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
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
Why Is This Man Running For President of the Internet?
It's an unseasonably cold early October evening in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian is giving his elevator pitch to a flustered but rapt...
From ACM Opinion
Technology Helps Track a Terrorist in 'the Finish'
In late summer 2010, at the end of a morning briefing, one of President Obama's security advisers said, "Mr. President, Leon and the guys at Langley think they...
From ACM Opinion
Patent Could Shackle 3D Printers with Drm
One of the greatest benefits of 3D printing technology—the ability to make replacements or parts for household objects like toys, utensils and gadgets—may be denied...
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
10 Predictions About Networking and Moore's Law from Andy Bechtolsheim
Sun Microsystems cofounder and networking guru Andy Bechtholsheim predicted that networking chips—which determine how quickly you can surf the Internet—will keep...
From ACM Opinion
Google's Little Nemo Tribute: Maybe The Best Google Doodle Ever
Winsor McCay (1869–1934) was one of the first important creators of both comic strips and animation, and a pretty fair political cartoonist to boot.
From ACM Opinion
On the Moore's Law Hot Seat: Intel's Mike Mayberry
Intel vice president Mike Mayberry lives 10 years in the chip technology future, charting a course for the computing industry and transforming research ideas...
From ACM Opinion
In Digital War, Patents Are the Weapon of Choice
If you don't think of patents as a particularly exciting or interesting field, consider a point Charles Duhigg makes in his recent New York Times article, "...
From ACM Opinion
Linus Torvalds Compares Hard Disks to Satan
Linus Torvalds—creator of the Linux open source operating system—is a man of strong opinions.
From ACM Opinion
Where's the Discussion of Trojan Horses?
The Mykonos Vase, discovered in 1961 in the Cyclades, is one of the earliest accounts of the Trojan Horse, used as a subterfuge by the Greeks to enter the city...
From ACM Opinion
The Limits of Big Data
Stop me if you've heard this one: Three statisticians go rabbit hunting.
From ACM Opinion
Eric Schmidt: Android-Apple Is the Defining Fight in the Industry Today
The fight between Google and Apple over mobile devices is great for consumers, but the patent wars that have resulted are awful, said Google Chairman Eric Schmidt...
From ACM TechNews
Kurzweil: Brains Will Extend to the Cloud
Inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil says human brains will one day extend into the cloud, and it will be possible to selectively erase pieces of memory while keeping...
From ACM Opinion
The Chinese Steve Jobs Is Probably a Pirate
When discussing innovation, the Chinese like to tout the country’s "Four Great Inventions"—paper, gunpowder, the compass, and woodblock printing—and their enormous...
From ACM Opinion
Why Polaroid Inspired Both Steve Jobs and Andy Warhol
Few companies can claim they altered the path of an entire medium but that’s exactly what Polaroid did in the 1950s, ’60s, and ’70s to photography. Founded by Edwin...
From ACM Opinion
A Better Approach to Huawei, Zte, and Chinese Cyberspying? Distrust and Verify
In the wake of the 60-page report from Congress’s Select Committee On Intelligence recommending U.S. companies stop buying Chinese-made telecommunications gear...
From ACM Opinion
The Apple Maps Debate and the Real Future of Mapping
The news of the last couple weeks about the stark differences between Apple and Google's mapshave shed light on how hard it is to build a mobile map.
From ACM TechNews
Nsf-Ncsa Study Probes Relationship Between Industrial Applications and nderlying Science
In an interview, U.S. NCSA director Merle Giles discusses the findings of a study to determine whether improvements in the science inside applications and other...
From ACM Opinion