Communications of the ACM articles from July 2000

Communications of the ACM archives from July 2000

News Track.(News Briefs)
July 1, 2000... E-TENDING THE FARM The U.S. agriculture industry has been one of the slowest to embrace the Internet age, with farmers, who tend to be fiercely loyal to local merchants and banks, wary of e-commerce, reports Business Week. But such a link...

Global Warming in Ocean and Climate Modeling.(Letter to the Editor)
July 1, 2000... IN THE OLD DAYS, ACADEMICIANS were (at least, supposedly) "disinterested" seekers of truth. Since the nationalization of scientific research in the U.S., they have, unfortunately, become parties at interest to the political process. The way to...

On Personal Technical Obsolescence.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 1, 2000... In the fast-moving and ever-changing field of programming, what's your plan for the inevitable? "Bob, there's something important we want to tell you. On the subject of CASE tools, you're out of date." --Attendees at a seminar in 1988,...

From Via Maris to Electronic Highway: The Internet in Canaan.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 1, 2000... ISPs, governments, and telecos work to link the old world to the new in a volatile region. The Via Maris--The Way of the Sea--was for millennia the main trade route connecting Egypt with Mesopotamia. The section joining the Mediterranean...

Deliberating on ICANN.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 1, 2000... The Internet's development must benefit all members of the global electronic community. In March, international representatives gathered in Cairo to discuss standards for Internet governance at the open meetings of the Internet Corporation...

E2A Is Worse Than Y2K.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 1, 2000... Thank the U.S. military for the "ever-expanding" acronym, the most insidious threat of all. The Y2K computer problem was good for bottled water sales, but the two-digit year bug had about the same impact as the overly hyped non-appearance...

Physically Based Computer Animation.(Technology Information)
July 1, 2000... How can images be made to create the visual illusion of physical force? WELCOME TO AN ARTIFICIAL WORLD THAT'S beginning to behave as naturally as the real one. By incorporating the basic laws of physics--friction, gravity, momentum,...

Physics in Computer Games.(Technology Information)
July 1, 2000... The pleasures of immersive interactive entertainment increasingly demand game designers deliver a physically consistent and convincing experience--solving fundamental computational problems along the way. I DON'T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT WHEN I...

Cognitive Modeling for Games and Animation.(Technology Information)
July 1, 2000... Give virtual characters an intellectual and sensory boost to improve their chances of survival in and control over their environments--and an enhanced sense of physical reality. COGNITIVE MODELING FOR GAMES AND ANIMATION explores the...

Controlling Physics in Realistic Character Animation.(Technology Information)
July 1, 2000... To solve the problem of generating realistic human motion, animation software has to not only produce realistic movement but provide full control of the process to the animator. FOR THE LAST 10 YEARS, COMPUTERS HAVE BEEN used with great...

Modeling Water for Computer Animation.(Technology Information)
July 1, 2000... Simulated water flows, swirls, mixes, falls, refracts light, and interacts with objects in games, movie special effects, and commercials. AN ONGOING GOAL OF COMPUTER GRAPHICS is to provide tools not only for the artistic rendition of our...

Animating Fracture.(Technology Information)
July 1, 2000... These fracture patterns propagate arbitrarily in 3D solid objects as they break, crack, or tear realistically. THE TASK OF SPECIFYING THE MOTION OF even a simple animated object like a bouncing ball is surprisingly difficult. This...

Interacting with Smoke and Fire in Real Time.(Technology Information)
July 1, 2000... These simulated fluids move around randomly while interacting with such everyday objects as a human hand in surprisingly realistic swirls, flows, and vortices. THE SIMULATION OF FLUIDS IS ONE OF THE MOST challenging problems in a number of...

Simulation Modeling of Plants and Plant Ecosystems.(Technology Information)
July 1, 2000... The result is increasingly accurate and realistic-looking 3D simulations of plant biology ecology and the physiological processes governing plant growth, including the effects of light. THE MODELING OF PLANTS AND PLANT ecosystems has the...

THE VIRTUAL OCEANARIUM.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 1, 2000... This high-performance computer simulation of Europe's largest aquarium lets its human visitors interact with 25 species and about 1,000 individual creatures and plants. The Virtual Oceanarium simulates the Lisbon Oceanarium, Europe's...

Look Ma, No Mouse!(Technology Information)
July 1, 2000... Simplifying human-computer interaction by using hand gestures. Imagine taking a virtual flight over the Yosemite Valley. You are in control of the flight--you soar up through the clouds, dive deep into the ravines, flying in whichever...

Prepare Your Mind for Creativity.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 1, 2000... An asset in most cases, extensive experience can trip up the adoption of new technology--when fresh thinking is needed above all else. But methods exist to recognize impediments to creativity and to sharpen rusty creative skills. The...

A Conceptual Investigation of the E-commerce Industry.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 1, 2000... Classifying structures for providing products and services in the electronic marketplace. ELECTRONIC COMMERCE, OR ACTIVITIES that directly support commerce by means of electronic (networked) connections, is redefining the very foundations...

Information System Security Management in the New Millennium.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 1, 2000... Future users of information systems must address organizational problems at a time when the organizational form is being revolutionized. Rapid advances in electronic networks and computer-based information systems have given us enormous...

Risks in Retrospect.(Industry Trend or Event)
July 1, 2000... Having now completed 10 years of "Inside Risks," we reflect here on what has happened in that time. In short, our basic conclusions have not changed much over the years--despite many advances in the technology. Indeed, this lack of change...