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An Homage to Douglas Engelbart and a Critique of the State of Tech
From ACM Opinion

An Homage to Douglas Engelbart and a Critique of the State of Tech

Theodor Holm Nelson, who coined the term hypertext, has been a thorn in the side of the computing establishment for more than a half century.

Internet's Sad Legacy: No More Secrets
From ACM Opinion

Internet's Sad Legacy: No More Secrets

Anyone who can watch you will watch you.

Edward Snowden, The Dark Prophet
From ACM Opinion

Edward Snowden, The Dark Prophet

To avoid surveillance, the first four Americans to visit Edward Snowden in Moscow carried no cell phones or laptops.

Nest's Tony Fadell on Smart Objects, and the Singularity of Innovation
From ACM Opinion

Nest's Tony Fadell on Smart Objects, and the Singularity of Innovation

Tony Fadell is the founder and chief executive of Nest, a company that is trying to bring a high-end technology experience to some of the most prosaic areas of...

A Force For Face-to-Face Communication
From ACM Opinion

A Force For Face-to-Face Communication

Clifford I. Nass, a professor of communication at Stanford who died on Saturday, regaled me several times over the years about his method for torturing students...

The Information-Gathering Paradox
From ACM Opinion

The Information-Gathering Paradox

Consumer trust is a vital currency for every big Internet company, which helps to explain why the giants of Silicon Valley have gone to great lengths in recent...

Dina Katabi
From ACM Opinion

Dina Katabi

Syrian-born Dina Katabi is a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She was awarded a MacArthur last...

N.s.a. Director Gives Firm and Broad Defense of Surveillance Efforts
From ACM Opinion

N.s.a. Director Gives Firm and Broad Defense of Surveillance Efforts

The director of the National Security Agency, Gen. Keith B. Alexander, said in an interview that to prevent terrorist attacks he saw no effective alternative to...

The Argument For Making the Misuse of Your Personal Data a Felony
From ACM Opinion

The Argument For Making the Misuse of Your Personal Data a Felony

Craig Mundie is Microsoft's senior advisor to the CEO, spending his time on big-picture stuff such as (according to his bio) "key strategic projects within the...

The Fatal Mistake That Doomed Blackberry
From ACM Opinion

The Fatal Mistake That Doomed Blackberry

Beleaguered gadgetmaker BlackBerry said on Monday that it's signed a tentative agreement to be purchased by a group led by Canadian holding company Fairfax Financial...

Does Digital Age Overcomplicate Design?
From ACM Opinion

Does Digital Age Overcomplicate Design?

There is a scene in the television series "Boss" in which the mayor of Chicago, played by Kelsey Grammer, is discovered by his wife washing bed sheets by hand at...

How Robots Can Trick You Into Loving Them
From ACM Opinion

How Robots Can Trick You Into Loving Them

I like to think of my Roomba as cute and industrious.

From ACM Opinion

Visit to the World's Fair of 2014

The New York World's Fair of 1964 is dedicated to "Peace Through Understanding."

From ACM Opinion

On the Symmetry Between Microsoft and Apple

I am not a tech industry maven, so I am busy coming up to speed on the implications of the Ballmer resignation.

A Day in the Life of My Iphone
From ACM Opinion

A Day in the Life of My Iphone

Each morning at 7 a.m., I am awakened by the sound of a spaceship next to my bed.

I'm Still Waiting For My Phone to Become My Wallet
From ACM Opinion

I'm Still Waiting For My Phone to Become My Wallet

During the sweltering heat wave earlier this month, it seemed too hot to wear much, carry much or do much of anything at all.

Who Scores Games By Hand Anymore?
From ACM Opinion

Who Scores Games By Hand Anymore?

The first thing Bruce Levy did upon recent entry into Yankee Stadium while accompanied by his in-laws and teenage son was to purchase a program in the area of the...

The Pros and Cons of a Surveillance Society
From ACM Opinion

The Pros and Cons of a Surveillance Society

Here are three topics much in the news these days: Prism, the surveillance program of the national security agency; the death of Trayvon Martin; and Google Glass...

Social Media Images Form a New Language Online
From ACM Opinion

Social Media Images Form a New Language Online

Sergey Brin, Google’s co-founder, had an epiphany about the simplicity of communication through images while wearing Google Glass, the company’s controversial high...

From ACM Opinion

Snowden, Through the Eyes of a Spy Novelist

For a spy novelist like me, the Edward J. Snowden story has everything. A man driven by ego and idealism—can anyone ever distinguish the two?—leaves his job and...
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