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
Wrath of the Math: Obama Wins Nerdiest Election Ever
Congratulations, Barack Obama: You have prevailed in the nerdiest election in the history of the American Republic.
From ACM Opinion
Future Mars Missions: Can Humans Actually Trump Robots?
For decades scientists have backed the idea of sending robots to collect Martian rocks and return them to Earth, a project that should be possible well before humans...
From ACM Opinion
Why Jony Ive Shouldn't Kill Off Apple's Skeuomorphic Interfaces
Last week Apple fired Scott Forstall, the architect of its iOS platform, and handed his duties over to the company's chief industrial designer, Jonathan Ive. Ive...
From ACM Opinion
The Strange Science of Translating Sarcasm Online
Seriously, did he really mean that?
From ACM Opinion
Should a Calendar App Look Like a Calendar?
This week, Apple fired Scott Forstall, its longtime chief of mobile software. In the wake of the shake-up—which reportedly had to do with Forstall's refusal to for...
From ACM Opinion
Can You Do a Day's Work on a Cell Phone?
"It’s really a little computer." You remember the first time you said it, a few years ago, when you grasped just how much a smartphone can do.
From ACM Opinion
Does a Public "find My Iphone" Search Violate Personal Privacy?
A guy stole my iPhone. I tracked it and posted his address online. Was that wrong?
From ACM Opinion
The Future Of 'short Attention Span Theater'
We've been looking at how technology has totally changed what it means to watch television or a movie. One of the biggest changes has been in demand—people want...
From ACM Careers
Gartner: Top 10 Strategic Technology Trends For 2013
On Monday, the research firm laid out "10 critical tech trends for the next five years." Tuesday, it took a look at a little closer in, providing a list of the...
From ACM Opinion
Can We Trust Voting Machines?
Last week, a congressional report claimed that using Chinese telecommunications companies’ goods and services in the United States could threaten national security...
From Communications of the ACM
Learning to Teach Computer Science: The Need For a Methods Course
A multipronged approach to preparing computer science teachers is critical to success.
From ACM Opinion
DARPA-Funded Radio Hackrf Aims to Be a $300 Wireless Swiss Army Knife For Hackers
Since the days of Alan Turing, the promise of a digital computer has been that of a universal machine, one that can be a word processor one minute and a robot brain...
From ACM Opinion
Ipad Mini Launch: Why Steve Jobs Thought 7in Tablets Would Fail
So if Apple is really launching a 7.85in "iPad mini", how does that square with what Steve Jobs said two years ago?
From ACM Opinion
In Constant Digital Contact, We Feel 'alone Together'
As soon as Sherry Turkle arrived at the studio for her Fresh Air interview, she realized she'd forgotten her phone.
From ACM Opinion
Craig Venter Imagines a World with Printable Life Forms
Craig Venter imagines a future where you can download software, print a vaccine, inject it, and presto! Contagion averted.
From ACM TechNews
At Stanford, Scholars Debate the Promises, Pitfalls of Online Learning
Although online learning has great potential to enhance the education process, Princeton University president emeritus William Bowen cites three obstructions to...
From ACM Opinion
Will Neuroscience Radically Transform the Legal System?
Although academic fields will often enjoy more than Andy Warhol's famous 15 minutes of fame, they too are subject to today's ever-hungry machinery of hype. Like...
From ACM Opinion
MIT Alums Recount Their Martian Experiences
Since NASA's Curiosity rover made its extraordinary Aug. 6 touchdown on Mars, it has been roving the Martian landscape, returning startling images.
From ACM Opinion
How I Accidentally Helped Compromise the Secret Keys of High-Security Handcuffs
In the age of freely available modeling software, laser cutters and 3D printers, shapes that must stay secret for security's sake don't stay secret for long. Especially...
From ACM Opinion