Martin Campbell-Kelly – Communications of the ACM

Opinion Jul 1 2012

All computer scientists know about the Universal Turing Machine, one of the foundation stones of theoretical computer science. Much less well known is the practical stored program computer Turing proposed after the war in February 1946.

Architecture and Hardware

Jim Wilkinson and Donald Davies with the Pilot ACE

Author Archives

Opinion Sep 1 2011

In Praise of ‘Wilkes, Wheeler, and Gill’

Sixty years ago, Maurice Wilkes, David Wheeler, and Stanley Gill produced the first textbook on programming: The Preparation of Programs for an Electronic Digital Computer. It was a publication that spearheaded the software revolution.

Architecture and Hardware

steel cabinet which held the EDSAC subroutine library

Opinion Oct 1 2010

Victorian Data Processing

The Victorian world was awash with data and with organizations that processed it; and they usually used nothing more technologically advanced than pen and paper.

Computing Applications

Opinion Apr 1 2010

Be Careful What You Wish For

Reflections on the decline of mathematical tables.

Computing Applications

Opinion Oct 1 2009

Computing in the Depression Era

Since its beginning, the computer industry has been through several major recessions, each occurring approximately five years after the establishment of a new computing paradigm. These new computing modes created massive opportunities that the entrepreneurial economy rapidly supplied and then oversupplied.

Computing Applications

Opinion May 1 2009

The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of Software as a Service

The commercial opportunities of software as a service are widely hyped these days and many think SaaS is the future of software. That might be true in the medium term, but the volatile history of remote computing shows that one cannot be sure the trend will last indefinitely.

Architecture and Hardware

Opinion Oct 1 2008

Historical Reflections: Will the Future of Software Be Open Source?

Tracing the course of influential computing developments and considering possible paths to new paradigms.

Computing Applications

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