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MIT demos new form of magnetism that could lead to quantum communication, storage

It’s not often that researchers can verify a discovery that could change how we approach basic principles of technology, not just build on what we know. Nonetheless, MIT might have accomplished just such a feat in demonstrating a new state of magnetism . They’ve shown that a synthetically grown sample of herbertsmithite crystal (what you see above) behaves as a quantum spin liquid: a material where fractional quantum states produce a liquid-like flux in magnetic orientations, even if the material is solid. The behavior could let communications and storage take advantage of quantum entanglement , where particles can affect each other despite relatively long distances. MIT warns us that there’s a wide gap between showing quantum spin liquids in action and developing a complete theory that makes them useful; we’re not about to see Mass Effect ‘s quantum entanglement communicator, if it’s even possible. To us, realizing that there may be a wholly untapped resource is enough reward for now. Filed under: Science , Alt Comments Source: MIT

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MIT demos new form of magnetism that could lead to quantum communication, storage

Facebook Might Make You Pay To Send Messages To Strangers

Today Facebook is adding a couple of new settings for messages to make sure you see the ones you need to see. And it’s also testing a system where you pay a buck to ensure someone you aren’t friends with reads a note you sent. Ugh, hopefully that test fails. More »

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Facebook Might Make You Pay To Send Messages To Strangers

Steam for Linux beta now open to the public

Good news for those who didn’t score an invite to the first round of Valve’s closed beta of Steam for Linux . The service is now available to anyone running Linux the latest build of Ubuntu (still no word on when the service is coming to other distros) (seems it runs on multiple different Linux builds now. Apologies). The new, wider release comes with a handy installer package , but those who are already in the closed beta can just upgrade to the latest version within Steam. Valve has also opened up a new Github repository to organize bug tracking for beta testers. That’s what you Linux people like to do, right? Find and catalog bugs? Since the closed beta launch in early November, Steam has expanded its selection of available Linux games from 24 to 39, a list still dominated by indie games. However, THQ president Jason Rubin recently tweeted that the struggling publisher was “evaluating cost/benefit” of Linux development, based on fan feedback in the wake of the company’s successful Humble Bundle experiment . Read on Ars Technica | Comments

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Steam for Linux beta now open to the public

Samsung gets go-ahead on $3.9 billion chip production line expansion in Texas

Samsung’s plans for a substantial renovations at hits semiconductor factory in Austin have been approved. Completing talks with the government of Texas, the world’s biggest memory chip-maker will be expanding the capacity of its already substantial production lines, hoping to keep up with the ever-increasing demand for mobile components. Filed under: Misc , Samsung Comments Source: Reuters

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Samsung gets go-ahead on $3.9 billion chip production line expansion in Texas

Researchers Create Ultrastretchable Wires Using Liquid Metal

hypnosec writes “By using liquid metal researchers have created wires that can stretch up to eight times their original length while retaining their conduction properties. Scientists over at North Carolina State University made the stretchable wires by filling in a tube made out of an extremely elastic polymer with gallium and an indium liquid metal alloy.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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Researchers Create Ultrastretchable Wires Using Liquid Metal

Amazon Has Another Huge Security Hole

You may recall that Amazon was implicated as the weak link in the Mat Honan iCloud hack , wherein a gadget blogger had his entire online identity nuked from orbit because Amazon gave up the secondary identifying information necessary to issue a password reset over at Apple. (The last four of your credit card, incidentally.) I’m sad to say that Amazon has clearly not improved their authentication protocols in any meaningful way, but this time it’s hurting them directly. More »

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Amazon Has Another Huge Security Hole

Solved! UChicago’s Indiana Jones mystery package

Last week, the University of Chicago posted that they had received a curious package addressed to Henry Walton Jones, Jr. A student mail worker recognized that name as belonging to a certain Indiana Jones who, in the film trilogy, was a professor at UChicago. The envelope was packed with Indiana Jones ephemera, including a replica of Abner Ravenwood’s journal. The University posted the mystery online and it has now been solved. Turns out, the package was an eBay purchase on its way from a seller named Paul, in Guam, to a buyer in Italy. According to Paul, this package was en route from him in Guam to his intended recipient IN ITALY (registered mail confirmation attached) when it must have fallen out of the package in Hawaii. Our address had originally been put on the manila wrapping of the journal just for cosmetic effect. We believe that the post office wrote on our Zip code on the outside of the package and, believing the Egyptian postage was real, sent it our way. From Guam to Hawaii en route to Italy with a stopover in Chicago: truly an adventure befitting Indiana Jones. ” Indiana Jones Mystery Package ” Indiana Jones Mystery Package (Thanks, Bob Pescovitz!)

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Solved! UChicago’s Indiana Jones mystery package

Add a RAM Disk to Your Computer for Faster-than-SSD Performance

Feel the need for more computer speed? Even if you’re already rocking a fast SSD ( one of the best upgrades you can make), you can still improve your computer’s performance by adding more memory and turning it into a RAM disk, which can be as much as 70 times faster than a regular hard drive or 20 times faster than an SSD. More »

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Add a RAM Disk to Your Computer for Faster-than-SSD Performance