April 2004 - Vol. 47 No. 4

April 2004 issue cover image

Features

Opinion Editorial pointers

Editorial Pointers

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 […]
News News track

News Track

The offshoring of IT jobs has become such a political tinderbox in the U.S. that India’s outsourcing specialists fear its repercussions. The chairman of a leading Indian software firm recently told the New York Times: “The dramatic buildup of opposition before the U.S. elections is disturbing,” pointing out political reaction against outsourcing has already culminated […]
Opinion Forum

Forum

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 […]
News ACM's Professional Development Centre expands learning opportunities

Acm’s Professional Development Centre Expands Learning Opportunities

One of ACM’s goals is to continually provide our members with meaningful professional development opportunities, supporting life-long career growth. In accordance with this goal, we are proud to announce the expansion of the ACM Professional Development Centre (PDC). The PDC was originally created in response to member feedback emphasizing a need for greater professional development […]
Opinion Digital village

Wading Into Alternate Data Streams

The open-ended nature of ADSs makes them an extremely powerful Windows resource worthy of deeper exploration. The concept of non-monolithic file systems is not new. “File forks” were an integral part of the original Macintosh Hierarchical File System. Apple separated file information into data and resource forks, where the resource fork contains a resource map […]
Research and Advances Human-computer etiquette: managing expectations with intentional agents

Introduction

When I hit my thumb with a hammer, I get mad at myself, at the person making me do the work, and at the cruel and malignant universe, but I don’t get mad at the hammer. By contrast, when my computer crashes, or fails to give me a file that I know is there, or […]
Research and Advances Human-computer etiquette: managing expectations with intentional agents

Trust and Etiquette in High-Criticality Automated Systems

Whereas the other articles in this section discuss human-computer etiquette in traditional social interactions involving the use of computers that explicitly strive to elicit a perception of “personhood” from the human participant, we focus on computers that occupy more traditional roles as complex and largely unpersonified machines involved in high-criticality working relationships with humans—where the […]
Opinion Inside risks

Coincidental Risks

The story of the Aceville elections has received some attention in the national press, but it is worth considering from a Risks perspective. This column is based on reports by AP (Affiliated Press, "Unusual Election Results in Ohio Town," 2/30/04) and Rueters ("Losers Question Ohio Election," 2/30/04). The Aceville, OH, municipal elections last February—the city’s […]

Recent Issues

  1. December 2024 CACM cover
    December 2024 Vol. 67 No. 12
  2. November 2024 CACM cover
    November 2024 Vol. 67 No. 11
  3. October 2024 CACM cover
    October 2024 Vol. 67 No. 10
  4. September 2024 CACM cover
    September 2024 Vol. 67 No. 9