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Windows 8 a Big Misstep For Microsoft
From ACM Opinion

Windows 8 a Big Misstep For Microsoft

The venerable PC is at a crossroads.

The Stanford Education Experiment Could Change Higher Learning Forever
From ACM Careers

The Stanford Education Experiment Could Change Higher Learning Forever

Stanford doesn't want me. I can say that because it's a documented fact: I was once denied admission in writing.

Was Cameron's Deep Dive as ­seless as Manned Space Flight?
From ACM Opinion

Was Cameron's Deep Dive as ­seless as Manned Space Flight?

Ninety-nine percent of what we know about the solar system came to us from unmanned probes.  

A National Id Card that Protects Voting Rights
From ACM Opinion

A National Id Card that Protects Voting Rights

In December, the U.S. Department of Justice intervened under the Voting Rights Act to stay a South Carolina voter ID law.

Apps Could Be Overtaking the Web
From ACM Opinion

Apps Could Be Overtaking the Web

An app for weather. An app for banking. An app for news, for sports, for games, for travel, for department stores, for insurance companies, for ….wait: Who needs...

Vernor Vinge Is Optimistic About the Collapse of Civilization
From ACM Opinion

Vernor Vinge Is Optimistic About the Collapse of Civilization

"I think that [civilization] coming back would actually be a very big surprise," he says. "The difference between us and us 10,000 years ago is … we know it can...

Robotics Trends For 2012
From ACM TechNews

Robotics Trends For 2012

IEEE's Erico Guizzo and Hizook.com founder Travis Deyle make several predictions regarding what will be big news in robotics this year.

Is Human Mobility Tracking a Good Idea?
From Communications of the ACM

Is Human Mobility Tracking a Good Idea?

Considering the trade-offs associated with human mobility tracking.

Dangerously Vague Cybersecurity Legislation Threatens Civil Liberties
From ACM Opinion

Dangerously Vague Cybersecurity Legislation Threatens Civil Liberties

There is a spate of proposed cybersecurity legislation working its way through the House and Senate. The bills are aimed primarily at facilitating cooperation regarding...

Can Speech-Recognition Software Work in Mandarin?
From ACM Opinion

Can Speech-Recognition Software Work in Mandarin?

In anticipation of Apple’s introduction of Siri in Chinese this year, I decided to try Dragon, a line of smartphone voice apps by Nuance Communications—the company...

Data Mining and Kids: Thank Goodness She Didn't Pay Cash!
From ACM Opinion

Data Mining and Kids: Thank Goodness She Didn't Pay Cash!

Remember the movie The Minority Report? It is based upon a Philip K. Dick novel of the same name. Well, the movie is supposed to portray an implausible dystopian...

The 4g Fakeout
From ACM Opinion

The 4g Fakeout

Not long ago, when desktops and laptops were the main computers we used every day, PC makers peddled what's known as the megahertz myth.

The Personalized Web Is Just an Interest Graph Away
From ACM Opinion

The Personalized Web Is Just an Interest Graph Away

You know how our social graphs are creeping into every aspect of our Web lives, from search results to coupons? Well, get ready for something a lot more personal...

Ray Ozzie on Startups, Microsoft, and What He's Dreaming ­p Next
From ACM Opinion

Ray Ozzie on Startups, Microsoft, and What He's Dreaming ­p Next

Ray Ozzie, online collaboration pioneer and former Microsoft chief software architect, shared his thoughts on the startup climate, his tenure at Microsoft, the...

Safecast Geiger Counter Reference Design
From ACM Opinion

Safecast Geiger Counter Reference Design

This past weekend marked the anniversary of the Tohoku-Oki earthquake that devastated Japan.

Xbox at 10 in Europe: How the Console Shaped Gaming History
From ACM Opinion

Xbox at 10 in Europe: How the Console Shaped Gaming History

The games industry was a very different place 10 years ago. Still dominated by Japanese games and Japanese games machines, Microsoft's plans to launch its own dedicated...

Was Our Interview with Lulzsec Hacker an Fbi Set-­p?
From ACM Opinion

Was Our Interview with Lulzsec Hacker an Fbi Set-­p?

In the early hours of 30 June last year, my time spent monitoring the Anonymous chat room finally paid off: "Sabu" would grant me an interview. 

From ACM Opinion

The Technology of a Better Footnote

Footnotes—or endnotes, or just notes; whatever you want to call them—are a problem. They're a problem for writers and a problem for readers and a problem for typesetters...

Tv Makers Ignore Apps at Their Own Peril
From ACM Opinion

Tv Makers Ignore Apps at Their Own Peril

Every night, I get home from work, drop onto the couch and sit there surfing the Web or watching videos on my 3 1/2-inch iPhone screen. My big-screen HDTV sits...

The iPad Is ­nbeatable
From ACM Opinion

The iPad Is ­nbeatable

Imagine you run a large technology company not named Apple.
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