Fred Palma | Computer Scientist

Yale University scientists have accomplished two major steps toward achieving true quantum computing–sending a photon signal on demand from a qubit onto wires and transmitting the signal to a second, distant qubit. Applied physics professor Robert Schoelkopf and physics professor Steven Girvin have spent several years exploring the use of solid-state devices resembling microchips for use in a quantum computer. Their breakthrough means that quantum computing has moved past simply “having information” to “communicating information.” Previously, information in quantum systems was only able to move from qubit to qubit. Schoelkopf and Girvin have engineered a superconducting communication “bus” to store and transfer information between distant quantum bits, the first step to making the fundamentals of quantum computing useful, according to Schoelkopf. The first breakthrough is the ability to produce and control single, discrete microwave photons as the carriers of encoded quantum information. “In this work we demonstrate only the first half of quantum communication on a chip–quantum information efficiently transferred from a stationary quantum bit to a photon or ‘flying qubit,’” says Schoelkopf. “However, for on-chip quantum communication to become a reality, we need to be able to transfer information from the photon back to a qubit.” The researchers accomplished that in their second breakthrough by adding a second qubit and using the photon to transfer a quantum state from one qubit to another.
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Tags: Quantum by Fred
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Microwulf is a personal, portable Beowulf cluster, providing over 26 Gflops of measured performance. In January 2007, its components cost less than $2500. It weighs less than 31 pounds, and its dimensions are just 11″ x 12″ x 17″, making it small enough to fit on one’s desktop or in a suitcase.

http://www.calvin.edu/~adams/research/microwulf/
http://www.beowulf.org/
http://littlefe.net/
http://www.inovacaotecnologica.com.br/noticias/noticia.php?artigo=010150070906

Tags: Development by Fred
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The Chinese military hacked into a Pentagon computer network in June in the most successful cyber attack on the US defence department, say American ­officials.

The Pentagon acknowledged shutting down part of a computer system serving the office of Robert Gates, defence secretary, but declined to say who it believed was behind the attack.

Current and former officials have told the Financial Times an internal investigation has revealed that the incursion came from the People’s Liberation Army.

One senior US official said the Pentagon had pinpointed the exact origins of the attack. Another person familiar with the event said there was a “very high level of confidence…trending towards total certainty” that the PLA was responsible. The defence ministry in Beijing declined to comment on Monday.

Angela Merkel, Germany’s chancellor, raised reports of Chinese infiltration of German government computers with Wen Jiabao, China’s premier, in a visit to Beijing, after which the Chinese foreign ministry said the government opposed and forbade “any criminal acts undermining computer systems, including hacking”.

“We have explicit laws and regulations in this regard,” said Jiang Yu, from the ministry. “Hacking is a global issue and China is frequently a victim.”

George W.?Bush, US president, is due to meet Hu Jintao, China’s president, on Thursday in Australia prior to the Apec summit.

The PLA regularly probes US military networks – and the Pentagon is widely assumed to scan Chinese networks – but US officials said the penetration in June raised concerns to a new level because of fears that China had shown it could disrupt  systems at critical times.

“The PLA has demonstrated the ability to conduct attacks that disable our system…and the ability in a conflict situation to re-enter and disrupt on a very large scale,” said a former official, who said the PLA had penetrated?the?networks?of US defence companies and think-tanks.

Hackers from numerous locations in China spent several months probing the Pentagon system before overcoming its defences, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Pentagon took down the network for more than a week while the attacks continued, and is to conduct a comprehensive diagnosis. “These are multiple wake-up calls stirring us to levels of more aggressive vigilance,” said Richard Lawless, the Pentagon’s top Asia official at the time of the attacks.

The Pentagon is still investigating how much data was downloaded, but one person with knowledge of the attack said most of the information was probably “unclassified”. He said the event had forced officials to reconsider the kind of information they send over unsecured e-mail systems.

John Hamre, a Clinton-era deputy defence secretary involved with cyber security, said that while he had no knowledge of the June attack, criminal groups sometimes masked cyber attacks to make it appear they came from government computers in a particular country.

The National Security Council said the White House had created a team of experts to consider whether the administration needed to restrict the use of BlackBerries because of concerns about cyber espionage.

By Demetri Sevastopulo in Washington and Richard McGregor in Beijing

 The Financial Times Limited 2007

Tags: security by Fred
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http://www.947wave.com/

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The WAVE was born on Valentine’s Day, February 14th, 1987. It was not only the beginning of a new radio station; a format was born that day. The press release heralding the launch of this new format concluded with “KTWV, The WAVE is the first station to embrace the best forms of today’s music, and provides Southern California with a true radio alternative that satisfies listeners’ needs in the car, at work and at home.” Well over a decade has passed since that statement was made, and it still holds true.

The WAVE has since grown into a true powerhouse in Southern California radio, maintaining top ratings over the past several years. Even with its mass appeal, the WAVE remains distinctively different from anything else on the radio dial.

The format that the WAVE launched was originally dubbed “New Adult Contemporary” by the industry. However, over the years, after asking our audience what our unique music blend means to them; time and time again, they call our music “Smooth Jazz.” Therefore, our “full name” is “Smooth Jazz, 94.7 The WAVE.” The music is a sophisticated, yet accessible blend of contemporary instrumental jazz and smooth vocals. Some of the artists you can hear on the station are George Benson, Kenny G, Sade, Luther Vandross, David Sanborn, Phil Collins and a host of others. And… The WAVE’s music is firmly focused on new, emerging artists in the contemporary jazz and pop fields.

Our on-air goal is to make people feel good. The music, the presentation by our seasoned staff of air talent, our promotions, community involvement and literally every other element broadcast over the airwaves contributes to that “feel good” concept.

It is a philosophy we carry over to our clients as well. We feel fortunate in being able to turn our passion for music into a viable, successful vehicle for both our listeners and advertisers.

Tags: Music by Fred
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