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The Top Technews Stories of 2015

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ACM delivers the TechNews computer science and technology newsletter to 100,000 ACM members three times each week.

ACM strives to keep its members in the know by providing timely coverage of established and emerging areas of computer science, the latest accomplishments in information technology, and related developments in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics via the ACM TechNews newsletter.

TechNews is assembled from hundreds of English-language technology publications from all over the world.  Three times each week, an email containing TechNews, in form of a dozen or so abstracts and links to deeper information, is sent to nearly 100,000 ACM member inboxes.

As was the case the year before, the most frequently clicked-on links in TechNews are those that provide access to the most recently updated Android, iPhone, and iPad versions of the ACM TechNews App, which allows access to TechNews through a smart portable device.

As for non-app content, the most popular link clicked on by readers of TechNews during 2015 was a link to the Friday, Aug. 14th Science News article "A few key signs betray betrayal," describing a computer scientist’s use of the game Diplomacy to study patterns of communication between players that foreshadow betrayal, as a proxy for studying "real-life treachery."

Following are the 10 most frequently clicked-on content links in TechNews during 2015:

Rank

Content

URL

1

A few key signs betray betrayal, Science News, Aug. 7, 2015

A few key signs betray betrayal

2

Tired of memorizing passwords? A Turing Award winner came up with this algorithmic trick, Network World, Aug. 31, 2015

http://www.networkworld.com/article/2978312/tired-of-memorizing-passwords-a-turing-award-winner-came-up-with-this-algorithmic-trick.html

3

‘FREAK’ flaw undermines security for Apple and Google users, researchers discover, The Washington Post, March 3, 2015

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2015/03/03/freak-flaw-undermines-security-for-apple-and-google-users-researchers-discover/

4

What ‘The Imitation Game’ didn’t tell you about Turing’s greatest triumph, The Washington Post, Feb. 20, 2015

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/what-imitation-game-didnt-tell-you-about-alan-turings-greatest-triumph/2015/02/20/ffd210b6-b606-11e4-9423-f3d0a1ec335c_story.html

5

The most popular programming languages are rapidly changing, Quartz, April 8, 2015

http://qz.com/378939/the-most-popular-programming-languages-are-rapidly-changing/clicks

6

Russian researchers expose breakthrough U.S. spying program, Reuters, Feb. 16, 2015

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-cyberspying-idUSKBN0LK1QV20150216

7

18 universities produce half of US and Canada’s computer science professors, Quartz, Feb. 12, 2015

http://qz.com/343521/18-universities-produce-half-of-us-and-canadas-computer-science-professors/

8

A Crypto Trick That Makes Software Nearly Impossible to Reverse-Engineer, Wired, Feb. 11, 2015

http://www.wired.com/2015/02/crypto-trick-makes-software-nearly-impossible-reverse-engineer/

9

These researchers have discovered the perfect password that’s also easy to remember, Wired, Oct. 22, 2015

 http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/10/22/these-researchers-have-discovered-the-perfect-password-thats-also-easy-to-remember/

10

Computer scientists use Twitter to predict UK general election result, University of Warwick News & Events, May 5, 2015

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/computer_scientists_use/

 

TechNews is a benefit of ACM membership. If you are an ACM member and wish to receive TechNews, please contact your personal ACM Customer Service Representative, or indicate your preference in the settings of your dashboard on myacm.acm.org. 

Lawrence M. Fisher is Senior Editor/News for ACM Magazines.

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