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An edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.


Now You Can Play Angry Birds ­sing a Touch-Sensitive Second Skin
From ACM TechNews

Now You Can Play Angry Birds ­sing a Touch-Sensitive Second Skin

Researchers have developed a transparent, stretchable, wearable touchpad that enables users to control apps and games.

Expensive Drones Take Flying Lessons from Cheaper Stunt Doubles
From ACM News

Expensive Drones Take Flying Lessons from Cheaper Stunt Doubles

Some of the best lessons come from the school of hard knocks. But some kit is too delicate or expensive to be subjected to this.

Libraries of Plastic Molecules Could Store Huge Amounts of Data
From ACM News

Libraries of Plastic Molecules Could Store Huge Amounts of Data

One day your hard drive could just be a pile of plastic. Researchers have coded a word into short chains of plastic molecules, which could be used as a space-saving...

Crystal Mimics Brain Cell to Sift Through Giant Piles of Data
From ACM News

Crystal Mimics Brain Cell to Sift Through Giant Piles of Data

There's nothing quite like the human brain. Today, researchers at IBM unveiled their latest attempt to mimic it: an artificial neuron that switches between crystal...

Now You See Me: True Invisibility Cloak Impossible to Build
From ACM News

Now You See Me: True Invisibility Cloak Impossible to Build

Strike the invisibility cloak off your wish list. They are impossible to build for human-sized objects, says a new study.

Baidu ­ses Millions of ­sers' Location Data to Make Predictions
From ACM News

Baidu ­ses Millions of ­sers' Location Data to Make Predictions

Baidu, China's internet giant, has shown what you can learn when you have access to enough location data.

Stitching a Drone's View of the World Into 3d Maps as It Flies
From ACM News

Stitching a Drone's View of the World Into 3d Maps as It Flies

When you're buzzing through the air at 60 kilometres per hour, it can be hard to take in the view. But now drones can create highly detailed 3D maps as they fly...

Baidu ­ses Millions of ­sers' Location Data to Make Predictions
From ACM News

Baidu ­ses Millions of ­sers' Location Data to Make Predictions

Baidu, China's internet search giant, has shown just what you can learn when you have access to enough location data.

Silicon Fingerprint on Chips Could Make Any Gadget Unhackable
From ACM TechNews

Silicon Fingerprint on Chips Could Make Any Gadget Unhackable

At least one U.S. bank has started supplying its customers with credit and debit cards that contain a physically unclonable function. 

Silicon Fingerprint on Chips Could Make Any Gadget Unhackable
From ACM News

Silicon Fingerprint on Chips Could Make Any Gadget Unhackable

Has your bank recently sent you a credit or debit card with a chip in it? If so, you may now be in possession of a little piece of tech that is quietly helping...

Study of 1 Million Sites Shows Just How Closely We're Watched
From ACM News

Study of 1 Million Sites Shows Just How Closely We're Watched

The web is watching you. Chunks of code hide inside every website, tracking your online behaviour.

The Pipes Powering the Internet Are Nearly Full--What Do We Do?
From ACM TechNews

The Pipes Powering the Internet Are Nearly Full--What Do We Do?

The optical fibers that transmit data throughout the Internet have almost reached their capacity limits.

This Turing Machine Should Run Forever ­nless Maths Is Wrong
From ACM News

This Turing Machine Should Run Forever ­nless Maths Is Wrong

One hundred and fifty years of mathematics will be proved wrong if a new computer program stops running. Thankfully, it's unlikely to happen, but the code behind...

Atomic Memory Could Store ­S Library of Congress in a Dust Speck
From ACM News

Atomic Memory Could Store ­S Library of Congress in a Dust Speck

It's a memory so small you'll forget where you left it. A new data storage system uses single atoms as computer bits, and could hold the contents of the US Library...

The Buzz of Your Skull Can Be ­sed to Tell Exactly Who You Are
From ACM News

The Buzz of Your Skull Can Be ­sed to Tell Exactly Who You Are

You will know me by the buzz in my head. Biometric systems, which identify people by their physiological features, can use everything from ear shape to walking...

Robots Infiltrate Insect World to Learn Their Ways
From ACM TechNews

Robots Infiltrate Insect World to Learn Their Ways

Paris Diderot University researchers have developed a way to generate a robot cockroach's behavior automatically.

Security Missed Brussels Bombs–But Could Sensors Spot Them?
From ACM News

Security Missed Brussels Bombs–But Could Sensors Spot Them?

After terrorists attacked Paris last November, nearby Brussels, home of many of the attackers, posted heavily armed soldiers in public places.

Planet Nine Hunters Enlist Big Bang Telescopes and Saturn Probe
From ACM News

Planet Nine Hunters Enlist Big Bang Telescopes and Saturn Probe

The fate of an entire world is at stake. Astronomers are enlisting every telescope and space probe they can think of in the hunt for the solar system's potential...

Four Big Cosmology Secrets Gravitational Waves Could ­ncover
From ACM News

Four Big Cosmology Secrets Gravitational Waves Could ­ncover

On 11 February, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave observatory, or LIGO, announced it had spotted gravitational waves, the stretching and squeezing of...

Mind-Reading Tech Helps Beginners Quickly Learn to Play Bach
From ACM News

Mind-Reading Tech Helps Beginners Quickly Learn to Play Bach

Every potential virtuoso needs a mentor. It just so happens that this one is a computer.
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