COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM
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Viewpoints
18 Technology Strategy and Management
Free Trade in a Digital World
Considering the possible
implications for free trade,
traditionally based on non-digital
goods, for a modern global economy
that is increasingly based on
intangible products and services
enabled by digital technologies.
By Mari Sako
22 Kode Vicious
Know Your Algorithms
Stop using hardware to solve
software problems.
By George V. Neville-Neil
24 Viewpoint
The Web Is Missing
an Essential Part of Infrastructure:
An Open Web Index
A proposal for building an index
of the Web that separates
the infrastructure part of the search
engine—the index—from
the services part that will form
the basis for myriad search engines
and other services utilizing Web data
on top of a public infrastructure
open to everyone.
By Dirk Lewandowski
Departments
5 Cerf’s Up
In Debt to the NSF
By Vinton G. Cerf
6 BLOG@CACM
Pondering Variables
and Direct Instruction
Robin K. Hill considers the nature
of variables, while Mark Guzdial
reflects on renewed interest in
the “direct instruction model.”
21 Calendar
Last Byte
144 Upstart Puzzles
Fighting for Lava
By Dennis Shasha
News
9 Soft Robots Look
to New Environments
These non-standard automatons
appear best suited for applications
under water and in space.
By Chris Edwards
12 The Future of Data Storage
Research into next-generation
storage techniques marches forward,
yet tape remains the most viable,
dependable medium.
By Samuel Greengard
15 The Fine Line Between
Coercion and Care
Employers monitoring
their workforce must balance
productivity and security
considerations with employee
privacy and welfare concerns.
By Sarah Underwood
249
Association for Computing Machinery
Advancing Computing as a Science & Profession
