May 2007 - Vol. 50 No. 5

Features

Opinion Editorial pointers May 1 2007

Editorial Pointers

Anniversaries are a time to reflect on past achievements and ponder future goals. On the occasion of ACM’s 50 anniversary in 1997, we recognized the Association’s potential role in steering the next 50 years of computing. Now, as ACM approaches its 60th year, we go back to the beginning and trace those founding days: the […]

Diane Crawford

Computing Applications

Opinion Forum May 1 2007

In their article "Increased Security Through Open Source" (Jan. 2007), Jaap-Henk Hoepman and Bart Jacobs claimed that open source software will be more secure than closed source. For average users, however, the situation will be the same. They’ll still have to trust some other party to rate the security of the software they use. Whether […]

Computing Applications

Opinion President's letter May 1 2007

ACM’s Past Helps Steer its Future

When the Association for Computing Machinery was founded, our name explained what interested us. In the 60 years since then, the Association has embraced systems, software, services, policy, education, the roles of people, as well as other topics relating to information technology. This month’s special section spotlighting the birth of ACM and the pioneering spirits […]

Stuart I. Feldman

Computing Applications

News News track May 1 2007

Princeton professor Andrew Appel recently purchased five Sequoia e-voting machines from a government auction site for $82; now he and his students are dissecting the machines to determine just how tamper-proof they really are. Wired reports the team is reverse engineering the software embedded in the machines’ ROM chips to check for security holes. Appel […]

CACM Staff

Computing Applications

Opinion Staying connected May 1 2007

The Pearly Gates of Internet TV

Is this a marriage made in heaven?

Meg McGinity Shannon

Computing Applications

Opinion Viewpoint May 1 2007

The Rime of the Ancyent Programmer

How one programmer's career, set adrift on the raging seas of technological change, has been tossed by the winds of fate.

Stephen B. Jenkins

Computing Applications

Practice Practical programmer May 1 2007

One Man’s Quest For the State of Software Engineering’s Practice

Analyzing researchers' findings of software practitioners' activities.

Robert L. Glass

Computing Applications

News ACM at 60: a look back in time May 1 2007

Tracing the early days of ACM—its landmark accomplishments, its challenges, its goals—in celebration of its first 60 years.

David S. Wise

Computing Applications

News ACM at 60: a look back in time May 1 2007

ACM Established to Develop Communication About Computing

Sixty years ago most computer scientists worked in a vacuum, unaware of the projects their peers around the U.S. were exploring. Sharing research was key to furthering the field, most agreed, but what vehicle could best serve as a conduit for communication?

Bernadette Longo

Computing Applications

News ACM at 60: a look back in time May 1 2007

Edmund Berkeley and the Origins of ACM

A fascination with computing machinery, and a desire to explore this emerging field with mathematicians, engineers, computer manufacturers, and others, inspired E.C. Berkeley to help create a hub for these common interests to connect.

Atsushi Akera

Computing Applications

News ACM at 60: a look back in time May 1 2007

Sources For ACM History: What, Where, Why

ACM has developed a rich and varied history over its first six decades. Preserving that history in an open and plentiful archive is key to helping future historians tell the ACM story.

Thomas Haigh, Elisabeth Kaplan, and Carrie Seib

Computing Applications

News ACM at 60: a look back in time May 1 2007

Not Only Digital: A Review of ACM's Early Involvement with Analog Computing Technology

When analog and digital were in flux, ACM provided a forum—as well as publications and conferences—to explore both sides.

Charles Care

Architecture and Hardware

News ACM at 60: a look back in time May 1 2007

The ACM and IEEE-CS Guidelines For Undergraduate CS Education

ACM curriculum recommendations have been instrumental over the last 40 years in defining what is taught at educational institutions around the world.

David Hemmendinger

Computing Applications

News ACM at 60: a look back in time May 1 2007

A History of ACM SIGGRAPH

From a small group of like-minded scientists drawn to the dynamics of computer-generated images to a driving force in computer graphics bringing together thousands from around the world, SIGGRAPH continues to chart the course for this diverse and ever-changing field.

Judy Brown and Steve Cunningham

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

News ACM at 60: a look back in time May 1 2007

SIGCOMM’s Archaeological Journey Into Networking’s Past

Documenting the technical history of a SIG is indeed a priceless resource.

Chris Edmondson-Yurkanan

Architecture and Hardware

News ACM at 60: a look back in time May 1 2007

A History of the History of Programming Languages

"If I have seen further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants."---Isaac Newton, in a letter to Robert Hooke, Feb. 15, 1676

Thomas J. (Tim) Bergin

Computing Applications

Research and Advances May 1 2007

The Software Architect

Leadership is the defining characteristic in an unforgiving technology arena.

Matthew R. McBride

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances May 1 2007

Universal Accessibility as a Multimodal Design Issue

Creating adaptable solutions to address diverse users and situations.

Zeljko Obrenovic, Julio Abascal, and Dusan Starcevic

Computing Applications

Research and Advances May 1 2007

The Whitewater Process: Software Product Development in Small IT Businesses

Small software development companies need it to ensure they stay on course and are able to respond to the market's ebbs and flows.

Michael Harris, Kris Aebischer, and Tim Klaus

Computing Applications

Research and Advances May 1 2007

Accessing the Deep Web

Attempting to locate and quantify material on the Web that is hidden from typical search techniques.

Bin He, Mitesh Patel, Zhen Zhang, and Kevin Chen-Chuan Chang

Architecture and Hardware

Research and Advances May 1 2007

Modeling Multi-Agent Systems

Emerging from a paradigm different from objects, the modeling of agents requires its own conceptual frameworks, modeling languages, and methodologies.

Viviane Torres da Silva and Carlos J.P. de Lucena

Computing Applications

Research and Advances May 1 2007

Does Personality Matter?: An Analysis of Code-Review Ability

Developing a better understanding of the mental processes leading to success or failure in code review.

Alessandra Devito Da Cunha and David Greathead

Computing Applications

Opinion Technical opinion May 1 2007

The Right Place at the Right Time

Examining the use of network location in authentication and abuse prevention.

Geoffrey Goodell and Paul Syverson

Computing Applications

Opinion Hot links May 1 2007

Top 10 Downloads from ACM’s Digital Library

Communications of the ACM Volume 50, Number 5 (2007), Pages 124-125 Hot links: Top 10 downloads from ACM’s digital library Diane Crawford Table of Contents Tables Back to Top Tables Table.Top 10 Downloads from ACM’s Digital Library Table.The Top 10 Most Popular Papers from ACM’s Refereed Journals and Conference Proceedings Downloaded in February 2007 Table.The […]

Computing Applications

Opinion Inside risks May 1 2007

The Psychology of Security

The information security literature is filled with risk pathologies, heuristics that we use to help us evaluate risks. I’ve collected them from many different sources. When you look over the list of exaggerated and downplayed risks in the table here, the most remarkable thing is how reasonable so many of them seem. This makes sense […]

Bruce Schneier

Computing Applications

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