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Google Maps Trained ­S to Follow Directions. Now Its Former Developer Wants ­S to Explore.
From ACM Opinion

Google Maps Trained ­S to Follow Directions. Now Its Former Developer Wants ­S to Explore.

It's not evident from the way his hair flops casually down and across, nor from his equally relaxed demeanor, but John Hanke is one of Google's most important idea...

Here's What You Need to Know About the Future of Gesture-Based ­i Design
From ACM Opinion

Here's What You Need to Know About the Future of Gesture-Based ­i Design

Smartphone screens across the globe are embracing clean design in an effort to feature content on high-end pixel real estate.

The Man Who Drew Up Sony's Next Game Plan
From ACM Opinion

The Man Who Drew Up Sony's Next Game Plan

Mark Cerny's soft voice and youthful looks belie the position of power he holds in the video-game industry.

What Does It Really Matter If Companies Are Tracking US Online?
From ACM Opinion

What Does It Really Matter If Companies Are Tracking US Online?

Say you, like me, went to bed a little early last night.

The Giant Hurdle For the Internet of Things
From ACM Opinion

The Giant Hurdle For the Internet of Things

Everyone's talking about the Internet of Things, a proposed network of intelligent devices that could one day automate much of the world around us. HVAC and lighting...

Lego Mindstorms Ev3 Means Giant Robots, Powerful Computers
From ACM Opinion

Lego Mindstorms Ev3 Means Giant Robots, Powerful Computers

Gummi Bears. That's what playing with Lego bricks reminds me of—sitting cross-legged on the floor in the back room of my parents' house on Saturday mornings, ahere...

Tech Essentials: How Cory Doctorow Gets Around
From ACM Opinion

Tech Essentials: How Cory Doctorow Gets Around

The co-editor of Boing Boing, novelist and fellow at the Electronic Frontier Foundation shares his tools for circumventing censorship in airports, easing back pain...

The Public-Private Surveillance Partnership
From ACM Opinion

The Public-Private Surveillance Partnership

Imagine the government passed a law requiring all citizens to carry a tracking device. Such a law would immediately be found unconstitutional. Yet we all carry...

The Machine Zone: This Is Where You Go When You Just Can't Stop Looking at Pictures on Facebook
From ACM Opinion

The Machine Zone: This Is Where You Go When You Just Can't Stop Looking at Pictures on Facebook

"People love Facebook. They really love it," Biz Stone wrote earlier this month. "My mother-in-law looks hypnotized when she decides to put in some Facebook time...

A Day in the Life of My Iphone
From ACM Opinion

A Day in the Life of My Iphone

Each morning at 7 a.m., I am awakened by the sound of a spaceship next to my bed.

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...

The Paradox of Wearable Technologies
From ACM Opinion

The Paradox of Wearable Technologies

Ever talk to someone at a party or conference reception only to discover that the person you are talking to is constantly scanning the room, looking this way and...

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.

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.

Microsoft Is Doomed, But First It's Going to Make a Ton of Money
From ACM Opinion

Microsoft Is Doomed, But First It's Going to Make a Ton of Money

Microsoft stock lost about 10 percent of its value in the wake of a quarterly earnings report on Thursday that investors deemed sub-par. Yet revenue for the second...

Hands On the Wheel, Mind On the Road–not Cyberspace
From ACM Opinion

Hands On the Wheel, Mind On the Road–not Cyberspace

Makers of cars and mobile electronics are pushing a tempting vision of the future. It is one in which you can stay fully connected while driving.
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