Search results for “site:cacm.acm.org”

Elevating Security with Arm CCA – Communications of the ACM

In some significant markets, such as defense, government,1 and banking,9 private datacenters and on-premises computing remain widespread. While shared computing in the public cloud can bring cost and environmental benefits arising from...

CACM Research Highlights Template – Communications of the ACM

The Research Highlights template is available to authors who have been invited by the Research Highlights Board to revise their research papers for Communications magazine. Papers cannot be submitted to the Research Highlights track directly. Space limitations require that these revisions not...

In short: Learn to transform your conference proceedings article into a Communications Research Highlights format using this LaTeX template. Improve your chances for publication! (AI summary)

Data Platforms and Network Effects – Communications of the ACM

Industry platforms are foundations that bring people and organizations together for a common purpose, which usually includes making money. They function at the level of a market or ecosystem, rather than only within a specific firm. They often start with products such as operating systems and...

A Growing Concern in Cybersecurity – Communications of the ACM

Interconnected business systems mean that one security flaw can have far-reaching consequences. Zero-day exploits pose a unique risk—they emerge without warning and leave no time for a defensive patch. These exploits give cybercriminals a rare advantage: access to systems without detection and...

Big Tech, You Need Academia. Speak Up! – Communications of the ACM

The current U.S. administration has launched a wara on academia. On Feb. 7, 2025, the U.S. National Institute of Health announcedb a 15% limit on indirect research costs for new and existing grants. Indirect costs, or, more accurately, facility and administration expenses, support research but...

In short: Learn how Big Tech relies on academic research, especially computing, and why U.S. budget cuts pose a significant risk to future innovation and security. Dis... (AI summary)

You Don’t Know Jack about Bandwidth – Communications of the ACM

Imagine you are a company with a lot of remote employees, and they all hate the local Internet service providers (ISPs). Videoconferences are the worst: People cannot hear each other, they randomly start sounding like Darth Vader, and they occasionally just disappear from the conversation. Or you...

In short: Learn how to optimize your Internet performance beyond just buying more bandwidth. Discover the impact of latency and the role of router software. (AI summary)

Technical Marvels, Part 3: The Yupana – Communications of the ACM

The most common bead frames include Chinese, Japanese, and Russian abacuses as well as school abacuses. Less well known is the Roman hand abacus, of which only three original pieces have survived, and the mysterious Incan counting board, the Yupana. The Incas used knotted cords (quipus or khipus)...

In short: Discover the ancient Peruvian abacus, Yupana - a mysterious counting board used by Incas for calculations and possibly urban planning. Learn about its histor... (AI summary)

They Can Include AI, But Should They? – Communications of the ACM

I’ve come to believe the most valuable skill we can teach in technology education isn’t how to implement something. It’s how to decide whether something should be implemented at all. That question is especially urgent in the age of AI. We’ve trained our students to use tools like JIRA, write user...

In short: Learn how to teach students to decide if AI is the right solution in this Systems Analysis course redesign case study. (AI summary)

Private Crypto Versus Public Digital – Communications of the ACM

Governments have been creating public “fiat money”—financial instruments such as paper notes used to buy goods and services or repay debts, with no backing from physical assets such as gold or silver—for more than 1,000 years. Banks have been creating private money even longer, whenever they...

In short: Explore the battle between private crypto and public digital currencies, learn about CBDCs, their benefits, and potential risks, and understand why governmen... (AI summary)

What Is Theoretical Computer Science? – Communications of the ACM

I consider myself a computer science (CS) theoretician, but Wikipedia describes me as a “mathematician and computer scientist.”a So, what am I? To answer that question, we must consider theoretical computer science (TCS), which Wikipedia defines as “a subfield of computer science and mathematics...

In short: Explore the debate over what theoretical computer science (TCS) truly is, as a 2023 ACM A.M. Turing Award recipient challenges its narrow U.S. definition and... (AI summary)