October 2015 - Vol. 58 No. 10

October 2015 issue cover image

Features

Opinion Oct 1 2015

What Can Be Done About Gender Diversity in Computing?: A Lot!

The 2015 Grace Hopper celebration of women in computing is expected to bring together more than 12,000 — mostly female — computer scientists! But this impressive number should not be taken to mean all is well on the gender-diversity front. Far from it!

Computing Applications

Moshe Vardi, Communications of the ACM's Editor-in-Chief

Opinion Oct 1 2015

The Third Heidelberg Laureate Forum

The Third Heidelberg Laureate Forum equaled and perhaps outperformed the previous two. It was also, however, a poignant event because we were reminded of the ephemeral nature of our human lives.

Computing Applications

Vinton G. Cerf

Opinion Letters to the Editor Oct 1 2015

Ban ‘Naked’ Braces!

One afternoon early in 1990, one of the 100 or so 4ESS switches that handled U.S. long-distance traffic at the time hit a glitch and executed some untested recovery code. In the process the switch dragged its neighboring switches down, and the process cascaded across the country.

Computing Applications

Letters to the Editor, illustration

BLOG@CACM Oct 1 2015

The Morality of Online War; the Fates of Data Analytics, HPC

John Arquilla considers justifications for warfare in the cyber realm, while Daniel Reed looks ahead at big data and exascale computing.

John Arquilla and Daniel A. Reed

Computing Applications

News Oct 1 2015

Scientists Update Views of Light

Experiment sheds new light on wave-particle duality.

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Scientists Update Views of Light, illustration

News Oct 1 2015

Automotive Systems Get Smarter

Automotive infotainment systems are driving changes to automobiles, and to driver behavior.

Samuel Greengard

Architecture and Hardware

Automotive Systems Get Smarter, illustrative photo

News Oct 1 2015

Cyber Policies on the Rise

A growing number of companies are taking out cybersecurity insurance policies to protect themselves from the costs of data breaches.

Keith Kirkpatrick

Computing Applications

Cyber Policies on the Rise, illustration

Opinion Inside risks Oct 1 2015

Keys Under Doormats

Mandating insecurity by requiring government access to all data and communications.

Computing Applications

Keys Under Doormats, illustrative photo

Opinion Technology strategy and management Oct 1 2015

In Defense of IBM

The ability to adjust to various technical and business disruptions has been essential to IBM's success during the past century.

Michael A. Cusumano

Computing Applications

Opinion Kode Vicious Oct 1 2015

Storming the Cubicle

Acquisitive redux.

George V. Neville-Neil

Computing Applications

Storming the Cubicle, illustrative photo

Opinion The business of software Oct 1 2015

Thinking Thoughts

On brains and bytes.

Phillip G. Armour

Computing Applications

Thinking Thoughts, illustration

Opinion Historical reflections Oct 1 2015

Computing Is History

Reflections on the past to inform the future.

Computing Applications

Computing Is History, illustration

Opinion Viewpoint Oct 1 2015

Rise of Concerns About AI: Reflections and Directions

Research, leadership, and communication about AI futures.

Thomas G. Dietterich and Eric J. Horvitz

Computing Applications

HAL's camera eye

Opinion Viewpoint Oct 1 2015

Life After MOOCs

Online science education needs a new revolution.

Phillip Compeau and Pavel A. Pevzner

Computing Applications

Life After MOOCs, illustration

Practice Oct 1 2015

Crash Consistency

Rethinking the fundamental abstractions of the file system.

Architecture and Hardware

Crash Consistency, illustration

Practice Oct 1 2015

Dismantling the Barriers to Entry

We have to choose to build a Web that is accessible to everyone.

Computing Applications

Dismantling the Barriers to Entry, illustrative photo

Research and Advances Contributed articles Oct 1 2015

Seeking Anonymity in an Internet Panopticon

The Dissent system aims for a quantifiably secure, collective approach to anonymous communication online.

Joan Feigenbaum and Bryan Ford

Architecture and Hardware

Seeking Anonymity in an Internet Panopticon, illustration

Research and Advances Contributed articles Oct 1 2015

Framing Sustainability as a Property of Software Quality

This framework addresses the environmental dimension of software performance, as applied here by a paper mill and a car-sharing service.

Patricia Lago, Sedef Akinli Koçak, Ivica Crnkovic, and Birgit Penzenstadler

Computing Applications

Framing Sustainability as a Property of Software Quality, illustration

Research and Advances Review articles Oct 1 2015

Discovering Genes Involved in Disease and the Mystery of Missing Heritability

The challenge of missing heritability offers great contribution options for computer scientists.

Computing Applications

Discovering Genes Involved in Disease and the Mystery of Missing Heritability, illustration

Research and Advances Research highlights Oct 1 2015

Technical Perspective: Not Just a Matrix Laboratory Anymore

Mathematics is not difficult to find in Chebfun, the subject of "Computing Numerically with Functions Instead of Numbers."

Systems and Networking

Research and Advances Research highlights Oct 1 2015

Computing Numerically with Functions Instead of Numbers

We present the Chebfun system for numerical computation with functions, which is based on a key idea: an analogy of floating-point arithmetic for functions rather than numbers.

Lloyd N. Trefethen

Systems and Networking

Computing Numerically with Functions Instead of Numbers, illustration

Opinion Last byte Oct 1 2015

Future Tense: Processional

Information processing gives spiritual meaning to life, for those who make it their life's work.

William Sims Bainbridge

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Processional, illustration

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