Category: Features 2014-1

COMPUTER SCIENCE: Armchair victory: Computers that recognize everyday objects

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JIANXIONG XIAO TYPES “CHAIR” INTO GOOGLE’S search engine and watches as hundreds of images populate his screen. He isn’t shopping — he is using the images to teach his computer what a chair looks like. Continue Reading →

COMPUTER SCIENCE: Fierce, Fiercer, Fiercest: Software enables rapid creations

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A NEW SOFTWARE PROGRAM MAKES IT EASY for novices to create computer-based 3-D models using simple instructions such as “make it look scarier.” The software could be useful for building models for 3-D printing and Continue Reading →

COMPUTER SCIENCE: Internet traffic moves smoothly with Pyretic

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AT 60 HUDSON ST. IN LOWER MANHATTAN, a fortress-like building houses one of the Internet’s busiest exchange points. Packets of data zip into the building, are routed to their next destination, and zip out again, Continue Reading →

COMPUTER SCIENCE: Security check: A strategy for verifying software that could prevent bugs

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IN APRIL 2014, INTERNET USERS WERE SHOCKED to learn of the Heartbleed bug, a vulnerability in the open-source software used to encrypt Internet content and passwords. The bug existed for two years before it was Continue Reading →