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Scientists have built a clock which is 100,000 times more precise than the existing international standard. The quantum-logic clock, which detects the energy state of a single aluminum ion, keeps time to within a second every 3.7 billion years. The new timekeeper could one day improve GPS or detect the slowing of time predicted by Einstein’s theory of general relativity. “It could it be a real contender for the next frequency standard, or next timekeeper,” said physicist Chin-wen (James) Chou of the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Boulder, lead author of a study to appear in a forthcoming Physical Review Letters. (via Ultra-Precise Quantum-Logic Clock Puts Old Atomic Clock to Shame | Wired Science | Wired.com

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Apple represents the “auteur model of innovation,” observes John Kao, a consultant to corporations and governments on innovation. In the auteur model, he said, there is a tight connection between the personality of the project leader and what is created. Movies created by powerful directors, he says, are clear examples, from Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” to James Cameron’s “Avatar.” At Apple, there is a similar link between the ultimate design-team leader, Mr. Jobs, and the products. From computers to smartphones, Apple products are known for being stylish, powerful and pleasing to use. They are edited products that cut through complexity, by consciously leaving things out — not cramming every feature that came into an engineer’s head, an affliction known as “featuritis” that burdens so many technology products. “A defining quality of Apple has been design restraint,” says Paul Saffo, a technology forecaster and consultant in Silicon Valley. (via Steve Jobs and the Economics of Elitism - NYTimes.com

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We knew today’s Apple tablet announcement was a big deal. We didn’t know, however, that it was big enough to bring the Internet to a near-standstill. (via Apple’s iPad Event Broke the Internets - PCWorld

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Google made headlines when it went public with the fact that Chinese hackers had penetrated some of its services, such as Gmail, in a politically motivated attempt at intelligence gathering. The news here isn’t that Chinese hackers engage in these activities or that their attempts are technically sophisticated — we knew that already — it’s that the U.S. government inadvertently aided the hackers. In order to comply with government search warrants on user data, Google created a backdoor access system into Gmail accounts. This feature is what the Chinese hackers exploited to gain access. (via U.S. enables Chinese hacking of Google - CNN.com

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The German Federal Office for Security in Information Technology has officially advised people to stop using Internet Explorer, all versions, until Microsoft releases a new patch for the latest gaping security hole. If you were not aware, in Internet Explorer there is a current security problem that allows a webpage to maliciously inject code onto the machine running the browser. This bug was used by “Operation Aurora,” which hacked Google and other companies in recent days. (via German government issues official warning. Do NOT use Internet Explorer until it is fixed.

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