The essential guide to the algorithms that run your life
16 June 2021
From shaping what we read and buy to diagnosing illness, algorithms play a key role in every aspect of our lives. Here’s what you need to know about the most important ones
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Premium
Virtual computer chip tests expose flaws and protect against hackers
24 February 2021
Using software testing techniques on computer hardware can slash development time and produce more reliable and secure computer chips
Hordes of automated bots run the internet – can we bring them to heel?
16 December 2020
Roaming chunks of code, pre-programmed to perform all manner of tasks, shape the web and our experience of it. What are they up to? And as they get smarter, how can we regain control?
2020 in review: Revenge of the Y2K bug as lazy fix takes down software
16 December 2020
A lazy fix to the Y2K bug caused software issues when the date rolled over to 2020. Later this year, programmers also avoided a Y2038 bug, pushing the problem back to 2486
How covid-19 has exposed a huge computing disaster in the making
4 November 2020
Tangled webs of "legacy" computer software underpin banks, airlines, welfare systems and more – and the coronavirus pandemic has exposed how vulnerable that makes us
Why old school technology could shape the future of digital computing
22 July 2020
Analogue computers were abandoned half a century ago. But to push past the limits of modern day devices, it may be time for a blast from the past
Moore's law
7 July 2020
The idea that the amount of computing power that engineers can squeeze onto a single chip doubles at regular intervals.
How an artist made a concert from five 40-year-old Commodore computers
9 June 2020
Soaked in the iconography of 1980s computing, the glitchy beats and green, text-based displays of Robert Henke's show, CBM 8032 AV seem an unlikely concert piece for today, but amongst today's hi-resolution graphics and sound, it's surprisingly refreshing.
Internet founder Vint Cerf looks to the next 50 years of his creation
23 October 2019
Vint Cerf wrote the protocols that allow computers to talk to one another. Now Google’s chief internet evangelist, he argues the net is a powerful global force for good
The internet was supposed to be a utopia. 50 years on, what happened?
23 October 2019
Half a century ago a tiny military-funded experiment changed the world in ways we are only just coming to terms with - for good and bad
