MrSeb writes with this news from Extreme Tech: “In a move that will shock and disgust bleeding-edge technophiles everywhere, Asus has announced at Mobile World Congress 2012 that its new Transformer Pads — the high-end Infinity Series — will use the recently-announced dual-core Qualcomm S4 SoC. The critically acclaimed Transformer Prime, the Infinity Series’ predecessor which was released at the end of 2011, used the quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3. Why the sudden about-face? Well, the fact that quad-core processors don’t really have a use case in mobile devices is one reason — but it doesn’t hurt that the Krait cores in the S4 are significantly faster than the four Cortex-A9 cores in the Tegra 3, too. The S4 is also the first 28nm SoC, while Tegra 3 is still on 40nm, which means a smaller and cheaper package, and lower power consumption to boot. The S4 is also the first SoC with built-in LTE, which was probably a rather nice sweetener for Asus.”

The Snapdragon S4 “Krait” CPU is still a bit shrounded in mystery as far as hard specs (Qualcomm has never been one to release docs), but it appears to be similar to the Cortex-A15 in performance; how they stand up to Intel’s new Medfield designs remains to be seen.

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Asus Transformer Drops Quad-core In Favor of Dual-core

Today’s quantum computers are no more than experiments. Researchers can string together a handful of quantum bits – seemingly magical bits that store a “1″ and “0″ at the same time – and these ephemeral creations can run relatively simple algorithms. But new research from IBM indicates that far more complex quantum computers aren’t that far away. More »

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IBM Busts Record for ‘Superconducting’ Quantum Computer [Guts]

Not all YouTube videos are made equal. Some languish in obscurity, while a tiny percentage rack up millions of hits. If you’ve ever wondered why that is, this explanation by Kevin Allocca, YouTube’s trends manager, is well worth watching. More »

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Why Videos Go Viral [Video]

Despite parent company Nissan’s penchant for forward-thinking electric mobility, its luxury division, Infiniti, hasn’t gotten much love from us thus far, chiefly due to its reluctance to play in the EV and plug-in hybrid spaces that we cover. That friends, will change at the upcoming Geneva Auto Show with the unveiling of the absolutely gorgeous Emerg-E concept. We don’t have much more info on offer other than a bevy of official shots, but with looks like that, how could we not keep a watchful eye out for its March debut? You’ll find another snap of its interior after the break, and those with more time (and privacy) ought to peep the upcoming E-tron and i8 competitor over at Autoblog.

Continue reading Infiniti Emerg-E concept gets unveiled before Geneva, is it the ‘green’ supercar you’ve been waiting for?

Infiniti Emerg-E concept gets unveiled before Geneva, is it the ‘green’ supercar you’ve been waiting for? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 21:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Infiniti Emerg-E concept gets unveiled before Geneva, is it the ‘green’ supercar you’ve been waiting for?

Google has pledged cash prizes totaling $1 million to people who successfully hack its Chrome browser at next week’s Pwn2Own hacker contest.

Google will reward winning contestants with prizes of $60,000, $40,000, and $20,000 depending on the severity of the exploits they demonstrate on Windows 7 machines running the browser. Members of the company’s security team announced the contest on their blog on Monday. There is no splitting of winnings, and prizes will be awarded on a first-come-first-served basis until the $1 million threshold is reached.

Now in its sixth year, the Pwn2Own contest awards valuable prizes to those who remotely commandeer computers by exploiting vulnerabilities in fully patched browsers and other Internet software. At last year’s competition, Internet Explorer and Safari were both toppled but no one even attempted an exploit against Chrome (despite Google offering an additional $20,000 beyond the $15,000 provided by contest organizer Tipping Point).

Chrome is currently the only browser eligible for Pwn2Own never to be brought down. One reason repeatedly cited by contestants for its lack of attention is the difficulty of bypassing Google’s security sandbox.

“While we’re proud of Chrome’s leading track record in past competitions, the fact is that not receiving exploits means that it’s harder to learn and improve,” wrote Chris Evans and Justin Schuh, members of the Google Chrome security team. “To maximize our chances of receiving exploits this year, we’ve upped the ante. We will directly sponsor up to $1 million worth of rewards.”

In the same blog post, the researchers said Google was withdrawing as a sponsor of the Pwn2Own contest after discovering rule changes allowing hackers to collect prizes without always revealing the full details of the vulnerabilities to browser makers.

“Specifically, they do not have to reveal the sandbox escape component of their exploit,” a Google spokeswoman wrote in an email to Ars. “Sandbox escapes are very dangerous bugs so it is not in the best interests of user safety to have these kept secret. The whitehat community needs to fix them and study them. Our ultimate goal here is to make the web safer.”

Ars will have full coverage of Pwn2Own, which commences on Wednesday, March 7.

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Google offers $1 million reward to hackers who exploit Chrome

Amanda Levete Architects and engineering firm Arup have created this brilliant entrance installation piece for the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the world’s foremost museum of art and design. Made of oil-treated American red oak, the structure both frames and unfolds the Cromwell Road entrance, resulting in a sensational sense of entry for the museum’s visitors and passersby. The design uses laminating techniques traditionally utilized in furniture making, and is one of the smartest, most poetic installation works for any public building I’ve seen in quite some time. On top of their V&A runaway hit, AL_A also won the V&A contest to design a brand new courtyard and undeground extension. For all things V&A be sure to visit their website by CLICKING HERE, and to learn more about the work of Amanda Levete Architects CLICK HERE.

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Architects Create Stunning American Oak Entrance Lattice Installation Work For V&A Museum Entrance

Apple sent out notice to its developers today of a new initiative called Developer ID, which will combat malware on OS X alongside the new-to-Mountain-Lion Gatekeeper. It’s to keep us, the users, safe. But could it also be the next step toward a future where Apple decides what you can install on your Mac? More »

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Apple Developer IDs Bring Us One Brick Closer to an OS X Walled Garden [Apple]

A space elevator, you say? A Tokyo-based firm is planning to build a space station thousands of miles above the planet, transporting passengers to-and-from orbit with a futuristic elevator. Going… up?

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A space elevator, you say? A Tokyo-based firm is planning to…

Continue reading AMD rolls out two new Bulldozer chips, cuts price of the FX-8120 to celebrate

AMD rolls out two new Bulldozer chips, cuts price of the FX-8120 to celebrate originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD rolls out two new Bulldozer chips, cuts price of the FX-8120 to celebrate

You share music, rip DVDs, make Hitler whine about your first world problems, and much more in the course of your regular online activities—and more often than not, you do these things without giving a thought to the fact that you’re actually breaking the law. Here’s a look at how you’re inevitably circumventing copyright law and what you can do to protect yourself. More »

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How You’re Breaking the Law Every Day (and What You Can Do About It) [Know Your Rights]