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Today's Topics:
1. Building world?s first large-scale quantum computer in
Australia (Stephen Loosley)
2. Linux has been quietly moving from niche to mainstream - and
this is why. (Stephen Loosley)
3. Rogue communication devices found in Chinese inverters
(Stephen Loosley)
4. Re: Rogue communication devices found in Chinese inverters
(Tom Worthington)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Message: 1
Date: Wed, 14 May 2025 23:56:24 +0930
From: Stephen Loosley <[email protected]>
To: "link" <[email protected]>
Subject: [LINK] Building world?s first large-scale quantum computer in
Australia
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
Milestone in bid to build world?s first large-scale quantum computer in
Australia
By Evrim Yazgin May 13, 2025 Cosmos science journalist
https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/computing/quantum-computer-australia-cryogenic/
One of the world?s largest cryogenic cooling plants will be built in Brisbane,
Australia as part of constructing the first large-scale quantum computer.
An agreement has been announced between the quantum computer builders, US
company PsiQuantum, and Linde Engineering ? a global industrial gases company
based in Europe.
Quantum computers promise to spark a new revolution in computing power. A
moderately-sized quantum computer could easily outperform even the most
powerful supercomputers based on classical silicon chip technology.
But the quantum bits, or ?qubits?, in quantum devices are still riddled with
errors due to interactions with the external environment. These interactions
also increase as temperature increases.
So, most quantum computing hardware requires very cold temperatures to function
? just a few degrees Celsius above absolute zero (-273?C).
Linde has signed an agreement to cool PsiQuantum?s new quantum hardware to the
required -269?C.
In February, PsiQuantum released for the first time results which they say show
the company is ready to build a ?useful? quantum computer by 2027. The major
development was the construction of a set of photonic chips called ?Omega?.
While matter-based qubits ? qubits based on electron spins or ions ? require
temperatures within a fraction of a degree above absolute zero, qubits based on
photons ? light particles ? can be a little less frigid.
?Photons don?t feel to heat the way matter-based qubits do,? says PsiQuantum
co-founder and CEO Jeremy O?Brien in a news release. ?Our systems can run 100
times warmer? This is a fundamental scaling advantage and a key reason we are
able to move rapidly toward utility-scale quantum computing.?
https://www.psiquantum.com/featured-news/psiquantum-linde
Building such a device is not cheap.
Investment in PsiQuantum?s quantum computer from the Australian federal
government and Queensland state government combined comes to about A$1 billion.
The facility will require a warehouse-sized computing building which will be
similar in size and layout to a datacentre. Attached to this building is the
cryoplant. See PsiQuantum?s site blueprint here.
The engineers say building a useful quantum computer is worth all the effort.
?This technology will help design solutions to address some of the most
pressing challenges faced by society today,? says Linde Engineering?s senior
vice president of Global Sales & Technology John van der Velden.
https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/computing/quantum-computer-australia-cryogenic/
A useful quantum computer operating with millions of qubits with minimal errors
could see major developments in climate modelling, drug discovery, clean
energy, advanced materials and even artificial intelligence software.
--
------------------------------
Message: 2
Date: Thu, 15 May 2025 00:05:35 +0930
From: Stephen Loosley <[email protected]>
To: "link" <[email protected]>
Subject: [LINK] Linux has been quietly moving from niche to mainstream
- and this is why.
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
Linux has been quietly moving from niche to mainstream - and this is why.
Written by Steven Vaughan-Nichols, Senior Contributing Editor May 13, 2025 at
8:15 a.m. PT
https://www.zdnet.com/article/5-factors-steadily-fueling-linuxs-desktop-rise/
Numbers don't lie
1. Windows isn't Microsoft's priority
2. Linux gaming is viable now
3. Linux is not hard to use
4. Installing Linux desktop software is easy
5. Linux is much safer than Windows
The Linux desktop is finally taking off
You can't blame the first prophecy of the "Year of the Linux desktop" on me.
No, I've certainly been a true believer, but the credit -- or blame, if you
must -- goes to Dirk Hohndel, Linux kernel developer and Verizon's senior
director of the Open Source Program Office.
Hohndel confessed that "in 1999 he was the first to predict the 'Year of the
Linux desktop.' Predictions are hard," he continued wryly, "especially about
the future. But if I changed it from the year of Linux desktop and changed it
to a decade and a half from now, client computing will be mostly Linux, which
has happened."
Also: I found an independent Linux distro that's easy to install - and comes
with everything I need
Now, the year of the Linux desktop is finally happening. Yes, really.
As I've pointed out, if you say Linux is the top-end user operating system, you
can make a good case for it. Do you have an Android phone? Congrats, you're a
Linux user. Chromebook? Ditto. Does your work depend on Google Docs? Guess what
it runs on? Yes, that's right, Linux.
Numbers don't lie
Recently, however, I was looking for web search engine popularity numbers. The
usual sites people use for these numbers, such as Statcounter, as Ed Bott
recently pointed out, have real problems. So, I went to the most reliable
source I know of, the US federal government's Digital Analytics Program (DAP).
This site gives a running count of US government website visits and an
analysis. On average, there are 1.6 billion sessions in the last 30 days, with
millions of users daily. In short, DAP gives a detailed view of what people use
without massaging the data.
According to the source data, in 2025, Linux users made up 5.4% of visitors.
That proportion is way above any other legitimate numbers I've ever seen.
Yeah, I know, 5.4% may not sound like much. But, if you add in Android (17.6%)
and Chromebooks (2.1%), you're talking about 25.1% of visitors, which puts it
above MacOS (10.1%), Windows 10 (14.1%), and Windows 11 (16.2%), which is
downright impressive.
Let's look at it another way. All Windows users combined, which included a
smidgen of people still using Windows 8.1 and 0.3% using Windows 7, come to
31.7%. So, yes, to no one's surprise, Windows is the top desktop operating
system.
Also: I found a minimal Linux distro that's fast and efficient for all
experience levels
But, if we look at all operating systems, you'll see that Apple iOS is the top
operating system with 33.1%. Indeed, as anyone who does web traffic analysis
can tell you, just as many people use mobile operating systems (49.1%) these
days as desktop operating systems (49.3%). In 2024, there were more smartphone
users (53.2%) than desktop users (45.1%).
When Linux users talk about the Linux desktop, most of them, like their Windows
counterparts, are talking about just the desktop. Mobile phone users are
primarily users, whereas desktop users of any operating system are workers and
creators. It's a different world.
This Linux desktop's numbers don't appear to be a statistical anomaly. In 2024,
the Linux desktop reached 4.5% of all end-user operating systems, or about 9%
if you only look at desktops. While Statcounter isn't the most reliable source,
it also shows the Linux desktop slowly growing in popularity. In 2025, Linux is
up to 4.27%, which is higher than last year at about the same time.
So, why has Linux been gaining in popularity? Well, I'll give credit to all the
usual reasons I recommend Linux to people.
Let's dig in.
1. Windows isn't Microsoft's priority
Microsoft's profits these days come from its Azure cloud and
software-as-a-service offerings, particularly Microsoft 365. The company
doesn't want you to buy Windows; it wants you to subscribe to Windows 365 Cloud
PC.
By the way, you can run Windows 365 Cloud PC on Macs, Chromebooks, Android
tablets, iPads, and, of course, Linux desktops. Or, if the folks from Redmond
can't talk you into a full desktop-as-a-service, they'll be more than happy to
lease you Microsoft 365 with AI for more money.
Also: Why this Linux distro is my new favorite Windows replacement
A related issue is that there are soon going to be a lot of Windows 10 PCs that
won't be able to run Windows 11. With the clock ticking on Windows 10, many
people are looking at alternatives to buying new Windows machines. After all,
while no one can predict what is happening with tariffs anymore, according to a
report by Trade Partnership Worldwide (TPW), published by the Consumer
Technology Association (CTA), you can expect laptop prices to go up by 34%.
Many people are giving their old computers new life with ChromeOS Flex, a Linux
variant, or trying to shoehorn Windows 11 on theoretically incompatible Windows
10 machines. Others are putting a desktop Linux distro on their PCs. If you go
this route, I recommend Linux Mint for out-of-date Windows 10 PCs. It's what I
use.
2. Linux gaming is viable now
Gaming has never been Linux's best point, but thanks to Steam, Linux is now a
real gaming platform. While Linux remains a niche player in the broader PC
gaming market, its share is higher than ever, and it's slowly growing.
3. Linux is not hard to use
Yeah, I know what you've heard. Sure, Linux was harder to use a decade ago,
but, spoiler alert, we're not in 2015 anymore. If you want to be a Linux power
user, Linux will challenge you. But if all you want to do is work and play,
many Linux distributions are suitable for beginners, and some of them, such as
SDesk, look and feel an awful lot like Windows.
Also: My 5 go-to Linux commands for troubleshooting - and how I use them
Besides, 13 years ago, I taught my mother-in-law, who was then 79, how to use
the Linux desktop, and we didn't even share a common language. If she could
learn Linux, so can you.
4. Installing Linux desktop software is easy
While some Linux purists dislike containerized application installation
programs, such as Flatpak, Snap, and AppImage, developers love them. These
programs make it simple to write applications for Linux that don't need to be
tuned just right for all the numerous Linux distributions. For users, that
means they get more programs to choose from and don't need to worry about
finicky installation details.
These days, if you can install an app on your phone from an app store, you can
install programs on Linux. It's that easy.
5. Linux is much safer than Windows
It's not even close. Sure, Linux isn't perfectly safe. Nothing is. But you're
not taking your PC's life in your hands if you don't have the latest updates.
You also don't need to use anti-virus software on Linux. You'd be an idiot to
run Windows without at least Microsoft Defender. Let me put it to you this way:
Linux doesn't have, or need, a monthly Patch Tuesday to fix the latest zero-day
security holes.
Mind you, the Linux desktop still has its problems. To quote Linus Torvalds,
the man, the legend, and Tux the penguin's dad, "fragmentation of the different
vendors has held the desktop back." With over 270 current Linux desktop
distros, choosing the right one can be a real pain. And let's not forget that
even Canonical, Ubuntu Linux's parent company, doesn't make the Linux desktop
its priority.
Also: The first 5 Linux commands every new user should learn
Still, as people have been figuring it out, if you stick with one of the major
distributions that I, and my brother-in-Linux, Jack Wallen, recommend, you'll
do just fine.
So, enough with the waiting. Join the Linux desktop surge. I think you'll be
glad you did.
Hey, maybe there really will be an honest-to-goodness year of the Linux desktop
if you join in.
--
------------------------------
Message: 3
Date: Thu, 15 May 2025 00:09:20 +0930
From: Stephen Loosley <[email protected]>
To: "link" <[email protected]>
Subject: [LINK] Rogue communication devices found in Chinese inverters
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"
Rogue communication devices found in Chinese inverters
By Sarah Mcfarlane May 14, 20253:28 PM
https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/ghost-machine-rogue-communication-devices-found-chinese-inverters-2025-05-14/
Summary
Rogue communication devices found in Chinese solar inverters
Undocumented cellular radios also found in Chinese batteries
U.S. says continually assesses risk with emerging technology
U.S. working to integrate 'trusted equipment' into the grid
LONDON, May 14 (Reuters) - U.S. energy officials are reassessing the risk posed
by Chinese-made devices that play a critical role in renewable energy
infrastructure after unexplained communication equipment was found inside some
of them, two people familiar with the matter said. (snip)
--
------------------------------
Message: 4
Date: Thu, 15 May 2025 08:58:37 +1000
From: Tom Worthington <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [LINK] Rogue communication devices found in Chinese
inverters
Message-ID: <[email protected]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"; Format="flowed"
On 5/15/25 00:39, Stephen Loosley wrote:
> Rogue communication devices found in Chinese inverters
> By Sarah Mcfarlane May 14, 20253:28 PM
The CEO of one of the local renewable startups mentioned to me that they
place their device between the Internet and imported solar panel
controllers and batteries. Not so much to stop foreign espionage, but
local energy suppliers from controlling the equipment.
--
Tom Worthington http://www.tomw.net.au
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