Communications of the ACM
The opinion archive provides access to past opinion stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
October 2020
From ACM Opinion
How Ransomware Puts Your Hospital at Risk
In the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the potential consequences of cyberattacks are terrifying.
From ACM Opinion
Building Software With David Heinemeier Hansson
David Heinemeier Hansson, creator of Ruby on Rails and co-founder of Basecamp, talks about how software is built, what it means for the builders, and how it could be done differently.
From ACM Opinion
Just What Cyber Security Executives Don’t Want to Hear: The Skills Shortage is Worsening
The cyber security skills gap continues to get worse, according to the latest research.
From ACM Opinion
The Unreasonable Effectiveness of the Julia Programming Language
Fortran has ruled scientific computing, but Julia emerged for large-scale numerical work.
From ACM Opinion
Nancy Hopkins on Improving Gender Equality in Academia
Amgen Professor of Biology Emerita Nancy Hopkins advocates for more inclusive science and advises how to get there.
From Communications of the ACM
Self-Driving Vehicle Technology: Progress and Promises
Seeking the answer to the elusive question, 'Are we there yet'?
From Communications of the ACM
A Holistic View of Future Risks
Almost everything is somehow interrelated with everything else—and that should not surprise us.
From Communications of the ACM
Sanity vs. Invisible Markings
Tabs vs. spaces
From Communications of the ACM
Using Computer Programs and Search Problems for Teaching Theory of Computation
Recognizing the significance of a cornerstone of computer science.
From Communications of the ACM
We Need to Automate the Declaration of Conflicts of Interest
Leveraging existing data sources to improve the declaration and management of authorship conflicts of interest.
Why I Don't Recommend CSRankings.org: Know the Values You are Ranking On
10.18.2020Just because a ranking is computable doesn't mean that it's right.
Measuring Up: How to Properly Measure Your Programmers
10.16.2020To measure or to not measure, that is the question. Ask programmers and many will tell you that measurement is …
The Pros and Cons of Online Lab Classes for Computer Science - 2020 Pandemic Edition
10.16.2020Contrary to expectations, online lab classes during our current pandemic may actually have some benefits over their in-person counterparts.
Voter Check-in System to Blame for Slow-Moving Lines in Georgia
10.19.2020Check-in computers unable to accommodate record turnouts were mainly to …
Undocumented Backdoor That Covertly Takes Snapshots Found in Kids' Smartwatch
10.19.2020Researchers at Norwegian security company Mnemonic found an undocumented backdoor …
How Does Google’s Monopoly Hurt You? Try These Searches.
10.19.2020Right under our noses, the Internet's most-used website has been …