Information and communication technologies (ICTs) have shaken the financial services industry to its deeply entrenched roots. Gone are the days of traditional banking, insurance, and brokerage transactions. In their wake is a global market of business opportunities with ICTs enabling the convergence of an expansive array of integrative financial services and new strategic directions for […]
Diane Crawford
Advertisement
We all recognize how first impressions color potential human relationships. In real life, we tend to be drawn to others who exhibit proper etiquette and suitable conduct similar to our own. An encounter with someone ill-mannered or with bad habits typically sparks a reaction of distrust or displeasure. So, as we invite software systems to […]
Robert L. Glass related open source/free software and communism in his "Practical Programmer" column ("A Look at the Economics of Open Source," Feb. 2004), emphasizing the failure of the latter in order to question the soundness of the former. However, open source/free software development and communist economies differ in many ways: Nobody is forced to […]
This month marks my 17th year with Communications. During that time this magazine has chronicled the evolution of practically every known—and heretofore unknown—discipline within computer science. Indeed, we watched the computing field itself evolve into a global arena of unprecedented triumphs and erratic spirals. But with it all, it’s still difficult to accept that events […]
Simone Santini’s comment (Forum, Dec. 2003) brought to mind something I constantly tell my students: There is nothing new about computers; they simply mechanize the application of logical principles that have been around since Socrates, a logic that can be formally expressed through the mathematics invented by George Boole. The two best courses I ever […]
Just as physical cities emerged over the centuries by creating environments that fostered inhabitants to share and consume a multitude of services, so too are "infohabitants" being drawn to urban life in the virtual world. The roots of these emerging information cities may not be as deep as their physical counterparts, but economic and social […]
Hal Berghel failed to account for the truly pernicious nature of the W32/Blaster worm in his "Digital Village" column (Dec. 2003). As a result, his conclusion that "Eternal vigilance is the best defense against malware," while unexceptionable, misses the more important lesson Blaster taught us: Defense in depth, not just perimeter defense, is necessary for […]
Hans Moravec’s "Robots, After All" (Oct. 2003) seemed to me to be yet another version of "Someday computers will wake up," with the same intellectually faulty arguments and foundational quicksand AI has always suffered. It included a nice graphical depiction of the argument, plotting mental power and MIPS on the same scale, but it was […]
We’ve devoted much coverage in this magazine to tracing the refinement and redesign of computer interfaces to achieve more fluid, natural forms of interaction with users (aka humans). The goal in all cases—regardless of the discipline—is always to move the technology closer to human-human forms of communication and interaction. This month we focus on a […]
Much was expected from mobile commerce by now. The move from mortar to modem was to be the prelude to the next step of conducting business(es) wirelessly. What happened? It’s certainly not because the multibillion-dollar promised land turned into a mirage; it’s that researchers and service providers are finding it takes more than a map […]
Shape the Future of Computing
ACM encourages its members to take a direct hand in shaping the future of the association. There are more ways than ever to get involved.
Get Involved