Rihards Online

It finally arrived, and quite timely as well, as I was about to leave home for work. So I sign for it, and then realise that I’ve about three minutes to leave for train. Had to leave it all packaged on my table in my room and go to work. Very annoying.

But now I’m back home and have already updated all the software that comes with it, only took me a better part of an hour and close to 500mb in bandwidth. Now I just need to get all the software that I’m still missing for it, and I’ll be ready to start working on it.

An in-depth review with a lot of pictures coming soon.

Well, after some thinking and talking to some people I have decided to get a macbook. A refurbished one, so I might have to wait a little while till the right model shows up in Austrian store. Come to think of it, they had it this morning, but I hadn’t decided on buying it until it was too late and someone else had ordered it already. Unlucky.

I’ll keep you all updated on the whole Mac thing, and maybe even post some first impressions followed by a review once I get it. That’s all for now.

Some great news for people who have been waiting on the Optimus keyboard from Art Lebedev. No, it’s not out yet, but it’s really great news for people who don’t want to spend $500+ on the keyboard. The keyboard will have user-changeable keys, which means that there could be several models of it. Some less expensive than other.

So basically a “starter model”, could merely have the F-keys as OLED displays, the next model could have the full QWERTY layout as OLEDs, and finally the “full model” could have all 103 OLED keys as in the original concept renders. Another thing to note is that there can be three different types of keys on the keyboard. Standard plastic, backlit single-function and OLED keys.

And finally, Art Lebedev plans to sell the keys separately as well, so you can basically order three or five OLED keys if you want, and when they arrive, you can replace your standard plastic keys on the keyboard with the brand new OLED keys. Quite cool if you ask me.

A Canadian company by the name of “D-Wave Systems” has revealed the first quantum computer that is commercially viable. A little background information on why quantum computing is so exciting:

A working quantum computer is the dream of every national security official and hacker on Earth. The bits inside existing computers constantly flip between 0 and 1 as they perform small steps such as “if 0, then 1.” But quantum physics allows particles like atoms, electrons and photons to be in two places at once meaning they can represent 0 and 1 simultaneously, allowing more complex calculations.

Researchers believe that by combining many of these quantum bits, or qubits, they will be able to perform certain tasks that are currently out of reach. Chief among them: the ability to swiftly crack encrypted communications.

D-Wave constructed a 16bit version using the superconducting element called niobium(a rare, soft, grey, ductile transition metal). For the presentation they made the computer do three tasks. Searching for molecular structures that match a target molecule, creating a complicated seating plan, and filling in Sudoku puzzles. While the current version this slower than an inexpensive home computer, D-Wave is planning on releasing a much faster version by the end of this year.