acm-header
Sign In

Communications of the ACM

News


Latest News News Archive Refine your search:
dateMore Than a Year Ago
subjectSoftware
authorThe Wall Street Journal
bg-corner

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


Galaxy Hosts 100 Billion Planets, in New Estimate
From ACM News

Galaxy Hosts 100 Billion Planets, in New Estimate

Astronomers said Wednesday that each of the 100 billion stars in the Milky Way probably has at least one companion planet, adding credence to the notion that...

From ACM News

Spying on Your Buying

Monograms don't usually make me cry. But there in my room at the Peninsula Beverly Hills, embroidered in cursive on the king-size pillowcase, were two beautiful...

Pick Up the Phone, Nfl: The Future Is Calling
From ACM News

Pick Up the Phone, Nfl: The Future Is Calling

On the sidelines during every game, New York Jets cornerback Donald Strickland performs a trick familiar to any toddler who has ever held a flip book.

Citizen Scientists
From ACM News

Citizen Scientists

Ordinary people are taking control of their health data, making their DNA public and running their own experiments. Their big question: Why should science be...

From ACM News

Barcelona Center Makes Super Bet on Cellphone Chips

Supercomputers, once built from handcrafted circuitry, were transformed when companies started assembling them from inexpensive PC-style microprocessors. Researchers...

From ACM News

Justices Weigh Privacy vs. Gps Bugs

In a case that questions the Constitution's meaning in light of modern surveillance technology, the Supreme Court will consider Tuesday whether police need a...

Poor Penmanship Spells Job Security For Post Office's Scribble Specialists
From ACM News

Poor Penmanship Spells Job Security For Post Office's Scribble Specialists

A man in Emden, Mo., recently mailed a letter that he had addressed, in a scribble, to somebody in "Shelhjreille, Mo." That's the way his handwriting made it...

Software Finds Place in Posse
From ACM News

Software Finds Place in Posse

Law-enforcement and intelligence agencies are increasingly relying on information from the Web and electronic records to help solve crimes and evaluate threats...

Feds Shift Tracking Defense
From ACM News

Feds Shift Tracking Defense

The U.S. Department of Justice now says its use of a cellphone-tracking device in a controversial Arizona case could be considered a "search" under the Fourth...

Zot! Uc Irvine Team Proves Stellar at Mapping Dark Matter
From ACM News

Zot! Uc Irvine Team Proves Stellar at Mapping Dark Matter

When David Kirkby and Daniel Margala entered a contest to find out who could most accurately map dark matter in the universe, the first algorithm they submitted...

Design Spotlight Is Thrown on Ive
From ACM News

Design Spotlight Is Thrown on Ive

Without Steve Jobs, Apple Inc. investors and customers are asking a big question: Can it continue to turn out innovative products without its co-founder and design...

From ACM News

What to Do If You've Been Hacked

It's a nightmare scenario every business fears. Your tech department has spotted suspicious activity on the company network. Your customers and employees are...

'stingray' Phone Tracker Fuels Constitutional Clash
From ACM News

'stingray' Phone Tracker Fuels Constitutional Clash

For more than a year, federal authorities pursued a man they called simply "the Hacker." Only after using a little known cellphone-tracking device—a stingray—were...

From ACM News

Walked Into a Lamppost? Hurt While Crocheting? Help Is on the Way

Today, hospitals and doctors use a system of about 18,000 codes to describe medical services in bills they send to insurers. Apparently, that doesn't allow for...

On Your Mark, Get Set, Hack!
From ACM News

On Your Mark, Get Set, Hack!

During a "hackathon" last year, GroupMe co-founders Steve Martocci and Jared Hecht built a group text-messaging service in one 24-hour stretch. In August, the...

From ACM News

Cisco Poised to Help China Keep an Eye on Its Citizens

Western companies, including Cisco Systems Inc., are poised to help build an ambitious new surveillance project in China—a citywide network of as many as 500,000...

A Roboticist's Trip From Mines to the Moon
From ACM News

A Roboticist's Trip From Mines to the Moon

Robots created by William "Red" Whittaker have crawled into mines and volcanoes, crossed deserts, won a 60-mile road race, helped clean up nuclear waste and harvested...

From ACM News

Google Takes On Friend Sprawl

Google Inc. launched its most ambitious social-networking effort yet, broadening a battle with Facebook Inc. to grab the attention of Web users and future advertising...

The Cop on the Cyber Beat
From ACM Opinion

The Cop on the Cyber Beat

Homeland Security's Bruce McConnell on the government's role in helping companies fight online attacks.

Web Addresses Enter New.era
From ACM News

Web Addresses Enter New.era

On Monday, the organization that regulates the world's Internet domain names—yes, there is central coordination—approved changes that could allow anyone to register...
Sign In for Full Access
» Forgot Password? » Create an ACM Web Account