Computing2336 articles archived since 1845

Microsoft Joins Tablet Fray

Microsoft is not calling its new Surface PC a tablet, but in most meaningful ways it is. Larry Greenemeier reports

30 under 30: Doing Better Chemistry through Quantum Mechanics

Meet Robert Parrish, 23, one of the up-and-coming physicists attending this year's Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting

How Movie Recommendation Systems Work [Interactive]

Need something to watch? Automated machine-learning systems break movies apart to help you find the best films

How to Teach Computers to Learn on Their Own

New techniques for teaching computers how to learn are beating the experts

July 2012 Briefing Memo

Impermanent Press: New Deformable Surface to Give Smart Phone Touch Screens Raised Tactile Keyboards

Flexible keys raised by fluid or gas on a touch screen surface applied to smart phones, tablets and other consumer electronics gadgets are expected to debut in 2013

How Listeners Shape the Evolution of Music

Audience responses may help composers fine-tune their works over time

Dial-a-Flood: A New Smart Phone App Helps Residents and Researchers Predict Storm Surges

A new app and Web site may make it easier to predict storm surges

Alternative Energy and the Future of Our Fuels

Novel fuels, "green" sources and new technologies will enable us to get around in more environmentally friendly ways

A Countdown to a Digital Simulation of Every Last Neuron in the Human Brain

Building a vast digital simulation of the brain could transform neuroscience and medicine and reveal new ways of making more powerful computers

Transit of Venus

The Venus transit offers a chance for modern-day stargazers to repeat the experiments conducted by expeditions around the world in the 18th and 19th centuries--with a modern twist

Insides Trading: What Impact Will Facebook Have on Organ Donations?

People are turning to social media to bridge the chasm between those in need of life-saving organs and those who can help. This offers hope but also introduces risks

Recommended: Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet

Books and recommendations from Scientific American

Shooting beyond the Moon: "Part-Time" Scientists Aim to Develop Autonomous Rover to Compete for Lunar X PRIZE

A 100-member team of experts aims to develop quick-response rover technology they hope will alter the way robots explore the moon and beyond

Browser Choice: A Thing of the Past?

Like to pick your browser? Beware, because new mobile devices threaten to stifle the competitive vigor of the market for Web browsers on PCs.

Can Soil Sensors Save Georgia Waterways from Drought?

An innovative effort would embed sensors in agricultural fields in a bid to cut down on irrigation--saving farmers money and preserving water for endangered species

Transit of Venus

The Venus transit offers a chance for modern-day stargazers to repeat the experiments conducted by expeditions around the world in the 18th and 19th centuries--with a modern twist

Readers respond to "A Man-made Contagion" and Other Articles

Letters to the editor from the February 2012 issue of Scientific American

Stuxnet-Like Viruses Remain a Top U.S. Security Risk

Government officials and security researchers say critical systems should never be connected to the Internet, but they frequently are

Traveling Salesman: A Seemingly Unsolvable Problem Offers a Glimpse of the Limits of Computation