Computing2333 articles archived since 1845

Look, Computer, No Hands!

Microsoft hopes its SoundWave will let you interact with your PC using hand gestures in midair rather than on a keyboard. Larry Greenemeier reports

Does Digital Piracy Really Hurt Movies?

Two economists untangle the relation between illegal downloads and ticket sales

Intel Futurist Discusses Data's Secret Life, the Ghost of Computing and How We Should Attack Fear

Science fiction serves as a key inspiration for the man whose job it is envisage Intel's future and, to a large degree, the future of computing itself

Intel Futurist on Why We Should Not Fear the Future

The world's largest computer chipmaker employs a corporate futurist, Brian David Johnson, to guess what gadgetry and computing will look like in 2020 and beyond

The Scientific Flaws of Online Dating Sites

What the "matching algorithms" miss

Camera Megapixels: Why More Isn't Always Better (Smartphones Unlocked)

Samsung Galaxy S III (Credit: CNET) Just days ago, Samsung announced the Samsung Galaxy S III , the global, quad-core, Android Ice Cream Sandwich successor to its best-selling smartphone ever, the Galaxy S II ...

Telltale Hearts: What Autopsies Reveal about This Vital Organ

Despite advances in medical imaging, an autopsy still gives experts the best picture of what ails us

What Wi-Fi Stands for—and Other Wireless Questions Answered

Inside information from the bigwigs of the wireless world

The Trouble with Wi-Fi

Impossible connections, dropped signals, phantom networks—why wireless Internet still seems stuck in the Stone Age

Spy-High: Amateur Astronomers Scour the Sky for Government Secrets

As consumer telescopes and techniques improve, will there be implications for national security?

Android's New Ally Against the iPhone: Ubuntu

(Credit: Canonical) Last year was a long time ago for Android. That was when Google's mobile platform was stealing market share from all the other smartphone platforms -- winning even against the iPhone -- and beating a path toward market dominance...

Where It Rains, It Will Pour--Otherwise, Tough Luck

Ocean floats provide yet more evidence of global warming, revealing that rainy regions are getting wetter and dry regions drier much faster than predicted

How Alan Turing Invented the Computer Age

Big Mac Attack: Apple Security Bruised after OS X Infections

Malware like Flashback, which has infected hundreds of thousands of Macs, could become commonplace as cyber attackers target Apple

Is Supersymmetry Dead?

The grand scheme, a stepping-stone to string theory, is still high on physicists' wish lists. But if no solid evidence surfaces soon, it could begin to have a serious PR problem

The UVA Bay Game

Online game informs researchers and policymakers about caring for watershed areas

Computer Effects Virtually Resurrect Tupac

Avatar director James Cameron's effects company created a virtual Shakur using physical characteristics and movements captured from previously recorded performances. Larry Greenemeier reports...

Readers Respond to "The Coming Mega Drought" and Other Articles

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

Shorted Circuits: Pentagon Looks to DNA from Plants to Foil Electronic Component Counterfeiters

With federal investigators turning up millions of bogus electronics in military systems, the Defense Department is searching for a better way to spot the fakes

New Technology Allows Better Extreme Weather Forecasts

New technology that increases the warning time for tornadoes and hurricanes could potentially save hundreds of lives every year