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Why Steve Jobs Is Right About Android
From ACM Opinion

Why Steve Jobs Is Right About Android

Over the weekend I wrote, "What If Steve Jobs Is Right?" As the title implies, the post was a hypothetical look at the possibility that Steve Jobs' assertion...

Jack Zylkin, ­sb Typewriter Guy
From ACM Opinion

Jack Zylkin, ­sb Typewriter Guy

Jack Zylkin created the USB Typewriter. I interviewed him about his creation, the response he's received, and why people are so interested in "the muggle magic...

From ACM News

You Are Data

Bits and Base Pairs explores the concept that the information encoded in our DNA can be compressed down to just 4MB, the equivalent, for example, of "the three...

Ice Cream Sandwich: A Deep-Dive Tour With Android
From ACM Opinion

Ice Cream Sandwich: A Deep-Dive Tour With Android

There are few things in this world I despise more than software updates. Downloading hundreds of files, waiting for the progress bar to fill, restarting the device—it’s...

From ACM Opinion

What Open Source Can Learn From Steve Jobs, Part 1

The passing of Steve Jobs earlier this month triggered reactions that spanned the gamut—from expressions of appreciation and sober reflection to some tasteless...

Did Android Copy Ios? We Asked Google's Product Manager...
From ACM Opinion

Did Android Copy Ios? We Asked Google's Product Manager...

Has Android copied elements from Apple's iOS? It's not a matter that Google's senior managers for the Android operating system want to get involved in.

11 Most Startling Revelations in 'steve Jobs'
From ACM News

11 Most Startling Revelations in 'steve Jobs'

Full disclosure: Steve Jobs was my white whale, the interview I wanted more than any other and the day he died I fashioned a black band across the Apple logo...

Information Seeking: Convergence of Search, Recommendations, and Advertising
From Communications of the ACM

Information Seeking: Convergence of Search, Recommendations, and Advertising

How to address user information needs amidst a preponderance of data.

Will Software Engineering Ever Be Engineering?
From Communications of the ACM

Will Software Engineering Ever Be Engineering?

Considering whether software engineering and engineering can share a profession.

From ACM Opinion

Don't ­nderestimate the Singularity

Although Paul Allen paraphrases my 2005 book, The Singularity Is Near, in the title of his essay (cowritten with his colleague Mark Greaves), it appears that he...

From ACM Opinion

The Scary Prospect of Global Drone Warfare

 Drone technology is spreading rapidly. As many as 50 countries are developing or purchasing these systems, including China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and Iran. Even...

From ACM Opinion

Dennis Ritchie: The Other Man Inside Your Iphone

The groundbreaking work he did with Ken Thompson led to the operating system behind everything from set-top boxes to the iPhone, but who sings the praises of...

With Siri, Apple Could Eventually Build A Real AI
From ACM Opinion

With Siri, Apple Could Eventually Build A Real AI

As iPhone 4S's flood into the hands of the public, users are coming face-to-face with something they weren't quite expecting: Apple's new voice interface, Siri...

From ACM Opinion

Apple's Siri Is as Revolutionary as the Mac

The initial reaction to the iPhone 4S was cooler than Apple might have hoped. Expectations had been hyped to such a point that people were looking for a leap...

From ACM Opinion

Dennis Ritchie: The Shoulders Steve Jobs Stood On

The tributes to Dennis Ritchie won’t match the river of praise that spilled out over the web after the death of Steve Jobs. But they should.

From ACM Opinion

The Singularity Isn't Near

 Futurists like Vernor Vinge and Ray Kurzweil have argued that the world is rapidly approaching a tipping point, where the accelerating pace of smarter and smarter...

Do Volunteer Programmers Produce Better Code?
From ACM Opinion

Do Volunteer Programmers Produce Better Code?

Volunteer programmers do better if they are in it for the long haul, says blogger Robert Pogson. "It's human nature to do better work when you are doing something...

Cold-Calling Dennis Ritchie
From ACM Opinion

Cold-Calling Dennis Ritchie

When I was a grad student at the University of Wisconsin in 1978, I called Dennis Ritchie at Bell Labs to tell him about the work I was doing with the Unix line...

Rise of the Robot Journalists
From ACM Opinion

Rise of the Robot Journalists

The New York Times reported recently that artificial intelligence is being used to compose news stories. Advocates argue that the articles created by "robot journalists"...

From ACM Opinion

Why iOS 5 Is a Big Deal

While most of this week's attention is going to be on Apple's new iPhone 4S and how it sells, the most important thing to come out of the company is a new version...
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