Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
November 2010
From ACM News
Georgia Tech Keeps Sights Set On Exascale at Sc10
Georgia Tech will display ongoing projects and new research initiatives directly addressing core high-performance computing issues such as sustainability, reliability and massive data computation at SC10 in New Orleans, LA,…
From ACM News
Google Battles to Keep Talent
Google Inc. is fighting off Facebook Inc. and other fast-growing Internet firms that are poaching its staff, a reversal for a company that has long been one of Silicon Valley's hottest job destinations.
From ACM News
Battling Over the Future of TV
When AT&T last week had to renew its contract with Scripps, the owner of popular lifestyle shows such as Rachael Ray and "House Hunters," it made a demand that the media company thought went too far: Exclusive rights to broadcast…
From ACM News
'Desktop Medicine' Will Transform the Practice of Medicine
A new approach to medicine is emerging in which physicians rely on electronic information and statistical models to identify risk-factors for medical conditions such as hypertension and intervene before they develop.
From ACM News
Search Engine Optimization 'poisoning' Way Up This Year: Report
Websense says 22.4% of Google searches lead to bad URLs vs. 13.7% at end of 2009.
From ACM TechNews
Imec Leads Development of Stretchable Electronic Fabrics
IMEC is leading a smart textiles project that is focusing on making electronic packages conform to the properties of textiles, rather than weaving rigid electrical components into fabrics. This could lead to high-volume manufacturing…
From ACM TechNews
Stage Set For Showdown on Online Privacy
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Commerce Department are planning to release separate and possibly conflicting reports regarding online privacy. Commerce favors letting the industry regulate itself, while the FTC…
From ACM TechNews
Why There Are So Few Women in Tech
Women with engineering or computer science degrees face a tricky career path at technology companies and often leave their jobs just as they near their career peaks, writes Digital Link founder Vinita Gupta.
From ACM TechNews
Human-Computer Music Performance System Links Music and Musical Gestures
University of Victoria researchers have developed a new method for capturing musical gestures and mapping them to sounds. The method involves the use of sensors to create hyper-instruments, plus using a microphone and signal…
From ACM TechNews
Cyber Storm Drill to Yield New Lessons, Feds Say
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security recently concluded a cyberwar simulation that connected thousands of participants from the state, federal, and private sectors in a week-long drill to assess the cyberdefensive capabilities…
From ACM TechNews
Quantum Computers a Step Closer to Reality Thanks to New Finding
Quantum computers could have a much higher threshold for error than previously thought. New research reveals that a quantum computer could still be made to work if up to a quarter of the qubits are lost.
From ACM TechNews
Wising p on STEM Completion
Arizona State University researchers recently unveiled CareerWISE, a website designed to increase the retention of women pursuing degrees and careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics by addressing the various…
From ACM TechNews
Taking Movies Beyond Avatar
University of Abertay Dundee researchers have developed a technique that builds on the virtual cameras used in the movie "Avatar" by using home computers and motion controllers.
From ACM TechNews
A Review of Nitrd
One recommendation of the U.S. President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology's draft report review of the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development program is a new, multi-agency research initiative…
From ACM News
Kinect's Future: A Game Controller in Everything
Kinect isn't just for gaming. Microsoft has plans to use the motion-based technology in phones, computers and more.
From ACM News
Why Is a Universal Translator So Elusive?
With a global economy and flights that can take you all over the world in hours, why is it that we still struggle with a language barrier that technology is finding hard to break down?
From ACM News
Robot Troops Will Follow Orders, Beat You at Rock, Paper, Scissors
The military has a ton of ground robots scurrying around Afghanistan. Too bad they’re dumb as puppets, unable to make the slightest move without a human pulling the strings.
From ACM News
Quantum Computing Reaches for True Power
In 1981 the physicist Richard Feynman speculated about the possibility of "tiny computers obeying quantum mechanical laws." He suggested that such a quantum computer might be the best way to simulate real-world quantum systems…
From ACM News
Whoi Receives Foundation Grant For Oceanography Imaging Informatics
In a significant step toward a new era in the collection and understanding of ocean science data, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has received a grant of more than $2 million for work in imaging informatics in…
From ACM TechNews
Microsoft Releases F# Under Open Source License
Microsoft has released version 2.0 of the F# compiler and core library under an Apache 2.0 open source license. The development team plans to release new versions of compiler library code along with new releases of the language…
From ACM TechNews
It's a Smart World
The spread of linked sensors and cameras, ubiquitous wireless networks, communications standards, and people's activities is facilitating a convergence of the real and digital worlds, and the most significant factor driving this…
From ACM News
Nanogenerators Power Conventional Electronic Devices
Researchers have reached a significant milestone in their development of nanometer-scale generators that harvest mechanical energy from the environment using an array of tiny nanowires: the ability to power conventional electronic…
From ACM News
President Honors Outstanding Early-Career Scientists
President Obama has named 85 researchers as recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on professionals in the early stages of their independent…
From ACM News
Watch Where You're Going
Businesses are quietly buying mobile-phone data to discover the paths that consumers take.
From ACM News
Will the It Guy Learn to Love Apple?
It's likely you've got an Apple product plugged into your ears when you're listening to music. Making a phone call? One out of every five people buying a smartphone are choosing an iPhone. And Apple's share of consumer laptop…
From ACM News
Speed Camera Checks Your Insurance, Tax, Even Whether You're Tailgating
Even the most law-abiding driver might feel a shiver down the spine when spotting this speed camera at the roadside.
From ACM News
Video Game Design Program Boosts Interest in Science Careers
Funded by a U.S. National Science Foundation grant, a George Mason University program is using video game design as a way to increase student interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
From ACM TechNews
Multi-Million Dollar Initiative Aims to Improve Internet Architecture
University of Arizona researchers are participating in a U.S. National Science Foundation effort that is investigating ways to revolutionize the Internet's architecture.
From ACM TechNews
'net Pioneers: Open Internet Should Be Separate
A group of Internet and technology pioneers recently filed a document with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, advising the agency to allow for an open Internet separate from specialized services that can prioritize Internet…
From ACM TechNews
'code For America' Programmers to Work in City Governments
Boston, Seattle, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., will each receive a team of five open source Web programmers for 11 months, as chosen by Code for America, a new nonprofit organization that's pairing Web specialists with…