A Quantum Boost for a Different Kind of Computer
December 4th, 2017Disclosure: I have invested in technology related to quantum computing.
Via: MIT Technology Review:
In two papers published today in the journal Nature, a team at MIT and Harvard in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and another from the University of Maryland and the National Institute of Standards in Washington D.C., reveal that they have built specialized types of quantum calculator, each of which uses more than 50 qubits—well beyond what had been demonstrated previously. In both cases, the researchers created quantum simulators, machines capable of using analog calculations to model how quantum particles interact.
The two systems both use atoms but work in different ways. The MIT-Harvard system handles 51 qubits by using lasers to trap neutral atoms in an excited state. The Maryland-NIST machine, which handles 53 qubits, traps ytterbium ions in place using gold-coated electrodes. Together, they suggest that an alternative approach to building quantum machines might yet have the potential to challenge the one being pursued by industry.
“While our system does not yet constitute a universal quantum computer, we can effectively program it by controlling the interactions between the qubits,” says Mikhail Lukin, a physicist at Harvard who developed on of the systems in collaboration with Vladan Vuletic at MIT.
Living in Cars, Working for Amazon: Meet America’s New Nomads
December 3rd, 2017Via: Guardian:
Millions of Americans are wrestling with the impossibility of a traditional middle-class existence. In homes across the country, kitchen tables are strewn with unpaid bills. Lights burn late into the night. The same calculations get performed again and again, through exhaustion and sometimes tears.
Wages minus grocery receipts. Minus medical bills. Minus credit card debt. Minus utility fees. Minus student loan and car payments. Minus the biggest expense of all: rent.
In the widening gap between credits and debits hangs a question: which bits of this life are you willing to give up, so you can keep on living?
Book: Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder Amazon affiliate link. *snort*
Research Credit: EG
Robots Are Coming for Jobs of as Many as 800 Million Worldwide
November 29th, 2017Via: Bloomberg:
As many as 800 million workers worldwide may lose their jobs to robots and automation by 2030, equivalent to more than a fifth of today’s global labor force.
That’s according to a new report covering 46 nations and more than 800 occupations by the research arm of McKinsey & Co.
The consulting company said Wednesday that both developed and emerging countries will be impacted. Machine operators, fast-food workers and back-office employees are among those who will be most affected if automation spreads quickly through the workplace.
You Can Log Into macOS High Sierra as Root with No Password
November 29th, 2017
Via: Register:
A trivial-to-exploit flaw in macOS High Sierra, aka macOS 10.13, allows users to gain admin rights, or log in as root, without a password.
The security bug can be triggered via the authentication dialog box in Apple’s operating system, which prompts you for an administrator’s username and password when you need to do stuff like configure privacy and network settings.
If you type in “root” as the username, leave the password box blank, hit “enter” and then click on unlock a few times, the prompt disappears and, congrats, you now have admin rights. You can do this from the user login screen, too.
The vulnerability effectively allows someone with physical access to the machine to log in, cause extra mischief, install malware, and so on. You should not leave your vulnerable Mac unattended, nor allow remote desktop access, until you can fix the problem.
And while obviously this situation is not the end of the world – it’s certainly far from a true remote hole or a disk decryption technique – it’s just really, really sad to see megabucks Apple drop the ball like this.
Bitcoin Hits US$10,000
November 28th, 2017Update: Bitcoin Hits US$11,000
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Bitfinex print at US$10,053.
Via: Bloomberg:
Bitcoin surpassed $10,000 for the first time, bringing this year’s price surge to more than 10-fold even as warnings multiply that the largest digital currency is an asset bubble.
The euphoria is bringing to the mainstream what was once considered the providence of computer developers, futurists and libertarians seeking to create an alternative to central bank-controlled monetary systems. While the actual volume of transactions conducted in cryptocurrencies is relatively small, the optimism surrounding the technology continues to drive it to new highs.
Bitcoin has risen by more than 50 percent since October alone, taking off after developers agreed to cancel a technology update that threatened to split the digital currency. Even as analysts disagree on whether the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is truly an asset, its $167 billion value already exceeds that of about 95 percent of the S&P 500 Index members.
Accounting Error: Pentagon Likely to Acknowledge 2,000 U.S. Troops in Syria
November 24th, 2017I’m so confident that the accurate number is going to be reported now. haha
Via: Reuters:
The Pentagon is likely to announce in the coming days that there are about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria, two U.S. officials said on Friday, as the military acknowledges that an accounting system for troops has under-reported the size of forces on the ground.
The U.S. military had earlier publicly said it had around 500 troops in Syria, mostly supporting the Syrian Democratic Forces group of Kurdish and Arab militias fighting Islamic State in the north of the country.
Two U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the Pentagon could, as early as Monday, publicly announce that there are slightly more than 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria. They said there was always a possibility that last minute changes in schedules could delay an announcement.
That is not an increase in troop numbers, just a more accurate count, as the numbers often fluctuate.
An accounting system, known as the Force Management Level (FML), was introduced in Iraq and Syria during former President Barack Obama’s administration as a way to exert control over the military.
But the numbers do not reflect the extent of the U.S. commitment on the ground since commanders often found ways to work around the limits – sometimes bringing in forces temporarily or hiring more contractors.
The force management levels are officially at 5,262 in Iraq and 503 in Syria, but officials have privately acknowledged in the past that the real number for each country is more than the reported figure.
Facial Recognition Is Tracking Customers as They Shop in Stores
November 24th, 2017Via: CNBC:
Retailers are using facial recognition to collect data about customers as they shop in stores, according to an IT company with insight into the space.
“One of the big things brick-and-mortar retailers are getting into now is knowing their customers … tracking who’s entering their mall and how they’re behaving,” said Mark Lunt, group managing director at Asia-based Jardine OneSolution.
JOS works with the retail sector on facial recognition to profile customers that enter and track their movements.
The data collected include “how many people are coming in, age, ethnicity, gender — it’s all about knowing the foot traffic better and trying to serve more appropriate offers to those customers,” Lunt said.
Customer identities are kept anonymous and it might even benefit shopping experiences in the long run. According to JOS, its projects include adjusting store music to coincide with the customer’s mood.
Coast To Coast AM – November 21, 2017 UFOs & JFK with Linda Moulton Howe
November 24th, 2017Via: YouTube:
Related: Earth Files and Dark Journalist
Tesla Completes Construction of 129 Megawatt Hour Battery
November 23rd, 2017Via: Independent:
Tesla Inc has completed construction of the world’s largest lithium ion battery in Australia, putting it on track to meet a 100-day deadline for switching the battery packs on, the South Australian government said on Thursday.
Tesla won a bid in July to build the 129 megawatt hour battery for South Australia, the country’s most wind power-dependent state, with a vow from Chief Executive Elon Musk to install it within 100 days of signing a grid connection agreement or give it to the state for free.
When the grid connection deal was signed on Sept 29, Tesla was already half way through installing the battery packs.
The Tesla Powerpacks have now been fully installed at a wind farm run by France’s Neoen, and testing is set to begin to provide grid security services in South Australia.
Ethereum Now Handles More Transactions Than All Digital Currencies Combined
November 23rd, 2017I’ve added an Ethereum address to the Support page, for anyone who wants to help out Cryptogon with Ethereum. And thanks to the people who sent Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash and regular currency contributions recently.
Via: Trusted Nodes:
Ethereum, the barely two years old digital currency, now processes more transactions than all other digital currencies combined, including bitcoin.
Ethereum currently processes 52.3% of all cryptocurrency transactions, followed by bitcoin at 33%, while Bitcoin Cash, currently third in market cap, is handling only 1.8% as pictured above.
More than half a million transactions were processed yesterday by ethereum, a level that is now becoming common for the platform, rising considerably since early last year when it stood at just 10,000.
While bitcoin is currently processing around 330,000 transactions, with no change in volumes for an entire year despite considerable growth and a claimed increase in capacity.
Bitcoin’s transaction levels have been moving very much in a straight line due to a limited 1MB capacity. Although segregated witnesses (segwit) claimed to double it, in effect it has added as good as no capacity since its activation in August 2017.
