I've always been fond of the idea of the hot topics. They're essays we "commission" on various aspects of computing that are, to be very obvious, "hot" right now. Our Information Director, Dina Goldin, works on this section - deciding on topics, finding the best authors on each topic and working with them to create an interesting short essay that serves as a good introduction to the state of the art.
Our intent has been to both create the essay but also revisit the topic over time and update it to include the most recent information and, if it so happens, to marvel at the completely bizarre ideas we had at the time about where this aspect of the field might go. The first essay on "Overlay Networks" which was published in September 2004 underwent a revision last October. I'm a bit proud of that one because I did some Photoshop magic on the graphic - my small contribution to the content of Computing Reviews.
I'm posting this now both because I wanted to promote the Hot Topics generally but also because I got a sneak preview of an early version of the next one which is on game theory and online auctions which is seriously cool. We'll probably have that one posted in a couple of weeks.
The Hot Topics area does not require a subscription.
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