Communications of the ACM
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
5 Game Stories to Watch in 2012
Goodbye 2011, you tumultuous, fickle, lovely year—hello 2012, another 365-day stretch full of promises, disappointments, and with a little luck, a few pleasant...
From ACM Opinion
The Benefits of Video Games
In addition to understanding the many real concerns that today's parents have with video games, it's also worth considering the benefits and positive aspects...
From ACM Opinion
Xbox 720: What Microsoft Should And Shouldn't Do
As whispers of a looming next generation Xbox announcement grow to a fever pitch, it's hard to open a browser window these days without encountering a screaming...
From ACM Opinion
An Open Letter from Internet Engineers to the .s. Congress
Today, a group of 83 prominent Internet inventors and engineers sent an open letter to members of the United States Congress, stating their opposition to the...
From ACM Opinion
Five Predictions For the Communications World in 2012
In the coming year, mobile Internet devices and in particular smartphones will continue to bring the biggest changes to the way we communicate. For the first...
From ACM Opinion
The Rise of the New Information Gatekeepers
The promise of the Internet age is one of unparalleled access to information of all kinds, but it has also seen the rise of some powerful gatekeepers that control...
From ACM Opinion
Cutting Their Own Throats
Traditional publishing is dominated by the Big Six publishing groups—folks like Hachette, Holtzbrinck, Penguin-Putnam, and so on. In general these publishers...
From Communications of the ACM
Doctoral Program Rankings For U.S. Computing Programs: The National Research Council Strikes Out
A proposal for improving doctoral program ranking strategy.
From Communications of the ACM
The Grounding Practice
The skill of making and recognizing grounded claims is essential for professional practice. Getting objective data to support your conclusions is not enough.
From Communications of the ACM
Data Trends on Minorities and People with Disabilities in Computing
Seeking a comprehensive view of minority student demographics to determine what programs and policies are needed to promote diversity.
From Communications of the ACM
On Turbocharged, Heat-Seeking, Robotic Fishing Poles
There is a well-known proverb, "If you give someone a fish, they'll eat for a day; if you teach them how to fish, they'll eat for a lifetime." The point is obvious...
From Communications of the ACM
The Legacy of Steve Jobs
Reflecting on the career and contributions of the Apple cofounder.
From Communications of the ACM
Life, Death, and the iPad: Cultural Symbols and Steve Jobs
In the days that followed Steve Jobs' death, he was frequently compared to Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. But Jobs was creating experiences, not technologies or...
From Communications of the ACM
The Most Ancient Marketing
Before Apple, Steve Jobs famously went to India with a college friend. While I never had occasion to talk to Jobs about it, I have a theory I wish I had a chance...
From ACM Opinion
Take That, Adobe! Jobs Gets Last Laugh on Flash
In April, 2010, Steve Jobs devoted about 1,700 words to a public post ripping Adobe's Flash to shreds. His most cutting comments concerned the mobile version of...
From ACM Opinion