Patrick is Our Ear Bud

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Patrick is Our Ear Bud
Number 3293
Broadcast Date MAY 30, 2018
Episode Length 31:41
Hosts Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane
Guests Patrick Norton

Patrick Norton is back with his recommendations for the best earbuds on the market. Plus researchers in Finland have discovered “time crystals” that may make it possible to build quantum computers without the need for zero temperature to operate and why Thailand is worried about the overflow of e-waste on to its shores.

Guest

Quick Hits

Panasonic said Wednesday it plans to develop automotive batteries that don't use cobalt, which is expensive because of it's scarcity, mostly found in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In a meeting with analysts Panasonic's Kenji Tamura said the company has cut down cobalt usage substantially and that zero usage is in the near future. Panasonic supplies batteries to Tesla.
Mary Meeker released her 294 slides-long Internet Trends of 2018. Among the highlights are that Smartphones and Internet adoption are slowing but time spent on the Internet is still growing. Mobile payments, e-commerce and voice-controlled things like the Echo are all on the rise. Tech companies are dominating, tech disruption is accelerating and and China is catching up to the US an Internet hub. We'll take some time to read through and talk about Meeker's report more on tomorrow's show.
Qualcomm announced a dedicated chipset for standalone VR and AR headsets. The Snapdragon XR1 can stream 4K 30fps content though it won't support free-moving 6DoF. HTC Vive, Vuzix, Meta and Pico all appeared onstage at the announcement. The XR1 is meant for low-cost low-power headsets.
HP announced an update to the HP Omen 15 laptop with reduced bezels, 8th-gen Intel quad- and hexa-core processors, up to 32GB of RAM and support for Nvidia's GTX 1070 with Max-Q graphics. It can support 4K gaming at 60Hz. HP also announced the $179 optical mechanical Sequencer Keyboard, the $79 gaming Reactor Mouse and the Mindframe Headset, a gaming headset with internal cooling technology. The Omen 15 arrives July 29 starting at $979.

Top Stories

Plex released a redesign of its Android and iOS apps, adding beta support for podcasts and more personalization options. You can remove default categories from the home screen, and add new categories like On Deck and Continue Watching which can pick up from where you left off on other devices. There are now tabs on the bottom for Movies, Shows, Podcasts, and More.
Let's break from our norm of telling you what the news of the day might mean to telling you a few facts that even physicists have a hard time explaining to each other. Trust me. This stuff is worth the uncertainty. Scientists at Aalto University in Finland published research indicating “time crystals” may make it possible to build a quantum computer that doesn’t require near perfect-zero temperatures. A crystal is a structure where the atoms prefer a point in space. A time crystal sees the atoms prefer a point in space as well as time. Daniel Oberhaus at Motherboard used an analogy where two people holding a jump rope rotate their arms 4 times but the rope only rotates once. Or a coin that has a 50-50 chance of being heads but every so often has a 75-25 chance of being heads. OK so how does this relate to quantum computing? Qubits are the basis of quantum computing and can be 1, 0 or or both in superposition. One problem with qubits is the act of reading them could cause them to vanish. The research indicates generating time crystals in qubits might solve this by making them want to be coherent. No, none of us fully understand this not even physicists but the math is right and time crystals were proven to exist in January 2017 and confirmed in two independent studies the following May.
Oculus launched the Venues platform for Oculus Go and the Samsung Gear VR. Venues provides access to live streaming VR broadcasts of things like concerts and sports. The first event will be be a live Vance Joy concert at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheater, followed by a Gotham Comedy Live show streamed from New York City. A full slate of events was announced through August 27.
Environmentalists fear Thailand is the new dumping ground for e-waste after China banned overseas trash last year saying it would stop accepting 24 types of imported e-waste. China state media estimates in 2016 the country accepted 70% of the world’s 500 million metric tons of e-waste. The 1997 Basel Convention limits movement of hazardous waste but does not prohibit exports from developed to less developed countries. Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha vowed this week to step up nationwide inspections as part of a plan to combat illegal electronic waste dumping.
The State of California is testing new digital license plates with customizable displays that would eliminate registration stickers, and act as a theft deterrent. The Sacramento Bee reports the state capital will test the plates first. While driving, the display shows the licence plate number. When the car is parked a driver could have a customized message show, with the license number still visible in the upper right corner. If the car is stolen, the plate could be wirelessly updated to say “Stolen” and make finding it easier, unless it's removed. Price isn't cheap- $699 for the plate, not including installation, and a $7 monthly fee.

Discussion

Mailbag

Americans are used to tipping but it causes secret inner panic for many of us Brits. Is this a tipping kind of situation? How do you do it appropriately? Sort of like haggling... more acceptable in certain cultures than others. With contactless, you can read the price and either cough up or ignore the busker (while looking carefully the other way). No studying the previous donations, struggling for coins, finding a fiver and having to say "sorry mate, you're not worth a fiver".

Cash is on the decline in the UK. Even my little corner shop does contactless. Actually, I seem to be an awkward phase, where I so rarely need cash that I don't have any to hand on the increasingly rare occasions when I do need it.
Sent by Russell from Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

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Preceded by:
"Tapping Buskers" 		Patrick is Our Ear Bud
 Followed by:
"Film is the New Vinyl"
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