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Why Not Immortality?
From Communications of the ACM

Why Not Immortality?

A question of biology, technology, and society.

No Limits to Watching?
From Communications of the ACM

No Limits to Watching?

Considering the ethical questions raised by technologies that are moving from knowing what we are doing (and where) to knowing who we are.

Is Software Patentable?
From Communications of the ACM

Is Software Patentable?

Assessing the shifting perspectives on patentability standards for software.

What Regulators Can Do to Advance Privacy Through Design
From Communications of the ACM

What Regulators Can Do to Advance Privacy Through Design

Seeking to address the challenges of privacy by design through regulatory process and formal law.

Why Apple Wants Its Software to Be Free
From ACM Opinion

Why Apple Wants Its Software to Be Free

Who knew Apple would become such a big shareware company?

Why I Am ­napologetic About Paywalls or Promotion
From ACM Opinion

Why I Am ­napologetic About Paywalls or Promotion

Late last week I posted a short essay on LinkedIn, where I am an Influencer, called "The best case study you'll ever read."

Twitter: Tweets and Hashtags Will Shape How We Think
From ACM Opinion

Twitter: Tweets and Hashtags Will Shape How We Think

One day, a user of Twitter decided to do something no else had tried before.

Here's Why the Feds Didn't Have More Skilled Programmers For Healthcare.gov
From ACM Opinion

Here's Why the Feds Didn't Have More Skilled Programmers For Healthcare.gov

HealthCare.gov, the Web site at the center of President Obama's federal health insurance exchange, has been plagued with problems since it opened for business Oct...

Publishing: Open Citations
From ACM Opinion

Publishing: Open Citations

When Heather Piwowar set out in May last year to investigate whether making research data publicly available increased the citation rates of articles, she never...

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...

Tony Fadell, Ceo of Nest, on Making Home Devices Cool
From ACM Opinion

Tony Fadell, Ceo of Nest, on Making Home Devices Cool

Nest Labs' first product has made it the darling of both the clean tech industry and design crowd.

Huawei Executive Talks About Cyber Security
From ACM Opinion

Huawei Executive Talks About Cyber Security

As the world's second-largest supplier of telecommunications network equipment, Huawei plays a part in the technology industry's efforts to ensure network security...

10 Questions For Ibm's Katharine Frase
From ACM Opinion

10 Questions For Ibm's Katharine Frase

Dr. Katharine Frase was appointed chief technology officer of IBM in March 2013. She sets IBM's technical strategy and defines areas of growth in addition to cultivating...

How to Design—and Defend Against—the Perfect Security Backdoor
From ACM Opinion

How to Design—and Defend Against—the Perfect Security Backdoor

We already know the NSA wants to eavesdrop on the Internet. 

From ACM Opinion

As We May Type

In 1984, the personal-computer industry was still small enough to be captured, with reasonable fidelity, in a one-volume publication, the Whole Earth Software Catalog...

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...

A Court Order Is an Insider Attack
From ACM Opinion

A Court Order Is an Insider Attack

Commentators on the Lavabit case, including the judge himself, have criticized Lavabit for designing its system in a way that resisted court-ordered access to user...

Think You Can Live Offline Without Being Tracked? Here's What It Takes
From ACM Opinion

Think You Can Live Offline Without Being Tracked? Here's What It Takes

Nico Sell, the cofounder of a secure communication app called Wickr, has appeared on television twice.

Attn Girls: Stay Interested in STEM
From ACM Opinion

Attn Girls: Stay Interested in STEM

I was a freshman in college when I first laid my hands on a computer. It gave me an instant connection to loved ones and the world around me. That computer ignited...

Three Questions For Microsoft's New Head of Research, Peter Lee
From ACM Opinion

Three Questions For Microsoft's New Head of Research, Peter Lee

Microsoft's new head of research, Peter Lee, is tasked with helping the company invent the future.
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