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Q&a: Tiffani Williams, Computer Scientist, on Creating an Open Source Tree of Life
From ACM TechNews

Q&a: Tiffani Williams, Computer Scientist, on Creating an Open Source Tree of Life

The Open Tree of Life project aims to develop an open source compendium of existing knowledge on thousands of plant and animal species. 

Mail from the (velvet) Cybercrime ­nderground
From ACM Opinion

Mail from the (velvet) Cybercrime ­nderground

Over the past six months, "fans" of this Web site and its author have shown their affection in some curious ways.

Ars Speaks with Vocal Nsa Critic Sen. Ron Wyden
From ACM Opinion

Ars Speaks with Vocal Nsa Critic Sen. Ron Wyden

As a series of top-secret NSA documents have been leaked over the past several weeks, the issue of widespread government surveillance has been front-and-center...

Justice For Alan Turing?
From ACM Opinion

Justice For Alan Turing?

What do we do with the knowledge that people not all that different from ourselves have behaved with astounding stupidity and cruelty, over and over again, in the...

Eff to Court: Forced Decryption ­nconstitutional
From ACM Opinion

Eff to Court: Forced Decryption ­nconstitutional

You shouldn't have to surrender your constitutional rights in order to safeguard your electronic privacy.

Could the Government Get a Search Warrant For Your Thoughts?
From ACM Opinion

Could the Government Get a Search Warrant For Your Thoughts?

We don't have a mind reading machine.

The Mooc Racket
From ACM Opinion

The Mooc Racket

The word mooc sounds a bit like slang from Goodfellas or the affectionate shortening of the already-affectionate name of a former outfielder for the New York Mets...

The Immigrant Brain Drain: How America Is Losing Its High-Tech Talent
From ACM Opinion

The Immigrant Brain Drain: How America Is Losing Its High-Tech Talent

Vivek Wadhwa of Duke University questions the claim that competition from high-tech guest workers in the United States is keeping domestic workers' wages low...

To Develop Tomorrow's Engineers, Start Before They Can Tie Their Shoes
From ACM Opinion

To Develop Tomorrow's Engineers, Start Before They Can Tie Their Shoes

Think "student engineers" and you probably have visions of high school or college students.

Technology to Protect Against Mass Surveillance
From ACM Opinion

Technology to Protect Against Mass Surveillance

In the past several weeks, EFF has received many requests for advice about privacy tools that provide technological shields against mass surveillance.

How Protecting Your Privacy Could Make You the Bad Guy
From ACM Opinion

How Protecting Your Privacy Could Make You the Bad Guy

There's a funny catch-22 when it comes to privacy best practices.

Smart Phones Mean You Will No Longer Have to Memorize Facts
From ACM Opinion

Smart Phones Mean You Will No Longer Have to Memorize Facts

When my father was growing up, his father offered him 25 cents to memorize the complete list of U.S. presidents. "Number one, George Washington. Number two, John...

Did Facebook Miss a Massive Opportunity By Building a Walled Garden Instead of a Truly Open Platform?
From ACM Opinion

Did Facebook Miss a Massive Opportunity By Building a Walled Garden Instead of a Truly Open Platform?

When Facebook first launched its platform strategy in 2007, it seemed as though a new world of opportunity had opened up for anyone interested in the social web—a...

Money Models For MOOCs
From Communications of the ACM

Money Models For MOOCs

Considering new business models for massive open online courses.

Ultra-Low-Cost Computing and Developing Countries
From Communications of the ACM

Ultra-Low-Cost Computing and Developing Countries

Raspberry Pi and its potential in the "global South."

The Air Gap
From Communications of the ACM

The Air Gap: SCADA's Enduring Security Myth

Attempting to use isolation as a security strategy for critical systems is unrealistic in an increasingly connected world.

Cherry-Picking and the Scientific Method
From Communications of the ACM

Cherry-Picking and the Scientific Method

Software is supposed be a part of computer science, and science demands proof.

Success in Introductory Programming
From Communications of the ACM

Success in Introductory Programming: What Works?

How pair programming, peer instruction, and media computation have improved computer science education.

Overt Censorship
From Communications of the ACM

Overt Censorship: A Fatal Mistake?

Censorship of information often has the opposite effect by drawing attention to the censored material.

Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales Explains Its Mission to Be Mainstream
From ACM Opinion

Wikipedia's Jimmy Wales Explains Its Mission to Be Mainstream

Wikipedia is expanding its major new "open data" initiative, expanding tools that allow developers to use its content on other websites and simplifying its editing...
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