One small step for a man, one giant leap for teleportation

We've still got a long way to go before human beings can be beamed from one place to another "Star Trek"-style, but a team of scientists at the University of Maryland has achieved, nonetheless, a milestone in teleportation. According to the Web site LiveScience, the university's Joint Quantum Institute for the first time was able to teleport information between two separate atoms across a distance of a meter -- about one step for an adult. Generally, teleportation works thanks to a remarkable quantum phenomenon called entanglement, which occurs only on the atomic and subatomic scale. Once two objects are put in an entangled state, their properties are inextricably entwined. In layman's terms, if they are in entangled mode, what you "see" on one is what you get on the other. The JQI team set out to entangle the quantum states of two individual ytterbium ions so information embodied in one could be teleported to the other. Each ion was isolated in a separate high-vacuum trap, suspended in an invisible cage of electromagnetic fields and surrounded by metal electrodes. After that, the experiment worked like this: Single photons from each of the two ions in separate traps interacted at a beam splitter. When both detectors recorded a photon simultaneously, the ions were entangled. At that point, ion A was measured, revealing exactly what operation had to be performed on ion B to teleport ion A's information. It's important to note that the achievement is not any form of conventional communication. This is because in teleportation no information pertaining to the original object actually travels to the other. Instead, the information measured from the first object appears on the second object.

Source: http://tech.msn.com/news/articlecnet.aspx?cp-documentid=17532530>1=40000

Google Eye-Tracking Watches What You're Watching

If you’re reading this story, Google’s eye-tracking team may be onto something. The site’s engineers are revealing a new line of eye-tracking studies that aim to see where your eyes first land on a Web page -- then make sure the content you want is in that same place. (I’m assuming, of course, that this story was the content you wanted. If not, then the studies have failed. And, quite frankly, my feelings are hurt.) Ah, good -- I knew you wanted to be here. That’s why I placed this line of text right here on the page. Let me explain. The Google team has been watching people’s eyes for a while now, but this is the first time it’s sharing the results with us. What engineers have found makes enough sense: People scan pages like search results very quickly. Their decisions on what links to click are almost automatic. Using that information, then, the Google gods have worked to build their pages so that you’ll see and click on all the right stuff.

Source: http://www.pcworld.com/article/159117/google_eyetracking_watches_what_youre_watching.html

The Pirate Bay Plans to Sue IFPI

Earlier this week a Danish court decided that all ISPs have to block access to The Pirate Bay. In response to the judgment, three ISPs have already announced that they will take the case to the Supreme Court. In addition, The Pirate Bay itself now says it will sue the anti-piracy outfit IFPI if the ISPs fail to overturn the ruling. The decision to block The Pirate Bay has once again ignited a debate on Internet filtering, the responsibilities of Internet providers and the legal status of BitTorrent sites. The IFPI - the RIAA’s global partner - has chalked up a small victory this week, but the fight is far from over. Peter Sunde, co-founder of The Pirate Bay told TorrentFreak that they are seriously considering suing the IFPI for unfair competition. “They have had a monopoly on distribution and we’re breaking that monopoly, and in turn they sue people that allow access to our distribution method,” he said. Meanwhile, all other BitTorrent sites are still accessible in Denmark, and thus far the IFPI hasn’t announced it will go after any of them. This, together with the fact that there are several tricks to get around the block, make their legal strategy look like a personal vendetta against The Pirate Bay instead of an effective measure against piracy.

Source: http://torrentfreak.com/the-pirate-bay-plans-to-sue-ifpi-090206/