Quantum Computing Asks For Another Kind Of Programming

Computers rule the world. They run almost everything there is on the planet. From simple home appliances, entertainment showcases, smartphones and machinery in big industries, there is indeed a computing system in place that makes it work all the time. We are no longer new to technology since it is all around us now but there are newer technological innovations that an ordinary person isn’t yet ready for or one may find it hard to believe even exists.

Quantum computing is the stuff of legends. Computer programmers started coding in mediums of 1s and 0s since the birth of computers. Meanwhile, quantum computing offers computing speeds of up to hundreds of millions faster than most conventional computers these days and no longer limited to coding binary numbers. Unfortunately, this highly advanced computing technology also calls for a different breed of computer programmers knowing how baffling the technology itself is even to experts in the field.

Quantum computers finally seem to be coming of age with promises of “quantum supremacy” by the end of the year. But there’s a problem—very few people know how to work them.

The bold claim of achieving "quantum supremacy" came on the back of Google unveiling a new quantum chip design. The hyperbolic phrase essentially means building a quantum device that can perform a calculation impossible for any conventional computer.

In theory, quantum computers can crush conventional ones at important tasks like factoring large numbers. That’s because unlike normal computers, whose bits can either be represented as 0 or 1, a quantum bit—or “qubit”—can be simultaneously 0 and 1 thanks to a phenomenon known as superposition.

(Via: https://singularityhub.com/2017/05/09/quantum-computing-demands-a-whole-new-kind-of-programmer/)

Big companies like Google make a bold promise of introducing the first ever commercial service from a “universal” quantum computer this year after unveiling their new quantum chip design. Those are such big words, indeed, considering that the company lacks the programmers who can code at a quantum level. Even IBM intends on bringing the quantum technology to the cloud for free sooner rather than later. For computer programmers to be able to handle quantum technology with ease, they must first have a good grasp of quantum physics at the very least. It’s not something that they usually do when coding for conventional computers.

There are a number of quantum simulators available now that will help users get familiar with quantum computing, but it’s not the real thing and is likely to behave very differently.  MIT physicist, Isaac Chuang, said, “The real challenge is whether you can make your algorithm work on real hardware that has imperfections.” It will take time for any computer programmer to learn the skills needed for quantum computing, but until the systems have been developed, what will they learn on?

This is one of the reasons for the push in making quantum devices more accessible. D-wave made available their Qbsoly and Qmasm tools earlier this year in an attempt to get more people into the realms of quantum computing. If the tools are available, more people will be tempted to have a go and budding quantum computer scientists will be born.  And as Google’s researchers wrote in a statement, “If early quantum-computing devices can offer even a modest increase in computing speed or power, early adopters will reap the rewards.”

(Via: http://trendintech.com/2017/05/16/quantum-computers-sound-great-but-whos-going-to-program-them/)

While the obvious difference between a classic computer and a quantum one is that the former are binary while the latter work with “qubits”. All qubits of a quantum computer would often be in a “superposition of states” where all qubits of information can be in all potential combination of states at the same time for quantum computers to actually work. The quantum computer must be shielded from the external environment or else it ceases to function at all.

Coding at this level means to execute appropriate algorithms that should always be reversible. Unfortunately, not all coders code this way, and again, they should be knowledgeable enough in the field of quantum physics to be able to program quantum computers efficiently. Only then can quantum computing really be widely used when there are computer programmers who can handle what it takes to code at a quantum level.

The following article Quantum Computing Asks For Another Kind Of Programming was initially published on PopEgo.com Blog

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China Takes Cyber Security Seriously

A big majority of the world’s population use some sort of technology or another in their daily life, whether for personal or office use. The Internet is now the favorite playground of many with the advent of smartphones because there are endless things you can do and explore. There is no more reason to get bored anymore. However, there are many dangers lurking on the web, and not just in the dark web, says Bill Werther of Loudouni.com. Moreover, people often abuse the perks of the web, making cyberbullying and online scams common complaints from online users these days.

It’s a different thing in China, though. While the Chinese have access to the web, the Chinese government enforce stringent cyber security laws that must be observed by virtually everyone on land. China takes all these new cyber threats seriously with the likes of cyber terrorism and cyber hacking that may not only endanger the lives of the Chinese people but even the security of the entire nation too. That’s why they have these cyber security laws that address these issues early on, so they don’t face a big cyber issue like the ones happening all over the globe nowadays.

China consistently ranks as the world’s worst abuser of internet freedom. A law on cyber security, which took effect on Thursday, is no doubt intended to tighten Beijing’s grip on the speech and thought of its citizens. As if this were not bad enough, the law will also serve as a barrier to global companies operating in China and impede Chinese companies’ ability to compete on the global stage.

The law explicitly criminalises any online information that the ruling Communist party regards as damaging “national honour”, “disturbing economic or social order” or contributing to the “overthrow of the socialist system”. It is ostensibly aimed at protecting the privacy of China’s 730m internet users. In reality it will enshrine the state’s right to snoop on anyone who logs on to the internet and will force all companies operating in the country to be complicit in this.

(Via: https://www.ft.com/content/60913b9e-46b9-11e7-8519-9f94ee97d996)

It no longer comes as a surprise how much cyber freedom China violates because this totalitarian country has been accused of many other human rights violations in the past and up until the present. Who says antivirus software and firewalls can only be installed on computers? China has their existing “Great Firewall of China” as well because that’s how much they censor online content. And you should not just shrug off these laws if you are a Chinese citizen because you risk being persecuted if you are found to have violated any of these law’s vague provisions.

And while Chinese officials say the new rules will help guard against cyberattacks and prevent terrorism, critics, many of them from businesses, have their concerns. Companies worry that parts of the new law, which takes effect on Thursday, will make their operations in China less secure or more expensive. In some cases, they argue, it could keep them out entirely.

The law will have a big impact on how business is done in China, said Michael Chang, an executive with the Finnish technology company Nokia and the vice president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China. But, he said, “There’s unfortunately a lot of confusion.”

“Industry is not ready because the implementation rules are not clear,” Mr. Chang said, speaking at an event organized by the lobbying group to announce the results of its annual business confidence survey.

(Via: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/31/business/china-cybersecurity-law.html?_r=0)

While the country and its leaders often get away with many human rights violations and infringement, it’s a different thing when it comes to dealing with businesses and business owners especially those owned by foreign investors and have offices in other parts of the world. Technology is very much a crucial part of our daily life right now.

We not only use it for our personal life but for work and studies too. It’s the reason why these vague clauses in the Chinese cybersecurity law got business investors worried and wondering what these changes means to their businesses especially when it comes to data storage and transfers. And we are not just talking about computer use but even that of smartphones as well. Fines will be imposed on violators and there’s also the risk of turning off overseas businesses because of outrageous laws that aren’t exactly easy to follow that only a superpower like China has the audacity to implement.

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Google Says No More Spam

As much as we love the Internet, there are some of those annoying little quirks that can get on our nerves when we feel we’ve had too much of it. Alongside those pop-up ads that are blocking your view and you aren’t always too keen to see, spam is another problem that seems to have no end. Who likes deleting these bothersome emails from who-knows-where right? Not only are they time-consuming to delete but they can pose a security risk as well to gullible users who don’t think twice before opening them and end up introducing a dangerous malware into their system.

Fortunately, you don’t get that much spam mail with a Gmail account. The site in itself exercises stringent security measures that protect its users from malicious contents. And Gmail recently takes their security measures to the next level in the wake of widespread ransomware attacks by including features that can detect phishing with an accuracy rate of almost 99.9%.

Google today said that its machine learning models can now detect spam and phishing messages with 99.9 percent accuracy.

While this still means that one out of a thousand messages gets through (so Barrister Jon Price still has a decent chance of getting to inform you of that random online lottery winning of £552,000,00 you weren’t expecting), the company argues that this is a pretty good number. And I guess that’s true, given that according to Google’s own data, 50-70 percent of messages that Gmail receives are spam. These detection models also integrate with the Google Safe Browsing tools for detecting links to malicious URLs.

To further improve its phishing-detection performance, Google also built a system that delays some Gmail messages for a little bit longer to perform more detailed phishing analysis. Because phishing attempts are more easily detected when you look at them in aggregate, Google will delay some of these suspicious messages to perform a deeper analysis as more data comes in over time and as its algorithms update in real time. This should only apply to about 0.05 percent of messages, though.

(Via: https://techcrunch.com/2017/05/31/google-says-its-machine-learning-tech-now-blocks-99-9-of-gmail-spam-and-phishing-messages/)

Gmail’s existing machine learning already takes care of spam protection but has now included phishing protection by conducting regular rigorous phishing analysis. They do this by delaying certain messages giving the technology enough time to perform the analysis and weed out spam emails.

One form of proactive defense? Notifying webmasters and email senders when they haven’t taken steps to secure and authenticate their sites and activity, or when something happens on their site that they may not know about. “It’s a rising trend for bad actors to not just create their own websites for the sole purpose of hosting malware and phishing, but to compromise others, and then leverage that hacked site to host their own content” says Safe Browsing’s Miller. Doing so lets bad actors leverage another party’s solid reputation. Google’s feedback can make webmasters and email senders aware that they’ve been compromised and that they’re unintentionally engaging in abusive behavior.

It also wouldn’t be a Google effort without a little machine learning thrown in. Somanchi says that upwards of 95 percent of all spam and phishing identification comes from machine learning. And in the past couple of years, these Gmail mechanisms have evolved to incorporate both traditional supervised learning, in which algorithms are trained on large data sets, with newer unsupervised learning techniques, in which algorithms learn through inference about how to tell legitimate inputs from malicious ones. “Whereas regular computers are making very hard black or white decisions, deep learning opens up the possibility to be more subjective and get closer to approximating, essentially, would humans fall for this?” Risher says.

(Via: https://www.wired.com/2017/05/inside-googles-global-campaign-shut-phishing/)

While many are thrilled for the new Gmail security upgrade, others are concerned about the unwarranted access to their sensitive information contained in many of their emails. However, Gmail guarantees that a user’s private data remains safe and sound during this analysis because they mainly observe aggregate data and identify attacker’s methods and no other human can view these sensitive details that the machine analyzes. Gmail uses anti-phishing defenses and Safe Browsing systems to determine the patterns of these attacks and put a stop to them as soon as possible. Rest assured that Gmail will take care of those spams for you and save you the trouble from having to delete it yourself.

Google Says No More Spam is available on PopEgo.com

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Challenges of Living in Small American Towns

When people talk about America, they often picture it out as the land of greener pastures. And in part, it has been the main motivation for people to go see this part of the world. Many people dream of coming to and living in America because it is the land of milk and honey where you get paid in dollars but they tend to forget that while you earn in dollars, you spend dollars too. If you look at the current American demographics today, a big number of the population are comprised of foreign immigrants who found a new home in the land of Uncle Sam.

Most immigrants actually settle down in big cities where there are plenty of job opportunities for smart and skilled workers like them. However, to really experience authentic American living, go visit or live in small US towns where everybody knows everybody, residents leave their doors unlocked, and crimes are generally low. These small towns show you what the real US of A is all about and shows you a glimpse of American history and culture that is now mostly lost in big and crowded cities.

The Trump administration’s proposed 2018 budget calls for deep cuts in non-defense discretionary spending, including a 21 percent reduction for the U.S. Department of Agriculture.  And the town of Goldendale, Washington, population 3,400, is one of many rural communities that could see those budget cuts at USDA and other federal agencies, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, the Interior Department and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, play out at the local level.

These agencies are deeply involved in rural life and economics in America, managing vast federal lands across the West, as well as rivers and streams, mining and energy development, air quality, fire suppression and hydropower.

Goldendale is on the high, dry prairie east of the Cascade Mountains, surrounded by farms and ranches. Like many small towns, the downtown is struggling, with boarded-up storefronts sporting “For Lease” signs next to long-established shops and restaurants.

(Via: https://www.marketplace.org/2017/05/23/economy/rural-america-weighs-economic-realities-federal-budget-cuts)

It is never easy living in the heart of America. True-blooded Americans face the harsh realities of fewer opportunities and lacking federal support, a common sentiment felt by those living in small American towns. Add to that the challenges posed by climate change on crop production or poultry farms; it can take its toll on an ordinary small-town farmer.

While completely abandoned towns like Okaton may be unusual, it exemplifies a much larger pattern of rural flight. As young people flock to cities to pursue jobs and education, the demographics of rural America have become older and whiter. According to The Atlantic, rural areas lost an average of 33,000 people a year between 2010 and 2014. In 2016, just 19% of Americans lived in rural areas, compared to 44% in 1930. One of the reasons for the draining of rural areas is the migration of jobs to more densely populated cities. As the American economy has shifted from agricultural to industrial to technical, automation has replaced many of the jobs that rural areas have traditionally been dependent on. For example, in 1900, 40% of Americans worked in agriculture, and today fewer than 2% do. 

As jobs became automated and fewer people were needed to run farms, rural men and women moved to cities, where opportunities for education, higher pay, and better jobs were abundant. They never came back. 

You can taste the despair in towns like Okaton, the slow death creeping in through the weeds in the sidewalk and the fallen chips of paint. For many of these towns, the only hope of survival is the intelligent promotion of self-employment through technology. However, when surveyed about their county’s economic strife, most residents of Jones County hoped for a return to the past, for a return of the railroad or lumber companies that once ushered in prosperity. However, just like rural dwellers who moved to cities, those jobs will never come back.

(Via: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/confessions-of-a-coastal-elite-small-town-exodus_us_593049f3e4b09e93d7964853)

Many of these small towns now look like ghost towns because most of the residents have long since packed their bags and abandoned their homes in search of their fortune in bigger cities where education and employment opportunities are plenty. Indeed, there are pros and cons to living in a small American town like just about anything else there is.

But despite its flaws, you can’t deny the beauty and allure of living in a world not yet tainted by modern living. It would even be better if dilapidated and faded store signs get a new lease on life but really, small towns have a unique appeal that not generally appeals to the masses but it gives us a grasp of what life used to be in America when it was less crowded and things were much simpler.

The blog post Challenges of Living in Small American Towns is courtesy of Popego

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Increased Hardware Demand Because Of AI

Computers are continually evolving. The technology of today may be rendered obsolete a few years from now. That’s how fast computing advances take place. The dream of experts is to make artificial intelligence a reality for all of us and they are almost there now but first, computer makers should be able to make their hardware artificial intelligence-friendly. Advanced computer chips are the technology we need to make this happen.

CPUs or central processing units not only power your PC but even make online services work as they should be. But if big companies dream of tapping into artificial intelligence that requires deep neural networks, they would need additional processors aside from their existing CPUs because CPU power alone is not enough to analyze huge data as well as perform language translation and face and object identification in photos.

Artificial intelligence (AI) and robots are both hot topics for Computex 2017 and will become focuses for the IT industry for the next several years. Taiwan's PC and server supply chains are expected to greatly benefit from the business opportunity because of the technology's heavy reliance on PC calculation.

Quanta Computer chairman Barry Lam recently pointed out that AI is a new milestone for technology development. For devices such as smartphones and smart TVs, what the IT industry did was made them smarter, but AI is different. The technology can learn, correct its mistakes and choose a better solution for problems and in the next several years, it will create many applications and commercial values for the market.

Lam said that AI can be applied onto many different kinds of applications including medical care, autonomous driving, automation and smart city management. Currently, players such as Google, Microsoft and Facebook are all aggressively investing resources on related development. Consumers will be able to use their AI services with cheap prices and these AI and big data's analysis will help society to advance and create business opportunities for industries.

Quanta and Nvidia are also forming partnerships to develop AI super computers because of GPU's calculation performance. Technologies such as face recognition, autonomous driving and robots can all be supported by GPU compute.

(Via: http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20170529PD200.html)

The public now enjoys the benefits of cloud computing but the artificial intelligence market requires so much more than what the current chip technology can offer. The technology asks for the network to work in two stages: the training stage and the execution stage. The former is when the neural network is trained by the company to do a specific task and the latter is when you ask the neural network to do something for you. The thing is that the chips chosen by companies like Google have a big impact on the industry itself and to other companies that are in the business of making chips like Intel.

Apple is reportedly working on a chip called the Apple Neural Engine, which would be dedicated to carrying out artificial intelligence (AI) processing on its mobile devices.
The addition of this type of capability would catalyse the use of AI on mobile devices. Although it is already being used extensively to power digital assistants like Siri and Google Assistant, these technologies rely on computer servers to process data sent to them rather than the processing happening on the mobile device itself.

Augmented reality and digital assistants are not the only applications of AI that will become important on mobile devices. Once the capability is made available to all mobile application developers, it will bring new types of capabilities to mobile devices.

Health applications, for example, will be able to tell when body readings from sensors on the phone or associated wearable devices are abnormal and need acting on. But the uses are potentially limitless and will bring about a new phase in how we rely on applications and our mobile devices in everyday life. And they will work, even when the device is not connected to the internet.

(Via: https://phys.org/news/2017-05-apple-mobile-ai-chip-intelligence.html)

And big companies like Apple aren’t just limiting their technological forays into computing systems but even to their mobile devices as well. Digital assistants and augmented reality will soon be a reality in mobile gadgets as mobile applications are further developed to support artificial intelligence without compromising user security.

Many industry insiders are looking forward to this development considering how much we rely on our smartphones in our day-to-day. While many are undoubtedly a fan, many are also worried about the implications of such advanced technologies in the hands of an ordinary person. But until then, we can only wait and see how the technology unfolds and impact our lives.

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Travel Alert For Europe

It seems that terrorists are busy spreading havoc especially in busy European hotspots that it prompted the US government to issue a travel ban to Americans planning to go to Europe anytime soon. This move is actually acceptable compared to the other travel bans issued by the Trump government so far. After all, who aren’t afraid of terrorists, right? They make our spines shiver at the thought of suicide bombers and all the things they are capable of doing that is the stuff of nightmares.

This travel ban makes perfect sense considering that summer is just around the corner in the US and many Americans are probably headed to different parts of the globe for a much-needed summer getaway. These travel warnings are issued when there is a higher risk for citizens to get hurt during their stay in that country. For example, terrorist attacks like the recent one in a Manchester concert, civil war or an unstable government. That’s when the government issues a travel warning, strongly urging their citizens to avoid going to these high-risk areas for the meantime. Meanwhile, a travel alert can also be issued and is often in effect for a short term only unlike travel warnings that can go on for years.

The U.S. State Department issued a travel alert for all of Europe on Monday, alerting citizens to the potential risk of terrorist attacks.

The alert, which is intended to inform travelers rather than deter travel, states that U.S. citizens “should always be alert to the possibility that terrorist sympathizers or self-radicalized extremists may conduct attacks with little or no warning.” The alert expires on Sept. 1, 2017 (although alerts are frequently updated or extended).

(Via: http://www.travelandleisure.com/travel-tips/travel-warnings/travel-alert-europe-2017)

This travel ban remains until the situation improves. Citizens should be wary as to what country the government has issued these travel warnings before making any plans for traveling abroad.

State Department is warning Americans living in and traveling to Europe of the ongoing threat of terrorist attacks on the continent through the summer.

In a new travel alert issued on Monday, the department said ISIS, al-Qaeda and their affiliates retain the "ability and to plan and execute" attacks in Europe. It said the U.S. officials remain concerned about the potential for future attacks, following a series of strikes in France, Russia, Sweden and Britain.

(Via: http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/politics/US-Issues-New-Terrorism-Alert-for-Europe-420942383.html)

Being vigilant can help you in a lot of potentially dangerous situations and this is just what the state is asking. And it is for your own good too. If possible, aside from ticking off Europe, for instance, on your summer go-to bucket list, try to steer away from large crowds as well since who knows if a terrorist is lurking nearby and have something else in mind.

The alert mentioned recent attacks in France -- which heads to the polls next week to choose a new president -- Russia, Sweden and the U.K., noting that extremists tend to focus on tourist hot spots.

A US official told CNN in February that the terror threat in Europe was as high as it's ever been.

Recent estimates from Europe and US say as many as 1,900 foreign fighters have returned to Europe after stints in Iraq and Syria, the official said. Some remain committed to terror groups like ISIS, but others returned disenchanted.

The alert expires September 1.

(Via: http://q13fox.com/2017/05/01/state-department-issues-travel-alert-for-americans-planning-trips-to-europe/)

Terrorists are often Muslim religious extremists who don’t have second thoughts of killing another person. Their terrorist acts are often centered on large crowds like concerts, malls, and even government offices where people converge all the time. It can also be an airport, churches, restaurants or any place that is flocked by people all the time. If it’s not really urgent for you to go to these places or travel to Europe anytime before September 1 perhaps, try to put them off your list for a while longer until there is no more threat to be wary of.

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Safety Tips When Going To Concerts

Many are scared to go out in crowds amidst the recent Manchester attack and various terrorist activities happening all over the globe. Since terrorists want to sow fear and stir up confusion and panic among people and nations, they prefer to stage their terror tactics in crowded places where there can be many casualties. Among the most recent is an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester, UK where fans died and got injured when the bomb went off.

However, there are individuals who can’t help themselves but go to the concerts of their favorite artists they like because it is that once in a lifetime opportunity for them to go see these celebrities for real regardless of the risks now involved. If that’s the case, then you should know about concert safety tips that may save your life in the event of a terror attack or an unfortunate accident.

U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May deployed military troops to work with police at concerts, sports events and other public gatherings the night after a suicide bomber claimed 22 lives outside a pop concert at the Manchester Arena, the New York Times reports. After meeting with top intelligence officials, May raised Britain's terrorism threat level to the highest level, "critical," for the first time in a decade. 

"I do not want the public to feel unduly alarmed," May said in a statement earlier. "This means that their assessment is not only that an attack remains highly likely but that a further attack may be imminent ... It is a possibility we cannot ignore that there is a wider group of individuals linked to this attack." 

(Via: http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/uks-may-sends-military-to-concerts-sports-events-w483933)

Increased police visibility at large-scale events has helped ease the fear and panic that people in the UK now feel in the wake of the terror bombing that took away the lives of Ariana fans and left many injured.

In addition to making the access to events more tedious, added security could lead to higher ticket prices to cover costs.

"Just like when we stopped allowing liquids on planes, and started requiring you to take your shoes off at the airport, it’s a nuisance, but it’s a necessary nuisance," said Manuel Gomez of MG Security Services. "As these things evolve, we evolve with them."

Whatever form new security measures take, experts said they are likely to be implemented quietly. "A promoter or venue will never say, 'Because of Bataclan we're doing X,' or 'Because of Manchester we're doing Y,' because they don't want to worry people," said Steve Adelman, vice president of the Entertainment Safety Alliance.

Indeed, the government has reviewed their security guidelines and ensured that nearby areas are also included during big events with thousands of people in attendance.

Before the Event / When You Arrive:

1. Review the seating chart and familiarize yourself with the layout of the venue and the location of your seat. You may want to download the chart to your phone.

2. Do a search online to see if the event or performers have been a target of violent threats.

3. Check the venue's website to see if there's information posted about its security efforts.

4. Parents: Consider requiring adult supervision for kids and teenagers.

5. With the rest of your party, think ahead about what your game plan will be in the event of an emergency: What will you do? How will you communicate? Where will you go?

6. When you get to the venue, keep an eye out for the emergency exit closest to your seat — just like on an airplane.

7. Take note of where event staff or security/police officers are posted.

(Via: https://www.buzzfeed.com/reggieugwu/manchester-live-event-safety-tips?utm_term=.ajglrW4QG#.lsKdEL6zm)

Knowing all these tips can help you make it out alive in big crowds in the unfortunate case of a terror bombing that seem to be happening all over the globe right now. Terrorists are becoming more brazen and they want to destroy the world order by dividing people and destabilizing the government. The threat may be real these days but it does not mean your life should end because of it. You can still live life to the fullest and follow your heart just as long as you exercise enough precautions when you are out in large groups.

Safety Tips When Going To Concerts is republished from https://PopEgo.com

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