quantenblog.net
Already dozens of deaths due to airspace closure? (Hendrik Weimer's Quantenblog)
http://www.quantenblog.net/misc/airspace-closure-deaths
Having fun with science and technology. Already dozens of deaths due to airspace closure? The ongoing closure of European airspace due to volcanic ash after the Eyjafjallajökull eruption may already have claimed the lives of dozens of travelers without a single plane being crashed. The problem is that travelers are forced to seek alternative transportation, which typically are less safe than flying. Calls it, this is "focusing on the specific when you should focus on the generalities". Now let us find an...
quantenblog.net
Hendrik Weimer's Quantenblog
http://www.quantenblog.net/security
Having fun with science and technology. Pseudonymity is Different from Anonymity. Published yesterday in Nature analyzes moving patterns of humans based on position data provided by a European mobile network operator. While the paper itself is very interesting and provides new insights it also raises serious privacy concerns, and maybe even legal troubles for the telco in question. Microsoft to Get Malware Bailout in Germany. Germany's New Computer Crime Law is Bad, but not that Bad. Although I think the...
quantenblog.net
Getting PSfrag-ged EPS files to work with Inkscape (Hendrik Weimer's Quantenblog)
http://www.quantenblog.net/free-software/psfrag-inkscape
Having fun with science and technology. Getting PSfrag-ged EPS files to work with Inkscape. When preparing figures for papers or other scientific content I routinely use PSfrag. For inserting LaTeX commands. Sometimes I would like to edit the result with Inkscape. To add some fancy stuff, but unfortunately most of the time Inkscape cannot open the created EPS file. I have written a short guide describing how to finally get it to work. To create an E(ncapsulated)PS instead of a normal PostScript document.
quantenblog.net
Hendrik Weimer's Quantenblog
http://www.quantenblog.net/hendrik
Having fun with science and technology. I'm currently living in Cambridge, Massachusetts, working on theoretical quantum physics as a postdoctoral scientist at Harvard University and the Institute for Theoretical Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics. My research is mostly about strongly interacting Rydberg atoms and nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond, if you are interested in further details, have a look at my research page. Furthermore, I am the founder of OS Reviews. Moore's Law for Quantum Computers.
quantenblog.net
Moore's Law for Quantum Computers (Hendrik Weimer's Quantenblog)
http://www.quantenblog.net/physics/moores-law-quantum-computer
Having fun with science and technology. Moore's Law for Quantum Computers. By looking at the history of quantum computing experiments, one finds an exponential increase in the number of qubits, similar to Moore's law for classical computers. Quantum computing power doubles about every six years, with quantum computers for real applications arriving in between nine and twelve years if this trend continues. Ion trap quantum computer experiment in Innsbruck (photo by Markus Nolf). For two trapped ions by Da...
quantenblog.net
OpenOffice tops 20% market share (Hendrik Weimer's Quantenblog)
http://www.quantenblog.net/free-software/openoffice-market-share
Having fun with science and technology. OpenOffice tops 20% market share. The guys at Webmasterpro have published a study. That analyzes the install base of various office packages among German users. While Microsoft Office comes out top (72%), open source rival OpenOffice is already installed on 21.5% of all PCs and growing. The authors of the study have now published a followup with international data. Moore's Law for Quantum Computers. Meet me on Diaspora. Google Chrome in Debian.
quantenblog.net
Strongly Interacting Rydberg Atoms (Hendrik Weimer's Quantenblog)
http://www.quantenblog.net/physics/rydberg-paper
Having fun with science and technology. Strongly Interacting Rydberg Atoms. Are atoms with a large principle quantum number. One possibility to create them is to excite ground state atoms with lasers. They are very sensitive to electric fields, so if you bring them close together they will experience very strong interactions due to static or induced electric dipoles. We have now put a paper. Phys Rev. Lett. Moore's Law for Quantum Computers. Meet me on Diaspora. Google Chrome in Debian.
quantenblog.net
Enviromental Impacts of Eucalyptus Plantations in Brazil (Hendrik Weimer's Quantenblog)
http://www.quantenblog.net/misc/eucalyptus-plantation-brazil
Having fun with science and technology. Enviromental Impacts of Eucalyptus Plantations in Brazil. In recent days, you might have seen web adverts for investing into Brazilian eucalyptus plantations, even on technically oriented sites. While the investment may sound financially attractive it presumably involves several ethical hazards. Eucalyptus plantation inside rainforest in Brazil (photo by Claus Bunk). Monocultures are bad. We know that already from the software industry. Generally speaking, I don't ...
quantenblog.net
Microsoft to Get Malware Bailout in Germany (Hendrik Weimer's Quantenblog)
http://www.quantenblog.net/security/microsoft-malware-bailout
Having fun with science and technology. Microsoft to Get Malware Bailout in Germany. With the economic crisis still being in full effect, Germany wants to throw government money at another industry giant. However, this time it is not an ailing car manufacturer, but the software producer Microsoft. The German Federal Office for Information Security. BSI) plans to team up with internet service providers (ISPs) to establish a call center helping malware-troubled Windows users. The project was announced today.
