Communications of the ACM
An edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.
From ACM News
Magnetic Solder to Wire 3-D Chips
A new type of solder can be melted and shaped in three dimensions under the force of a weak magnetic field. Using a magnet to pull the solder up through narrow...
From ACM News
Faster Optical Switching Through Chemistry
New molecules produced at Georgia Tech could enable engineers to build all-optical data routers, ultimately leading to transmission speeds as high as two terabits...
From ACM News
New Frontiers: The Nanoscience/neuroscience Intersection
Is it possible to build supercomputers that can replicate the human brain, or to develop nanotechnology that can lead to an implantable chip for interfacing with...
From ACM TechNews
Prace Evaluated Additional Prototypes For Next Generation Architectures
The Partnership for Advanced Computing in Europe's work package for future petaflop computer technologies beyond 2010 recently assessed 12 prototypes for next-generation...
From ACM News
Physicists Build Basic Quantum Computing Circuit
Exerting delicate control over a pair of atoms within a mere seven-millionths-of-a-second window of opportunity, physicists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison...
From ACM TechNews
Near-Threshold Computing Could Enable p to 100x Reduction in Power Consumption
University of Michigan researchers are developing near-threshold computing (NTC) technology, which could allow electronic devices to operate at lower voltages than...
From Communications of the ACM
Tracking Garbage
Researchers are focusing on the so-called "removal chain" in an attempt to save landfill space, improve recycling rates, and trim the flow of toxic materials into...
From ACM TechNews
3-D Chip Design Challenges
Engineers from the European research agency IMEC discussed the design challenges of stacking layers of silicon dies using vertical copper interconnects, or through...
From ACM News
Is That a 'black Box' in Your Car?
Just a few miles east of Los Angeles International Airport, a Chevy Tahoe barreled its way through a residential neighborhood on a Sunday evening. The driver lost...
From ACM News
For Chip Makers, the Next Battle Is in Smartphones
The going rate for a state-of-the-art chip factory is about $3 billion. The plants typically take years to build. And the microscopic size of chip circuitry requires...
From ACM TechNews
Truly Random Numbers
German researchers have developed a random number generator that uses a computer memory element, a flip-flop, to create an extra layer of randomness.
From ACM News
What tilities Have Learned From Smart-Meter Tests...
Utilities have learned a lot about how smart meters can compel consumers to save electricity. Unfortunately, too often they aren't putting the knowledge to good...
From ACM News
Swarm of Micro-Helicopters Could Create a Giant 3-D Display
Mechanical fireflies could help create a new kind of 3-D display, say researchers at MIT. Standing in for the bioluminescent beetles will be LED-fitted, remotely...
From ACM News
Apple Claims Top Spot in Annual Computer Reliability Report
Apple personal computers received the highest reliability score in RESCUECOM's Annual 2010 Computer Reliability Report released Monday (February 22). Manufacturers...
From ACM TechNews
Dwarf Helicopters, Smart Subs, and Mining Robots to Automate Australia
Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Autonomous Systems (CAS) research director Hugh Durrant-Whyte has led the development of robots for use in...
From ACM News
Cellphone Traces Reveal You're So Predictable
We may all like to consider ourselves free spirits. But a study of the traces left by 50,000 cellphone users over three months has conclusively proved otherwise...
From ACM News
Lego Robot Solves Any Rubik
Be warned my fellow humans, robots will not be satisfied until they defeat us in even the most trivial of contests. Cube Stormer is the latest creation from Mike...
From ACM News
Ex-Army Man Cracks Popular Security Chip
Hardware hacker Christopher Tarnovsky just wanted to break Microsoft's grip on peripherals for its Xbox 360 game console. In the process, he cracked one of the...
From ACM News
Turning Patents Into
Nathan Myhrvold wants to shake up the marketplace for ideas. His mission and the activities of the company he heads, Intellectual Ventures, a secretive $5 billion...
From ACM TechNews