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
The New Police Siren: You
Joe Bader tried setting the two tones of his invention four notes apart on the musical scale, but the result sounded like music, not a siren. Same thing when...
From ACM TechNews
China's Homemade Supercomputer May Be the Most Efficient Ever
China plans to launch a new homegrown supercomputer, the Dawning 6000, this summer, and it "could rival even Blue Gene/Q systems for performance per watt supremacy...
From ACM News
Thinking Your Way Through Traffic in a Brain-Control Car
John Prine wasn’t far off when he sang in "Living In the Future" that "we're all driving rocket ships and talking with our minds." We're still waiting for our...
From ACM News
Retooling Algorithms
Charles Leiserson and his team are experts at designing parallel algorithms—including one for a chess-playing program that outperformed IBM’s Deep Blue.
From ACM News
Increasing Processor Efficiency By Matching Power with Demand
For decades, chipmakers strove to develop the fastest and most powerful chips possible and damn the amount of electricity needed to power them, but these days...
From ACM News
Remapping Computer Circuitry to Avert Impending Bottlenecks
Hewlett-Packard researchers have proposed a fundamental rethinking of the modern computer for the coming era of nanoelectronics—a marriage of memory and computing...
From ACM News
The Next Operating System
Operating systems for multicore chips will need more information about their own performance—and more resources for addressing whatever problems arise.
From ACM News
Wiring in a Wireless Age
Is Intel's Thunderbolt cable a brilliant innovation or a worthless grasp at the past?
From ACM News
Follow the Money: Tiny Transistors Track Cash
Banks have long considered placing silicon transistors on currency for security purposes, but the technology was too chunky and intensive for paper bills. Now...
From ACM News
Goal-Line Technologists Fail Fifa Test
Fifa's plans to introduce goal-line technology have suffered a setback after every one of the 10 companies which took part in trials last week failed to meet...
From ACM TechNews
Nasa's Robot May Get Japanese Space Companion
The next launch of the U.S. space shuttle Discovery will carry a humanoid robot to the International Space Station. Dubbed Robonaut 2 (R2), the robot has a helmeted...
From ACM News
World's Smallest Computer Watches You
Researchers recently unveiled the first complete millimeter-scale computing system that is about the size of the letter "N" on the back of a penny (or about the...
From ACM News
Calling All Cars: Cell Phone Networks and the Future of Traffic
Ask someone what they think the future of driving is, and the most likely response involves self-driving cars.
From Communications of the ACM
Memristors: Pass or Fail?
The device may revolutionize data storage, replacing flash memory and perhaps even disks. Whether they can be reliably and cheaply manufactured, though, is an open...
From Communications of the ACM
Evaluating Government Funding
A presidential report asserts the value of U.S. government investments in the cross-agency Networking and Information Technology Research...
From Communications of the ACM
Grid Computing's Future
Outreach programs and usability improvements are drawing many researchers to grid computing from disciplines that have not traditionally used such resources.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Store Data in Flash Memory nder Low Voltage Conditions
University of Massachusetts Amherst and Texas A&M University researchers have developed a method for writing information to flash memory under low-voltage conditions...
From ACM News
The Secret World of Printing Concept Cars in 3D
The work that goes into building a physical model of a concept car is usually hidden behind closed doors, known only to engineers sworn to secrecy and similarly...
From ACM News
Light-Emitting Rubber Could Sense Structural Damage
Researchers at Princeton University have built a new type of sensor that could help engineers quickly assess the health of a building or bridge. The sensor is...
From ACM News