Prem Kumar
For now, full-fledged quantum computers are the stuff of science fiction - in last summer's blockbuster movie Transformers, the bad guys use quantum computing to break into the U.S. Army's secure files in just 10 seconds flat.

But Prem Kumar, the AT&T Professor of Information Technology in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the director of the Center for Photonic Communication and Computing, and his research group are one step closer to realizing that technology - though for far better purposes. The group recently demonstrated one of the basic building blocks for distributed quantum computing using entangled photons generated in optical fibers, and their research was reported in the April 4 edition of Physical Review Letters.

"Because it is done with fiber and the technology that is already globally deployed, we believe that it is a significant step in harnessing the power of quantum computers," Kumar says.

Quantum computing differs from classical computing in that a classical computer works by processing "bits" that exist in two states, either one or zero. Quantum computing uses quantum bits, or qubits, which, in addition to being one or zero can also be in a "superposition," which is both one and zero simultaneously. This is possible because qubits are quantum units like atoms, ions, or photons that operate under the rules of quantum mechanics instead of classical mechanics.........

In the never-ending battle to protect computer networks from intruders, security experts are deploying a new defense modeled after one of nature's hardiest creatures - the ant.

Unlike traditional security devices, which are static, these "digital ants" wander through computer networks looking for threats, such as "computer worms" - self-replicating programs designed to steal information or facilitate unauthorized use of machines. When a digital ant detects a threat, it doesn't take long for an army of ants to converge at that location, drawing the attention of human operators who step in to investigate.

The concept, called "swarm intelligence," promises to transform cyber security because it adapts readily to changing threats.

"In nature, we know that ants defend against threats very successfully," explains Professor of Computer Science Errin Fulp, an expert in security and computer networks. "They can ramp up their defense rapidly, and then resume routine behavior quickly after an intruder has been stopped. We were trying to achieve that same framework in a computer system".

Current security devices are designed to defend against all known threats at all times, but the bad guys who write malware - software created for malicious purposes - keep introducing slight variations to evade computer defenses.........

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The 'Asus EEE PC 2G Surf' is a sleek netbook designed by ASUS. They say it is Easy to learn, Easy to Work and Easy to play. The Eee
stands for these three E qualities of this net book. The Asus Eee PC 2G Surf is manufactured by Pegatron Technology and developed by ASUSTek Computer Inc. This netbook measures 8.86 inch x 6.30 inch x 0.79-1.26 inch and weighs 2.0 lbs. There's a 4400 mAh Battery of 4-cell that comes with this netbook. There are three versions of this model and they are the 2G, 4G and 8G units. They are available in the following colors, black, white, pink, blue and green. This netbooks comes with a restore disk, driver disk (for Windows installs) and documentation. The Asus Eee PC 2G Surf can be purchased at a starting price of $299.

Specifications

Asus has always promoted the Eee netbook series to be easy to work, easy to learn and easy to play. It has 10/100 Ethernet and 802.11b/g wireless. It comes with a VGA port and an SD Card Slot that supports SDHC. The Celeron-M 800 MHz operates at 571 MHz. System memory of this Eee netbook is at 512MB. There's a flash memory reader slot whereby users can use an SD memory card to write or read. This netbook comes with a 4400 mAh 4-cell unit that can last for about 2.5 hours. The battery can be upgraded to a 5600 mAh which can last for about 3.5 hours.........