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What Are Moocs Good For?
From ACM Opinion

What Are Moocs Good For?

A few years ago, the most enthusiastic advocates of MOOCs believed that these "massive open online courses" stood poised to overturn the century-old model of higher...

Boston Researcher Cynthia Breazeal Is Ready to Bring Robots Into the Home. Are You?
From ACM Opinion

Boston Researcher Cynthia Breazeal Is Ready to Bring Robots Into the Home. Are You?

The MIT Media Lab's Personal Robots Group flanks the soaring atrium on the fourth floor of the Wiesner Building, a wall of metal panels along the southern edge...

Baer's Odyssey: Meet the Serial Inventor Who Built the World's First Game Console
From ACM Opinion

Baer's Odyssey: Meet the Serial Inventor Who Built the World's First Game Console

Even if you're a devoted fan of video games, there's a decent chance you're not familiar with the name Ralph H. Baer.

What Could Be Lost as Einstein's Papers Go Online
From ACM Opinion

What Could Be Lost as Einstein's Papers Go Online

When I heard that Albert Einstein's papers were going to be published free online, I was thrilled—at least initially.

The Princess Trap
From ACM Opinion

The Princess Trap

When my 4-year-old told me the other day that she was "ready for princesses," part of me died.

Next Battle in the War on Science
From ACM Opinion

Next Battle in the War on Science

The war over science is heating up on Capitol Hill.

The Internet That Facebook Built
From Communications of the ACM

The Internet That Facebook Built

The on-ramp might appear free but exiting takes a toll.

The Whole Professional
From Communications of the ACM

The Whole Professional

A new book inspires a reflection on what it means to be a whole, competent, and effective professional — and may portend a wave of disruption in education.

Innovation and Inclusion
From Communications of the ACM

Innovation and Inclusion

What technology companies, especially startups, need to know about building great places to work — for her and him — in the digital age.

Port Squatting
From Communications of the ACM

Port Squatting

Do not irk your local sysadmin.

Making the Case For a 'Manufacturing Execution System' For Software Development
From Communications of the ACM

Making the Case For a 'Manufacturing Execution System' For Software Development

Seeking to improve information integration throughout the manufacturing process.

Automation Makes ­S Dumb
From ACM Opinion

Automation Makes ­S Dumb

Artificial intelligence has arrived.

Google Ceo on Moonshots: Find a 'zero Million Dollar' Research Problem
From ACM Opinion

Google Ceo on Moonshots: Find a 'zero Million Dollar' Research Problem

To succeed at a moonshot, you need curiosity, impulse, and a problem that no one seems to be investing in.

These Are 3 Breakthrough Science Ideas You'll Be Talking About in 2015
From ACM Opinion

These Are 3 Breakthrough Science Ideas You'll Be Talking About in 2015

For anyone who has ever said that all the STEM professions need is something to make them "cool" in order to attract more young people, look no further than ...

William Gibson: I Never Imagined Facebook
From ACM Opinion

William Gibson: I Never Imagined Facebook

Even if you've never heard of William Gibson, you're probably familiar with his work.

Space-Time Visionary
From ACM Opinion

Space-Time Visionary

Thanks to theoretical physicist Kip Thorne, real science is embedded in Christopher Nolan's film Interstellar, in which explorers seek a new home for humankind.

Will Moocs Be Flukes?
From ACM Opinion

Will Moocs Be Flukes?

On July 23rd, 1969, Geoffrey Crowther addressed the inaugural meeting of the Open University, a British institution that had just been created to provide an alternative...

North Korea: Surfing the Net in the World's Most Isolated Nation
From ACM Opinion

North Korea: Surfing the Net in the World's Most Isolated Nation

What's the point of a computer in a hermit country sealed off from the internet?

Invasion of the Data Snatchers
From ACM Opinion

Invasion of the Data Snatchers

New technologies are making it easier for private companies and the government to learn about everything we do—in our homes, in our cars, in stores, and within...

The Web Is a Terrorist's Command-and-Control Network of Choice
From ACM Opinion

The Web Is a Terrorist's Command-and-Control Network of Choice

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) is the first terrorist group whose members have grown up on the internet.
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