Top Technews Stories of 2016

ACM strives to keep its members in the know by providing timely coverage of established and emerging areas of computer science, the latest accomplishments in information technology, and related developments in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics via the ACM TechNews newsletter.

TechNews is assembled from hundreds of English-language technology publications from all over the world.  Three times each week, an email containing TechNews, in form of a dozen or so abstracts and links to deeper information, is sent to more than 100,000 ACM member inboxes.

The most popular story link clicked on by readers of TechNews during 2016 was a link to the Dec. 18, 2016 Fast Company article "These Universities Are Training The World's Top Coders," which seeks to answer the question, “Which universities have students who can roll up their sleeves and code?”

Following are the 10 most frequently clicked-on article links in TechNews during 2016:

Rank	Article	Publication	Date	URL
1	These Universities Are Training The World's Top Coders	Fast Company	Dec. 18, 2016	https://www.fastcompany.com/3066485/the-future-of-work/these-universities-are-training-the-worlds-top-coders
2	21 hot programming trends — and 21 going cold	InfoWorld	March 10, 2016	http://www.infoworld.com/article/3039935/application-development/21-hot-programming-trends-and-21-going-cold.html
3	5 tech trends that have Turing Award winners worried	Computerworld	Sept. 23, 2016	http://computerworld.com/article/3123488/internet-of-things/5-tech-trends-that-have-turing-award-winners-worried.html
4	Powerful NSA hacking tools have been revealed online	The Washington Post	Aug. 16, 2016	https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/powerful-nsa-hacking-tools-have-been-revealed-online/2016/08/16/bce4f974-63c7-11e6-96c0-37533479f3f5_story.html?utm_term=.5400830909d6
5	Who’s the Michael Jordan of computer science? New tool ranks researchers' influence	Science	April 20, 2016	http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/04/who-s-michael-jordan-computer-science-new-tool-ranks-researchers-influence
6	Encryption breakthrough: Scientists derice truly random numbers using two-source extractors	TechRepublic	July 25, 2016	http://www.techrepublic.com/article/computer-scientists-derive-truly-random-numbers-using-two-source-extractors/
7	A bug in fMRI software could invalidate 15 years of brain research	ScienceAlert	July 6, 2016	http://www.sciencealert.com/a-bug-in-fmri-software-could-invalidate-decades-of-brain-research-scientists-discover
8	Researchers found mathematical structure that was thought not to exist	Aalto University	Nov. 15, 2016	http://www.aalto.fi/en/current/news/2016-11-14-002/
9	Deep-Learning Machine Listens to Bach, Then Writes Its Own Music in the Same Style	MIT Technology Review	Dec. 14, 2016	https://www.technologyreview.com/s/603137/deep-learning-machine-listens-to-bach-then-writes-its-own-music-in-the-same-style/
10	The top 10 emerging technologies of 2016	Kurzweil Accelerating Intelligence	June 23, 2016	http://www.kurzweilai.net/the-top-10-emerging-technologies-of-2016

TechNews is a benefit of ACM membership. If you are an ACM member and wish to receive TechNews, please contact your personal ACM Customer Service Representative, or indicate your preference in the settings of your dashboard on myacm.acm.org. 

Coming soon: a new look for ACM TechNews, in the form of a responsive template that will make the news more readable whether you viewing it on a smartphone, tablet, or desktop.

Lawrence M. Fisher is Senior Editor/News for ACM Magazines.