Turing's Enduring Importance

The path computing has taken wasn't inevitable. Even today's machines rely on a seminal insight from the scientist who cracked Nazi Germany's codes. When Alan Turing was born 100 years ago, on June 23, 1912, a computer was not a thing—it was a person. Computers, most of whom were women, were hired to perform repetitive calculations for hours on end. The practice dated back to the 1750s, when ...

How Allan Scherr Hacked Around the First Computer Password

New submitter MikeatWired writes "If you're like most people, you're annoyed by passwords. So who's to blame? Who invented the computer password? They probably arrived at MIT in the mid-1960s, when researchers built a massive time-sharing computer called CTSS. Technology changes. But, then again, it doesn't, writes Bob McMillan. Twenty-five years after the fact, Allan Scherr, a Ph.D. researcher ...

'The Fear Index' Trades In Thrills

Dr. Alex Hoffman is a billionaire genius who invented a form of artificial intelligence that predicts movements in the financial markets. When the security of his mansion is breached, though, he is thrown into a web of paranoia and violence.

Why Is It So Hard for New Musical Instruments to Catch On?

The turntable, invented 36 years ago, ranks as the most recently created music-making device with staying power.

Tim Berners-Lee Takes the Stand to Keep the Web Free

Tim Berners-Lee, who invented the Web, testified Tuesday in a Texas courtroom, fighting to keep the web's most basic interactivity from being subject to licensing fees from a patent troll. If the fight fails, any website with interactive features may have to pay up to a little known firm called Eolas and the University of California.

The World's First Computer Password? It Was Useless Too

If you’re like most people, you’re annoyed by passwords. You’ve got dozens to remember — some of them tortuously complex — and on any given day, as you read e-mails, send tweets, and order groceries online, you’re bound to forget one, or at least mistype it.