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 Opinion
Why Free Software Is More Important Now Than Ever Before
It is now 30 years since I launched the campaign for freedom in computing, that is, for software to be free or "libre" (we use that word to emphasize that we're...
From ACM Opinion
In Search of Planetary Intelligence
It is said that Mahatma Gandhi, when asked about Western civilization, remarked, "I think it would be a good idea."
From ACM Opinion
Nsa Chief Defends Collecting Americans' Data
The head of the National Security Agency delivered a vigorous defense Wednesday of his agency's collection of Americans' phone records for counterterrorism purposes...
From ACM Opinion
Design Thinker Don Norman on His Stealth Startup, Apple vs. Android vs. Microsoft, and Experience Design
Don Norman's The Design of Everyday Things is the bible for design thinking and technology.
From ACM Opinion
Finally: Bill Gates Admits Control-Alt-Delete Was a Mistake
Bill Gates made many exceptional decisions while he was leading Microsoft to immense success. He did, however, make a few errors.
From ACM Opinion
Large Patent Holders Hate This Reform Proposal. That’s a Good Sign.
The fight over patent reform has turned into a two-front war.
From ACM TechNews
Ella Gale: Building a Neuromorphic (brainlike) Computer
Ella Gale, one of the young researchers attending the 1st Heidelberg Laureate Forum in Germany, says her interest is unconventional computing.
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...
From ACM Opinion
Many Questions For Michael Dell on Going Private, and What's Next
Michael Dell is feeling aggressive.
From ACM Opinion
Lost to the Ages
You are standing on a dock beside the jutting masts and crow's nest of a sunken ship, water lapping calmly under your feet.
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...
From ACM Opinion
Life on Mars: Down But Not Out Says Mars Society Founder
Hopes of alien life on Mars were dashed Thursday when a paper published in the journal Scienceconcluded that the Curiosity rover has yet to find any methane gas...
From ACM News
Apple: The 64-Bit Question
There's been an interesting sideshow in tech land since Apple unveiled the iPhone 5S last week: Does having the first 64-bitmicroprocessor in a phone mean anything...
From ACM Opinion
Why Today's Inventors Need to Read More Science Fiction
How will police use a gun that immobilizes its target but does not kill? What would people do with a device that could provide them with any mood they desire? What...
From ACM Opinion
Civics For a Digital Age
Over half of the world’s population lives in urban environments, and that number is rapidly growing according to the World Health Organization.
From ACM Opinion
To Boldly Go Nowhere, For Now
On Aug. 20, NASA's administrator formally welcomed the newest candidates of the astronaut corpsand released a space exploration roadmap that includes robotic and...
From ACM Opinion
The New National Identity Is What Smartphone You Prefer, and Nobody's Quite Sure Why
In a fascinating note at Asymco, mobile analyst and ex-Nokian Horace Dediu details how people's taste in smartphones varies from place to place:
From ACM Opinion