Quantum computer revolves around just 5 atoms

It’s no mean feat to find the factors of a very large number — even a supercomputer can take years to find all the multipliers. However, MIT researchers have found a way to clear this massive hurdle. They’ve built a quantum computer that discovers number factors using just five atoms. Four of the atoms are turned into logic gates using laser pulses that put them into superpositions (where they maintain two different energy states at once), while the fifth atom stores and delivers answers. The result is a computer that not only calculates solutions much more efficiently than existing quantum systems, but scales relatively easily. Need to get the factors for a larger number? Introduce more atoms.

It’s a one-trick pony at the moment (it can only get factors for the number 15), and a truly complex computer would require “thousands” of simultaneous laser blasts to work. However, it could have big ramifications for the security world. A sufficiently powerful machine could end the use of any encryption that depends on factoring — a government agency or hacking team could easily crack codes that are otherwise near-impenetrable. On a basic level, this quantum factoring could also help solve math problems involving extremely large numbers (say, universe-scale calculations) that would normally be too daunting.

Source: MIT News

The darkest material on Earth has become even darker

When Surrey NanoSystems introduced the original Vantablack, the company said the carbon nanotube material is capable of absorbing 99.96 percent of light that touches it. It’s so dark, it can fool your eyes into seeing a smooth surface even when the nanotubes were actually grown on crumpled foil (seriously — watch the video below the fold). Well, the new version of Vantablack is darker than that. In fact, Surrey can’t even give us the percentage of light that gets absorbed, because its spectrometers can’t measure it.

In this video below (and the GIF above), you can see the material engulf the laser pointer in darkness when it moves across:

This one’s the older version, which is still so dark, looking at it is like peering into the abyss:

Vantablack has a lot of potential applications, especially in the military and space sector. It could, for instance, be used to coat stealth vehicles. A team of Utah State University researchers found a rather novel use for it, though. They used the material to create an extremely absorbent urinal cake — a black hole that sucks in your pee.

Source: YouTube

KitchenAid Pro Line Series Blender Release Date, Price and Specs – CNET

KitchenAid

KitchenAid just threw down a hefty gauntlet in the blender wars here at IHHS 2016 in Chicago. The appliance maker just unveiled the $600 Pro Line Series blender, what it breathlessly claims is the most powerful smoothie machine home cooks can buy. Equipped with a 3.5 peak horsepower motor, on paper the new Pro Line looks like a beast of blender. It technically offers more raw chopping muscle than any similar appliance we’ve taken for a spin which includes powerhouse contenders such as the Blendtec Designer 725 and Vitamix 750.

More than just a monster

Tucked away inside the KitchenAid Pro Line Series blender is a 3.5 peak horsepower electric motor which in theory is stronger than the Blendtec Designer 725’s (3.4 HP) and Vitamix 750’s (2.2 HP) engines. According to KitchenAid though, strength is just part of this blender’s story.

The countertop appliance relies on what the company calls, “asymmetric” blades which are designed to suck food ingredients into an inescapable whirlpool of liquefaction. This approach say KitchenAid ensures ultra-smooth blends competitors can’t match. Of course we can’t confirm these lofty claims until we put the KitchenAid Pro Series through our official battery of grueling blender torture tests.

KitchenAid also chose to install die-cast metal knobs on this machine instead of plastic dials or touch controls other blender makers gravitate towards. This design supposedly increases the appliance’s durability and lifetime in the long run.

More details

• 3.5 peak horsepower
• Dual-walled thermal jar
• Capable of blending hot liquids such as soups and sauces
• Flex-Edge tamper that doubles as a spatula
• $600 for Frosted White and Onyx Black models
• $700 for Candy Apple Red, Imperial Black, and Medallion Silver models

‘Koi’ is the first PS4 game made entirely in China

Now that China allows game console sales across the country, local developers are finally getting a chance to shine: Oasis Games has the distinction of introducing Koi, the first PS4 game made entirely in China. The debut isn’t a triple-A blockbuster, but it’s an intriguing, philosophical title that has you purifying a koi fish pond by solving puzzles, opening lotus flowers and dodging predators. Appropriately, it also has a “hypnotic” Chinese piano score to sooth your mind.

Koi doesn’t have a firm release date beyond 2016 –i t’s only getting its first showcase at the Game Developers Conference this month. However, its very existence could help open the floodgates for Chinese console game makers, especially indies. While console-friendly Chinese studios have existed for years, they tend to be satellites like Ubisoft Shanghai (which assisted on titles like Far Cry 4). Many existing studios tend to develop for the platforms that have long been legal, such as PCs and smartphones. This could encourage Chinese outfits to go it alone when working on consoles, or at least to work on games that cater to homegrown tastes.

Source: PlayStation Blog

The Ben Heck Show’s Felix hacks a guitar

While Ben is away, Felix and Karen will play… the guitar! Karen uses lasers for the electronic housing while Felix prototypes the microcontroller, audio codec and LCD display to embed in an acoustic guitar. It takes a bit of modding, cutting and even an accident with the screen! Watch the episode above to hear how well the guitar plays, and then head over to the element14 community to talk to The Ben Heck Show team and find the build files for this project.

Pioneer XDP-100R Android Audio Player review: Break free from mediocre sound

You know, I found myself at a crossroads. I wanted better audio on the go, but wasn’t sure the best way to get there. Smartphones aren’t traditionally the best audio

Retro Rugby – Gesture based, ball running fun. [Review]

Overview – Retro Rugby takes gesture-based gameplay and blends it with a sports theme, putting you in the head of a Rugby player as he sprints for the goal-line. Developer: twentysix

App developers now have access to Google Cast usage analytics

Google has introduced a new way for developers of apps that have Google Cast functionality to better understand how people are interacting with their apps. Developers will be able to see how many Cast devices have connected to your app, how long the average length of use is and much more. Interested developers are able to log into their developer console, and in the “Application” table just click the view link in the “Statistics” column. From Google’s Developer Blog:

The analytics page contains a tab for each metric, an interactive graph of the metric’s values over time, and tables containing the most recent day’s data. The devices tab shows the number of Cast devices that have launched your application, the sessions tab shows the number of Cast sessions of your application, and the average playback tab shows the average length of media playback time per session for your application.

This information can be very helpful for developers to gain a better understanding of how users interact with features of their apps, and hopefully make changes and improvements to increase the functionality of their apps.

The joys and pitfalls of an overcrowded mid-range Android market

There’s no shortage of reasons to be excited about mid-range Android phones. But finding the gems in the chaos is a challenge.

If we learned anything from Mobile World Congress, it’s that the mid-range market is going to get even more interesting in 2016 than it was last year. Manufacturers gunning for that $300 to $400 range are going to get a lot of attention this year, and it’s clear this is because this market is continuing to expand. More people every day are ditching two-year agreements and monthly contract plans in the U.S., and that means the initial sticker shock of a high-end smartphone is finally setting in. Samsung, LG, Apple, and others are going to spend this year justifying the cost of their hardware to folks who don’t see a huge difference between the $400 phone from a smaller brand and a flagship $700 offering.

It’s going to get interesting, but it’s also going to be chaotic. Navigating this space was already a little on the complicated side, and this year that’s only going to get worse.

An issue of U.S. consumers slowly moving away from these two-year agreements in search of a deal is knowing where to shop. Traditionally, phones in the U.S. are sold through carriers and big box stores. There’s a physical person there to explain what each phone does, and to steer that user based on their needs. Walk in to any U.S. carrier store and you’ll see this process repeat itself a hundred times a day. Unfortunately, a lot of these really great mid-range phones aren’t available in this capacity. Google’s Nexus phones aren’t sitting on shelves at Verizon Wireless or Best Buy, and so many of these customers make purchases without ever knowing they exist.

It’s paradise for a smartphone fan, but a ton of noise for someone looking to buy a reasonably-priced phone.

Online sales present another interesting challenge. On the Internet, especially in a purchasing sense, the loudest tends to be the most successful. Take a look at OnePlus, a company that released two decidedly average phones by claiming they were measurably superior. Compared even to some of the other mid-range phones, OnePlus is rarely at the top of the pile. In fact, of the small smartphone companies to wield social presence as the dominant promotion tool, Nextbit is the only company that delivers on the hype.

This year’s going to be a little different, though. Sony is a brand with significant consumer trust outside of the smartphone bubble, and their latest phones will live on that. Xiaomi isn’t selling in the US, but is drumming up hype here regardless. Huawei’s finally got the foot in the door they’ve been aiming for, and will continue to press on. We’re also likely to see offerings from Motorola that challenge this price range later in the year, and all of this is aside from the impressive demonstration by Alcatel at MWC. It’s paradise for a smartphone fan, but a ton of noise for someone looking to buy a reasonably-priced phone.

The biggest challenge each of these companies face is reaching these new consumers. Google’s got the money to blast everyone with TV ads, but frequently the whole point to these inexpensive yet insanely capable mid-range phones is the lack of overhead creating the opportunity for that price point. It’s not a unique challenge, but this year will be the year we see each of these companies try to solve the puzzle in unique ways.

‘Street Fighter’ cheating means dropped ranks and lost points

Last week Capcom asked for your help catching Street Fighter V rage quitters in the act. Using the evidence the community provided, the publisher/developer was able to cross-reference it with internal data to find the folks with 80 – 90 percent disconnect rates and “unrealistic win rates,” and punish the jerks.

Given the criteria for the reprimanding, if you’re worried about being punished for your internet legitimately disconnecting every now and again, it doesn’t sound like there’s anything to fear.

However, if you have what the outfit refers to as an abnormally high disconnect rate at the end of a match? Say goodbye to all your League Points because they’ll be reset during the team’s weekly sweep for cheaters. Capcom says that the some 30 accounts it has reprimanded will be looked after and it’ll keep the punishments coming to them if warranted.

Capcom also notes that it’s devised a way to keep an eye on cheaters without the need for user-submitted video, too, but doesn’t have a timeframe for when its permanent fix for cowardly combatants will be ready.

Oh, and if you’re having issues connecting online, hit the Capcom Unity blog post for a list of the remote ports to take a gander at on your router.

Source: Capcom Unity