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Submission + - Ask Slashdot: Alternatives to Uni

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: University seems to me to have four major aspects: learning, helping to get jobs, networking, and as a platform to get into research. Obviously, there are a lot of existing alternatives for networking and learning. Getting jobs also seems to have a few promising alternatives. I'm wondering however, is it possible to get paid to research without a degree? What alternatives do people have for the other aspects of uni?

Submission + - Mini-quantum computer passes test (www.fom.nl)

Submitted by
StichtingFOM
StichtingFOM writes: "Four quantum bits on a chip of diamond mark an important step forwards

Scientists from Delft University of Technology and the FOM Foundation have succeeded in very accurately reading out a mini-quantum computer comprising four quantum bits on a chip of diamond. This breakthrough marks an important step towards a quantum computer and makes it possible to test quantum algorithms, such as teleportation, on a chip. The researchers published their results 21 September online in Nature.

A major challenge along the path to realising a quantum computer and the associated large-scale quantum hardware is the initialisation and reading out of the minuscule quantum bits. The spin rotation of both individual electrons and atomic nuclei functions as a quantum bit: left spin is a '0', and right spin is a '1'. Atomic nuclei are highly stable quantum bits as they scarcely interact with their surroundings. However, this property also makes it difficult to read out the state of atoms. A team from Delft University of Technology under the leadership of FOM scientist Dr.ir. Ronald Hanson has now solved this problem by using a captured electron as an intermediate station in the measurement.

Reading out quantum bits
The researchers can now determine the state (spin direction) of the electron quickly and accurately. They do this by sending laser pulses of an accurately preset wavelength at the electron. The electron absorbs the light and transmits it again if it is in the '0' state but does nothing if it is in the '1' state.

To read out the spin direction of the atomic nuclei as well, the researchers first perform a quantum operation. The electron then gets entangled with the atomic nuclei, and the information about the atom is transferred to the electron. The researchers subsequently read out the state of the electron and from this derive the original state of the atomic nuclei.

This measurement technique is special because the measurement does not alter the state of the atomic nuclei. It is therefore an ideal way of preparing the atomic nuclei for further quantum calculations and so for use in a quantum computer. The researchers demonstrated their technique on a mini-quantum computer comprising four quantum bits on a diamond chip.

Diamond future
The discovery that the fundamental natural laws of quantum mechanics make it possible to perform ultrafast calculations and transmit information completely securely, has elicited a worldwide race to construct the necessary ‘quantum hardware'. For the past few years diamond has been the favourite material as quantum states are scarcely disrupted in this. This new read-out technique for quantum bits in diamond provides the researchers with many possibilities. For example, they want to test interesting phenomena such as teleportation and multiparticle entanglement in the laboratory. The read-out also makes it possible to implement the correction of elementary quantum errors, an essential aspect of a large-scale quantum computer.

The research was supported by a Marie Curie Intra European Fellowship of the Seventh European Community Framework Programme, FOM, the European Commission (SOLID) and the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA)."
Hardware

Submission + - Demystifying UEFI, the overdue BIOS replacement

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: After more than 30 years of unerring and yet surprising supremacy, BIOS is taking its final bows. Taking its place is UEFI, a specification that begun its life as the Intel Boot Initiative way back in 1998 when BIOS’s antiquated limitations were hampering systems built with Intel’s Itanium processors. UEFI, as the article explains, is a complete re-imagining of a computer boot environment, and as such it has almost no similarities to the PC BIOS that it replaces.
Patents

Submission + - Europe's 'unitary patent' could mean unlimited sof (guardian.co.uk) 1

Submitted by chebucto
chebucto writes: RMS has an article up at the Guardian about the proposed EU Unitary Patent system, which would make any patent issued by the European Patent Office (EPO) valid in all of the EU except for Spain and Italy. The unitary patent system would remove national jurisdiction over patents, leaving the European Court of Justice (the ECJ — the highest court in Europe) as the only body with appeal power over EPO decisions. There's a real chance that patent policy throughout much of Europe will be decided by an organization that's shown, in practice, that it supports software patents.
Iphone

Submission + - Very Helpful AR.Drone Review & Best Price (ardronereview.net)

Submitted by hnzim1
hnzim1 writes: AR.Parrot Drone is an advance RC toy which controlled by Apple devices. This website gives best AR.Drone review, completed with the information about where to get the best price for this product.
Software

Submission + - Programmer Making Thought-controlled Robot Avatars (theepochtimes.com)

Submitted by Anonymous Coward
An anonymous reader writes: Software developer Robert Oschler is creating a program to give quadriplegics robotic avatars, by syncing a thought-detecting Emotiv EPOC electroencephalogram (EEG) headset with a WowWee Rovio telepresence robot. The ‘Robodance 5’ software he’s currently funding through Kickstarter would let them control the robots using only their thoughts and emotions, which means even people with severe paralysis could use the device. He also plans to create an online network for quadriplegics to meet, make friends, and hang out by linking to each other’s robots using their minds.
Android

Submission + - FSF Uses Android FUD To Push GPL3 (itworld.com)

Submitted by
jfruhlinger
jfruhlinger writes: "We've already seen claims from Edward Naughton and Florian Mueller that most Android distributors are in violation of the GPL — claims that the open source community has for the most part rejected. Therefore it's disheartening to see that the FSF is using this line of reasoning to push the GPL v3 over the supposedly more troublesome GPL v2. The FSF's press release on the subject emphasizes "worries" without bringing up a specific concrete case of infringement — a classic FUD technique."
Blackberry

Submission + - 'Fantastic' PlayBook sales reported by retailer (bgr.com)

Submitted by zacharye
zacharye writes: While HP continues its TouchPad fire sale as it exits the consumer tablet market, major Australian retail chain Harvey Norman has gone on record in reporting “fantastic” sales of RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook tablet. Ben McIntosh, head of Harvey Norman’s computer-buying team, told Australian technology news site Current that the retailer’s sales of RIM’s tablet have exceed expectations. “Sales of the PlayBook are very, very good,” McIntosh told the publication...

Submission + - What's right and wrong with software patents (thisismynext.com)

Submitted by goombah99
goombah99 writes: Nilay Patel makes a very cogent argument that software patents are not a bad thing at all. He argues that the problem is the Trolls. And his solution is not only simple, but actually exists and is well tested in other countries, such as Germany so it's pretty easy to evaluate if he's right. He squarely puts down common strawmen like "software algorithms are just math and you can't patent math". And he points out that patents bring methods in to the public domain, unlike the bad old days of trade secrets. In a few years even those seemingly "obvious" patents will be legally obvious and free to all, so in a way there is a clearing house process in effect that is de-encumbering entire fields, such as Amazon-like stores, in the long run. And when people are forced to work around patented methods they explore new more diverse methods, broadening our knowledge. His solution is mandatory licensing at reasonable rates of all patents not in active use by the holder. This allows universities to continue profiting from patents while encouraging people to license widely rather than sit back and wait to litigate when someone succeeds. The end of trolling is within reach.

Comment Re:Heh. (Score 1) 258

by teaserX (#37118974) Attached to: GPGPU Bitcoin Mining Trojan
[quote]They generate at a fixed rate up to the defined total number of coins...you don't get more coins the more computing power is dedicated to it...[/quote] Seems to me that his would be deflationary. The more effort/work put into getting a bitcoin, the more value it has (theoretically). The mostly constant rate that they are generated disallows arbitrarily increasing the number of bitcoins in existence and thereby devaluing the currency. Inflation is the same thing as currency devaluation.

Comment Re:It was oboviously out there (Score 2) 258

by teaserX (#37118706) Attached to: GPGPU Bitcoin Mining Trojan
The main advantage of a pool is the steady payout. You get paid a small share of the solved blocks a few times an hour instead waiting weeks to get the payout for entire block. Typically your pool account with allow you to claim you bitcoins every 24 hours. Botnets are going to be comprised of many horribly weak miners (probably CPUs not GPUs) and even a huge botnet won't be able to solve a block in 24 hours. The incentive to use a pool is the same for those mining on a botnet as those mining on their own hardware.

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