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2013: The Year 'the Stream' Crested
From ACM Opinion

2013: The Year 'the Stream' Crested

The Stream has been the organizing metaphor for the web for the past several years.

Doom's Creator Looks Back on 20 Years of Demonic Mayhem
From ACM Opinion

Doom's Creator Looks Back on 20 Years of Demonic Mayhem

At the stroke of midnight on December 10, 1993, an executive at id Software uploaded a file to an FTP site on the University of Washington's network.

Singularity: Reading Our Genes Like Computer Code
From ACM Opinion

Singularity: Reading Our Genes Like Computer Code

Raymond McCauley may go blind as he gets older.

Will Your Next Phone Have No Screen?
From ACM Opinion

Will Your Next Phone Have No Screen?

Google is predicting a generation of screenless computing devices that rely on voice recognition, a senior engineer has said, emphasising that the company encrypts...

Could a $500 Gadget Have Prevented the Metro-North Tragedy?
From ACM Opinion

Could a $500 Gadget Have Prevented the Metro-North Tragedy?

Investigators are still studying what caused the derailment of a Metro-North commuter train on its way to Grand Central Terminal just over a week ago, killing four...

Falling in Love with AI Virtual Assistants: A Creepy Love Affair Nearer Than You Think
From ACM Opinion

Falling in Love with AI Virtual Assistants: A Creepy Love Affair Nearer Than You Think

"I've never loved anyone the way I've loved you," swoons Joaquin Phoenix, in the movie Her.

The Rise and Fall of Blackberry: An Oral History
From ACM Opinion

The Rise and Fall of Blackberry: An Oral History

In 1984, Mike Lazaridis, an engineering student at the University of Waterloo, and Douglas Fregin, an engineering student at the University of Windsor, founded...

Saving the Net from the Surveillance State: Glenn Greenwald Speaks ­p
From ACM Opinion

Saving the Net from the Surveillance State: Glenn Greenwald Speaks ­p

Big Brother may be watching you. But Glenn Greenwald is watching Big Brother.

Moore's Law Isn't Making Chips Cheaper Anymore
From ACM Opinion

Moore's Law Isn't Making Chips Cheaper Anymore

At a wine bar in San Francisco on Wednesday, Broadcom Chairman and CTO Henry Samueli delivered some sobering news: Moore's Law isn't making chips cheaper anymore...

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.

Is the Future of the Internet in Iceland?
From ACM Opinion

Is the Future of the Internet in Iceland?

When you clicked on the link to read this article, your computer, tablet or phone sent a request that traveled hundreds or perhaps thousands of miles at the speed...

Diagnosis For Healthcare.gov: ­nrealistic Technology Expectations
From ACM Opinion

Diagnosis For Healthcare.gov: ­nrealistic Technology Expectations

The fiasco with the $600 million federal health insurance website wasn't all bureaucratic.

23andme Is Terrifying, But Not For the Reasons the Fda Thinks
From ACM Opinion

23andme Is Terrifying, But Not For the Reasons the Fda Thinks

If there's a gene for hubris, the 23andMe crew has certainly got it.

Answers to All the Tech Questions Your Family Will Ask You This Holiday
From ACM Opinion

Answers to All the Tech Questions Your Family Will Ask You This Holiday

Maybe it's your mom and/or dad. Maybe it's a sibling or a grandparent. Or maybe it's just that one friend who still uses a Motorola Razr from the early 2000s.

My Quantum Algorithm Won't Break the Internet… Yet
From ACM Opinion

My Quantum Algorithm Won't Break the Internet… Yet

Internet security relies on the fact that our computers can't break its cryptosystems. But the quantum algorithm you devised has the potential to do just that.

Software Is Reorganizing the World
From ACM Opinion

Software Is Reorganizing the World

For the first time in memory, adults in the United States under age forty are now expected to be poorer than their parents.

Three Questions For Computing Pioneer Carver Mead
From ACM Opinion

Three Questions For Computing Pioneer Carver Mead

Computer scientist Carver Mead gave Moore's Law its name in around 1970 and played a crucial role in making sure it's held true in the decades since.

From MOOCs to SPOCs
From Communications of the ACM

From MOOCs to SPOCs

Supplementing the classroom experience with small private online courses.

A Lesson in Resource Management
From Communications of the ACM

A Lesson in Resource Management

Waste not memory, want not memory — unless it doesn't matter.

Design Thinking
From Communications of the ACM

Design Thinking

Design thinking is the newest fashion for finding better solutions to problems. Combining it with computational thinking offers some real possibilities for improving...
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