On September 12th 2013, scientists at the University of Queensland in Australia announced that they had achieved quantum teleportation inside an electronic chip. That's right, the process by which information can be transported from one location to another without a physical carrier, just like on Star Trek, is now a reality.
Dr. Arkady Fedorov and Dr. Matthias Baur used the process of quantum entanglement to achieve teleportation. Entanglement is the process by which two or more atomic particles become linked in such a way that the measurement of one particle's quantum state will determine that of the other particles' without any physical contact or when they are at extreme distances from one another.
In Dr. Fedorov and Dr. Buar's system, quantum information is stored as artificial structures called quantum bits. Dr. Fedorov says that the bits can bee seen with the naked eye. This is unusual because when we think of the quantum, we think of something so small that it can't even be seen with the aid of a microscope. What makes their system unique is that it uses a circuit, like that of a computer.
Quantum teleportation allows the transfer of information at a speed and accuracy far above that of data transfers in use to date. Dr. Fedorov says that the process will help in the design and creation of more powerful devices. He believes that questions concerning quantum communication can be answered using electronic circuits at microwave frequencies.
Dr. Fedorov and Dr. Baur foresee a future where experiments in which quantum information can and will be distributed over great distances, by way of microwave or optical interfaces. They expect teleportation to find applications in secure communications, and in more efficient information processing based on the laws of quantum physics.
No mentioned was made about the possibility of the teleportation of macroscopic objects or the eventuality of being able to one day transport a human being. But, this is an exciting breaking through and one that surely proves that while somethings are improbable, we live in a universe where nothing is impossible.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Here It Comes!
Announced this past June 2013, iTunes Radio will become a reality as it launches on Tuesday September 18th. The new steaming music service will be offered as one of two hundred new feature in it release of iOS7.
While tracks stream, users will be offered the opportunity to buy the tracks that they have just listened to. iTunes Radio will become more personal as one uses it. Songs can be rated by use of a star icon and feed back such as "play more like this," or "never play this song," will serve to help shape a listeners tastes.
Two hundred stations will be available with a catalog that will no doubt span the depths of iTunes it self. The service will be able to build stations around artists, songs, genres, or it can even build a station based on your own music library. There's also so the ability to add, delete or reorder your stations by using the Edit Stations features.
The amount of music discovery on a station can be fine tuned by way of a horizontal slider that allows the user to choose between Discovery and Top Hits. iTunes Radio can be accessed from your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac, PC, and Apple TV. All stations will be available in the iCloud, so that the stations that you create on one device can be accessed by any of your other devices.
Listeners will be able to use SIRI in order to ask iTunes, "who plays that song," or tell it to "play more like this." iTunes Radio will not only offer tracks by well established artist but it will also offer tracks by up and coming artist as well. And, a Wish List feature will give listeners the ability to buy their favorite tracks at a later time.
iTunes Radio is ad supported and there fore, free. With all of the above features and more, I'd said, that's a very good deal.
While tracks stream, users will be offered the opportunity to buy the tracks that they have just listened to. iTunes Radio will become more personal as one uses it. Songs can be rated by use of a star icon and feed back such as "play more like this," or "never play this song," will serve to help shape a listeners tastes.
Two hundred stations will be available with a catalog that will no doubt span the depths of iTunes it self. The service will be able to build stations around artists, songs, genres, or it can even build a station based on your own music library. There's also so the ability to add, delete or reorder your stations by using the Edit Stations features.
The amount of music discovery on a station can be fine tuned by way of a horizontal slider that allows the user to choose between Discovery and Top Hits. iTunes Radio can be accessed from your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, Mac, PC, and Apple TV. All stations will be available in the iCloud, so that the stations that you create on one device can be accessed by any of your other devices.
Listeners will be able to use SIRI in order to ask iTunes, "who plays that song," or tell it to "play more like this." iTunes Radio will not only offer tracks by well established artist but it will also offer tracks by up and coming artist as well. And, a Wish List feature will give listeners the ability to buy their favorite tracks at a later time.
iTunes Radio is ad supported and there fore, free. With all of the above features and more, I'd said, that's a very good deal.
Wednesday, September 4, 2013
What Time Is It?
Wear a Watch? Sony, Samsung and yes, Apple are all betting that the world is ready for wearable tech, such as the smart watch. Just image it as a smart phone only smaller. In fact, Pebble has already released it version this past summer. The unit is capable of linking to your smart phone via Bluetooth. It's app friendly and can allow you to receive or push notifications to your smart phone. The price tag is $100 direct.
Samsung has announced the release of it's Galaxy Gear smart watch. It has size and looks more like a bracelet. Samsung has added more than notifications to the list of it's product's capabilities. Galaxy Gear has a 1.9 mega pixel camera, a built in microphone, and offers Samsung's S Voice virtual assistant. The unit can also be used as a hands free speaker phone. Galaxy Gear can also be linked to your smart phone via Blue tooth and can deliver notifications, texts, and incoming calls from your phone. The price tag is $300.
Sony has just released the Smart Watch 2. The Smart Watch 2 makes use of touch screen technology and uses Blue Tooth 4.0 to link to your smart phone. It too can receive notifications but, though you can answer or reject calls, there's no microphone or speaker, so you won't be talking into your wrist anytime soon. The Smart Phone 2 is compatible with apps that were available for Sony's Smart Phone, plus there will be 400 more apps ready when the device is shipped. The Smart Phone 2 is expected to sell for $260.
Rumors of a smart phone from Apple first surfaced in February. Nicknamed the iWatch, it's been said that it will be launched in the second half of 2013. Details of what to expect as far as what the iWatch will look like or what it's features will be are as yet unknown. There is, however speculation on it's price. It's expected to cost between $149 and $229 and should make it's appearance sometime in 2014.
With a price as low as $100 or as much as $300 I think, and this is just my opinion, that the success of the smart watch will most likely depend on its size, features, durability, and price. It looks as though the price problem has already come under control. It would appear that the best of the rest is yet to come.
Samsung has announced the release of it's Galaxy Gear smart watch. It has size and looks more like a bracelet. Samsung has added more than notifications to the list of it's product's capabilities. Galaxy Gear has a 1.9 mega pixel camera, a built in microphone, and offers Samsung's S Voice virtual assistant. The unit can also be used as a hands free speaker phone. Galaxy Gear can also be linked to your smart phone via Blue tooth and can deliver notifications, texts, and incoming calls from your phone. The price tag is $300.
Sony has just released the Smart Watch 2. The Smart Watch 2 makes use of touch screen technology and uses Blue Tooth 4.0 to link to your smart phone. It too can receive notifications but, though you can answer or reject calls, there's no microphone or speaker, so you won't be talking into your wrist anytime soon. The Smart Phone 2 is compatible with apps that were available for Sony's Smart Phone, plus there will be 400 more apps ready when the device is shipped. The Smart Phone 2 is expected to sell for $260.
Rumors of a smart phone from Apple first surfaced in February. Nicknamed the iWatch, it's been said that it will be launched in the second half of 2013. Details of what to expect as far as what the iWatch will look like or what it's features will be are as yet unknown. There is, however speculation on it's price. It's expected to cost between $149 and $229 and should make it's appearance sometime in 2014.
With a price as low as $100 or as much as $300 I think, and this is just my opinion, that the success of the smart watch will most likely depend on its size, features, durability, and price. It looks as though the price problem has already come under control. It would appear that the best of the rest is yet to come.
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