Communications of the ACM
From ACM Opinion
Looking Backward to Put New Technologies in Focus
More than most of us, the science historian George Dyson spends his days thinking about technologies, old and very new.
From ACM TechNews
How Siri Makes Computers (and Coders) More Human
Siri, a program in the latest Apple iPhone that can carry out a wide spectrum of vocal commands without requiring training or special syntax from the user, stands...
From ACM Opinion
Research Bought, Then Paid For
Through the National Institutes of Health, American taxpayers have long supported research directed at understanding and treating human disease.
From ACM Opinion
Why America's Spies Struggle To Keep p
Before Sept. 11, 2011, there were 16 intelligence agencies in the United States.
From ACM Opinion
Read My Email? Get a Warrant
Last October the well-known hacking group Chaos Computer Club revealed that the German state police had been monitoring the computers of ordinary citizens using...
From ACM Opinion
China Bankrolls R&d While India Plays the Miser
Did Prime Minister Manmohan Singh underplay China's superiority over India in the field of science, research, and technology? Analysis of new data shared at the...
From ACM Opinion
I Want to Translate the Web
I want to translate the Web into every major language: every Webpage, every video, and, yes, even Justin Bieber's tweets.
From ACM Opinion
What I Learned About the Future of Computing from Delving into IT's Past
Turing, Colossus, and even the Jacquard Loom still matter to the iPad generation.
From ACM Opinion
Internet Access Is Not a Human Right
From the streets of Tunis to Tahrir Square and beyond, protests around the world last year were built on the Internet and the many devices that interact with...
From ACM Opinion
Welcome to the 'knowosphere'
Here's my take on what I've begun calling the "knowosphere"—a word intentionally echoing the more allegorical "noosphere," the "planet of the mind" of Vladimir....
From ACM TechNews
The Next Big Thing(s) in Tech
The next big advances in technology include the replacement of desktop computers with smartphones, the emergence of nanotech batteries, and the rise of augmented...
From ACM Opinion
AI Will Change Our Relationship With Tech
In 1984, Canadian movie director James Cameron imagined a world in which computers achieved self-awareness and set about systematically destroying humankind. ...
From ACM Opinion
Why Books Are Better Than E-Books For Children
Do you read to your children from your iPad or other device, or encourage them to use an e-reader to read to you?
From ACM Opinion
Smoke Screening
Not until I walked with Bruce Schneier toward the mass of people unloading their laptops did it occur to me that it might not be possible for us to hang around...
From Communications of the ACM
Interfaces For the Ordinary User: Can We Hide Too Much?
Increasing the visibility and access to underlying file structure on consumer devices can vastly improve the user experience.
From Communications of the ACM
The IBM PC: From Beige Box to Industry Standard
Looking back at three decades of PC platform evolution.
From Communications of the ACM
The Difference Engine
Observations on cognitive diversity and team performance.
From Communications of the ACM
The Yin and Yang of Copyright and Technology
Examining the recurring conflicts between copyright and technology from piano rolls to domain-name filtering.
From ACM Opinion
A Few Simple Checks Would Transform Science Reporting
The U.K.'s Leveson inquiry is not just about illegally obtained tittle-tattle, it's a chance to curb sensationalist misreporting of science.
From ACM Opinion