipedia Founder Jimmy Wales on the Internet's Future
Censorship is the biggest threat to the development of the Internet, according to Wikipedia's founder Jimmy Wales.
From ACM Opinion
Good Touch, Bad Touch
The iconic iPhone interface tarnishes the legacy of Steve Jobs.
From ACM Opinion
Why Microsoft Embraced Gaming
When the original Xbox video-game console went on sale in 2001, it wasn't clear why Microsoft, known for staid workplace software, was branching out into fast...
From ACM Opinion
5 Wishes For the Next Generation of Consoles
So what do Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo have in store for us with the next generation of consoles? When will we see the Xbox 720, the PS4, and the Wii-2, and...
From ACM Opinion
The Joke's on Your Computer: The Latest Humor Coded Into Software
In Google Maps, the distance-measuring tool offers a choice of three unit systems: Metric, English or "I’m Feeling Geeky." If you click the third one, you’re...
From ACM Opinion
Why Your Next Phone Might Be Bendable
As we enter the final months of 2011, the thoughts of tech watchers like me are turning to what we can expect in 2012. Voice recognition in all our devices? Touch...
From ACM Opinion
The New Einsteins Will Be Scientists Who Share
In January 2009, a mathematician at Cambridge University named Tim Gowers decided to use his blog to run an unusual social experiment. He picked out a difficult...
From ACM Opinion
The Genius of Jobs
One of the questions I wrestled with when writing about Steve Jobs was how smart he was. On the surface, this should not have been much of an issue.
From ACM Opinion
Why Steve Jobs Is Right About Android
Over the weekend I wrote, "What If Steve Jobs Is Right?" As the title implies, the post was a hypothetical look at the possibility that Steve Jobs' assertion...
From ACM Opinion
Jack Zylkin, sb Typewriter Guy
Jack Zylkin created the USB Typewriter. I interviewed him about his creation, the response he's received, and why people are so interested in "the muggle magic...
From ACM Opinion
Ice Cream Sandwich: A Deep-Dive Tour With Android
There are few things in this world I despise more than software updates. Downloading hundreds of files, waiting for the progress bar to fill, restarting the device—it’s...
From ACM Opinion
Patriot Act Turns 10, With No Signs of Retirement
The USA Patriot Act, the law granting the government vast surveillance powers that was adopted in the wake of September 11, turns a decade old Wednesday. But...
From ACM News
Animators Distill Steve Jobs's Bio Into 90 Seconds
Animators from NMA.TV have reached a new high in campy 3D synthesis of real-world events, boiling down all 630 pages of Walter Isaacson’s Steve Jobs bio into...
From ACM Opinion
Did Android Copy Ios? We Asked Google's Product Manager...
Has Android copied elements from Apple's iOS? It's not a matter that Google's senior managers for the Android operating system want to get involved in.
From ACM News
11 Most Startling Revelations in 'steve Jobs'
Full disclosure: Steve Jobs was my white whale, the interview I wanted more than any other and the day he died I fashioned a black band across the Apple logo...
From ACM Opinion
The Shocking Strangeness of Our 25-Year-Old Digital Privacy Law
The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) was signed into law on October 21, 1986. Although it was forward-looking at the time, ECPA's privacy protections...
From ACM Opinion
Running Out of Bandwidth
At a time of slow economic growth and declining competitiveness, wireless technology remains a shining example of innovation. In the last 10 years, wireless communications...
From Communications of the ACM
Information Seeking: Convergence of Search, Recommendations, and Advertising
How to address user information needs amidst a preponderance of data.
From Communications of the ACM
Gender Demographics Trends and Changes in U.S. CS Departments
Using the past 10 years of Taulbee Survey data to evaluate female student enrollment across varied academic institutions and departments.
From Communications of the ACM