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dateMore Than a Year Ago
subjectSoftware
authorThe Washington Post
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An edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.


New Surveillance Technology Can Track Everyone in an Area for Several Hours at a Time
From ACM News

New Surveillance Technology Can Track Everyone in an Area for Several Hours at a Time

Shooter and victim were just a pair of pixels, dark specks on a gray streetscape. 

One Day an Elevator Might Ask—are You Getting On?
From ACM News

One Day an Elevator Might Ask—are You Getting On?

Microsoft researchers have enabled elevators in a company building to detect the likelihood that a person walking by will want to board it.

'have You Ever Been on a Boat?' and 15 Other Weird Interview Questions from Tech Firms
From ACM Careers

'have You Ever Been on a Boat?' and 15 Other Weird Interview Questions from Tech Firms

Looking for a new job?

'a Fema-Level Fail': The Law Professor Who Coined 'net Neutrality' Lashes Out at the Fcc's Legal Strategy
From ACM Opinion

'a Fema-Level Fail': The Law Professor Who Coined 'net Neutrality' Lashes Out at the Fcc's Legal Strategy

Back in 2003, when he was a law professor at the University of Virginia, Tim Wu wrote the definitive paper on net neutrality.

This Company Sold Google a Quantum Computer. Here's How It Works.
From ACM Opinion

This Company Sold Google a Quantum Computer. Here's How It Works.

I thought it would be interesting to hear from D-Wave, a start-up that has raised more than $130 million in venture capital and employs over 100 people.

Confused About the Nsa's Quantum Computing Project? This MIT Computer Scientist Can Explain.
From ACM Opinion

Confused About the Nsa's Quantum Computing Project? This MIT Computer Scientist Can Explain.

My Washington Post colleagues have reported on a National Security Agency program to to build a quantum computer.

Dogecoins and Litecoins and Peercoins Oh My: What You Need to Know About Bitcoin Alternatives
From ACM News

Dogecoins and Litecoins and Peercoins Oh My: What You Need to Know About Bitcoin Alternatives

By now, most people have heard of Bitcoin, the peer-to-peer currency whose value has soared over the past couple of years.

Edward Snowden, After Months of Nsa Rvelations, Says His Mission's Accomplished
From ACM Opinion

Edward Snowden, After Months of Nsa Rvelations, Says His Mission's Accomplished

The familiar voice on the hotel room phone did not waste words.

How One Publisher Is Stopping Academics from Sharing Their Research
From ACM News

How One Publisher Is Stopping Academics from Sharing Their Research

One of the world's largest academic publishers has launched a wide-ranging takedown spree, demanding that several different universities take down their own scholars'...

President Obama Talks About Teaching Everyone to Code. This Professor Does It.
From ACM Opinion

President Obama Talks About Teaching Everyone to Code. This Professor Does It.

On Monday, President Obama kicked off computer science education week, encouraging every young person to acquire computer programming skills, even if they have...

From ACM News

Fbi's Search For 'mo,' Suspect in Bomb Threats, Highlights ­se of Malware For Surveillance

The man who called himself "Mo" had dark hair, a foreign accent and—if the pictures he emailed to federal investigators could be believed—an Iranian military uniform...

When Bitcoins Go Bad: 4 Stories of Fraud, Hacking, and Digital Currencies
From ACM News

When Bitcoins Go Bad: 4 Stories of Fraud, Hacking, and Digital Currencies

With Bitcoin interest (and prices) spiking, you might be considering investing in your own little cache of digital currency.

Supreme Court Declines Case on Making Online Retailers Collect Sales Taxes
From ACM News

Supreme Court Declines Case on Making Online Retailers Collect Sales Taxes

The Supreme Court on Monday declined to get involved in state efforts to force online retailers such as Amazon.com to collect sales tax from customers even in places...

Google Books Ruling Is a Huge Victory For Online Innovation
From ACM News

Google Books Ruling Is a Huge Victory For Online Innovation

 It's taken almost a decade, but the courts have finally handed down a ruling on Google's audacious project to scan millions of books to build a book search engine...

The Head of Google X Thinks We're All Too Risk-Averse
From ACM Opinion

The Head of Google X Thinks We're All Too Risk-Averse

Google X is responsible for some of Google's most literally fantastic projects: Google Glass, self-driving cars, gigantic inflatable balloons that beam Internet...

Here's What the Morris Worm Prosecutor Thinks About Aaron Swartz
From ACM Opinion

Here's What the Morris Worm Prosecutor Thinks About Aaron Swartz

It was 25 years ago Tuesday that The New York Times first named 23-year-old Cornell graduate student Robert Morris as the culprit behind what became known as the...

How a Grad Student Trying to Build the First Botnet Brought the Internet to Its Knees
From ACM Careers

How a Grad Student Trying to Build the First Botnet Brought the Internet to Its Knees

On November 3, 1988, 25 years ago Sunday, people woke up to find the Internet had changed forever.

­sing Computers, Scientists Simulate Movement of Largest-Known Dinosaur
From ACM TechNews

­sing Computers, Scientists Simulate Movement of Largest-Known Dinosaur

British and Argentinian researchers have developed computer simulations that examine how and whether the Argentinosauraus, the largest known dinosaur, could have...

NSA Infiltrates Links to Yahoo, Google Data Centers Worldwide, Snowden Documents Say
From ACM News

NSA Infiltrates Links to Yahoo, Google Data Centers Worldwide, Snowden Documents Say

The National Security Agency has secretly broken into the main communications links that connect Yahoo and Google data centers around the world, according to documents...

Who Tracks the Trackers that Track You Online? You Can, with Lightbeam.
From ACM News

Who Tracks the Trackers that Track You Online? You Can, with Lightbeam.

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