With computation potential far beyond current supercomputers, quantum computers are the subject of enthusiastic research and development worldwide. In 2023, Academia Sinica successfully overcame various bottlenecks in the fabrication, control, and measurement of quantum chips. In October, the creation of a 5-qubit superconducting quantum computer developed in Taiwan marked a significant milestone. Starting this week, it will be made available online to project collaborators.

Dr. Chii Dong Chen, Distinguished Research Fellow at Academia Sinica's Institute of Physics and Research Center for Applied Sciences, noted that this project is part of the quantum technology special project funded by the National Science and Technology Council. Initially scheduled to build a 3-qubit quantum computer by February of 2024, Academia Sinica's research team surpassed the development schedule approved by the National Science and Technology Council and built a 5-qubit system by October of 2023. The fidelity of the quantum bit logic gates reached an impressive 99.9%.

Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS), the global leading motherboard, mini PC, notebook, mobile device, and smart solution provider, will attend Europe's largest and the most iconic consumer electronics trade show, IFA Berlin 2023, to exhibit a series of new laptops for education and business.

Optimize Cloud-Based Learning & Teaching: A New Series of Education Chromebooks Can Fulfill Teachers' and Students' Different Needs
After the world enters the post-pandemic era, there are enormous changes in both teaching and learning modes. Meanwhile, digital trend is arising. To meet various requirements from education fields, ECS launches the brand new SG20, SE40, and EP20 education PC series. These thin and ultraportable laptops feature rugged chassis certified by MIL-STD-810H tests. Equipped with Chrome OS, their battery life can last up to 10 hours. Besides, they support 4G LTE and Wi-Fi 6, which is ideal for remote learning.

ASUS today announced BR1402 series, the world's first 2-in-1 ruggedized 14-inch laptops aimed at K-12 education—and designed for the need of modern students and hybrid learning. Available in both traditional clamshell form (BR1402C) and a convertible design that flips 360° to become a versatile multitouch tablet (BR1402F), the all-new BR1402-series laptops are built to military-grade standards and packed with clever protective features to help students through their learning journey.

BR1402 series are also loaded with essentials for the demands of hybrid study, enabling education to flow seamlessly from the classroom into the home and beyond. To empower a full day's study, these laptops include up to 10-hour battery life, full-function USB-C, up to WiFi 6 for speedy connectivity and a modular design to ensure easy maintenance and upgrades.

Hackboard today announced the launch of Hackboard 2, an affordable single-board computer (SBC) about the size of a smartphone but with the power of a desktop computer and one of the lowest-priced Intel-powered and Windows-based single-board computers ever made. It's ideal for Makers and Hobbyists, IoT, Edge Computing, and Embedded Solutions with customizable Hackboards, contact Support@Hackboard.com for more info. Soon, Hackboard will ship Personal Computer Kits, ideal for work-from-home users, remote learners and the classroom.

The Hackboard 2 allows users to create their ideal computing environment at an affordable price, while taking advantage of the benefits of industry standard technology. With optional 4G or 5G modules, users can connect to the internet from almost anywhere. Users can plug the system into nearly any monitor with an HDMI input, including their TV.

Last week the US Public Interest Research Group (US PIRG) Education Fund issued a report titled "Chromebook Churn", and the technology press was quick in its reading and analysis of this PDF document - filled with unfavorable findings. The main focus of the consumer watchdog's investigation was on a great uptake of Chromebooks in the education sector - schools in the United States of America have been providing a high percentage of their students with the relatively cheap ChromeOS-based laptop computers - especially during the pandemic period. The PIRG's Churn report cites numerous sources regarding disappointing Chromebook lifespans - schools are experiencing a high rate of hardware failure and technical issues relating to software updates - and as a result of these problems, irreparable devices are piling up as e-waste.

PIRG has called on Google and its manufacturing partners to effectively "double the life of these widely used laptops, saving schools money and helping the environment." Chromebooks are considered to be a cost effective entry into computing, but the watchdog reckons that a nice starter price tag does not reflect well when stacked up against the product's long term prospects. Schools are experiencing a high rate of Chromebook failures, especially once devices hit a three year long usage mark, and the required repair process is said to be problematic. PIRG states that warranty terms are unfavorable beyond the manufacturer set lifespan, and schools are having to pay for third party renovations and sourcing of spare parts (which is a complicated process in itself). The watchdog posits that schools in the USA could save a total of $1.8 billion (for taxpayers) - if Google doubles the lifespan of Chromebook, not accounting for extra maintenance costs.

Terra Nil is now available now!
Terra Nil is a game about transforming barren lifeless landscapes into thriving, vibrant ecosystems. Turn dead soil into fertile grassland, clean polluted oceans, plant sprawling forests, and create the ideal habitat for animals to call home. Then recycle your buildings and leave no trace that you were ever there. Terra Nil is an intricate environmental strategy game about transforming a barren wasteland into a thriving, balanced ecosystem. Bring life back to a lifeless world by purifying soil, cleaning oceans, planting trees, and reintroducing wildlife, then leave without a trace.

A reverse city builder
Use advanced eco-technology to purify the soil, creating plains, wetlands, beaches, rainforests, wildflowers, and more—then efficiently recycle everything you've built, leaving the environment pristine for its new animal inhabitants.

Today Logitech International announced the launch of Zone Learn, wired headsets designed for K-12 learners. Zone Learn features comfort optimized for younger learners with smaller heads, durable architecture and replaceable ear pads and cables. These new headsets, designed with a scalable fit, were built for a deeper, more sustained focus and long-term use to keep students in their learning zones.

Logitech worked hand-in-hand with educators and students—from concept to final prototype—to build an education-first product, resulting in a headset designed, engineered and tested to support learning that happens, anytime, anywhere, in any style and is Works With Chromebook (WWCB) certified. Zone Learn purposefully adapts to every size and shape of learning to make it more accessible, meaningful and impactful.

ASUS today announced the ASUS Chromebook CR11 series, all-new, education-focused ChromeOS laptops available in 11.6-inch clamshell form (ASUS Chromebook CR11) for a traditional experience and a convertible design that flips to become an 11.6-inch multitouch tablet (ASUS Chromebook CR11 Flip).

The fresh ASUS Chromebook CR11 models are built to military-grade standards to survive the hustle and bustle of everyday life at home, outside and in the classroom, with clever protective features including an all-round rubber bumper, a spill-resistant keyboard and an optional Corning Gorilla Glass display. There's sufficient battery life to handle a full day's learning and beyond, plus an easy-to-service modular construction and zero-touch enrolment. In addition to all of this, the convertible ASUS Chromebook CR11 Flip benefits from an optional garaged stylus, a world-facing camera for innovative learning opportunities and maximum flexibility, and a physical webcam shutter for instant privacy.

Acer today announced its latest additions to the TravelMate series of Windows 11 Education laptops, designed to improve students' overall learning experiences and boost productivity whether in school or at home. The Acer TravelMate B5 14 features up to an FHD display and is powered by up to Intel Core i3 N-series processors to support the essential needs of mobile college students, as well as secondary school students. The newest 11-inch TravelMate laptops let students get more out of their blended classroom experience as the TravelMate B3 Spin 11 comes with an optional dockable Wacom AES stylus for added flexibility, while the TravelMate B3 11 has up to 9.5 hours of battery life to provide students with a reliable laptop that could be maximized throughout the school day.

Additionally, these laptops are shipped with Acer's new User Sensing Software,[1] which combines Break Reminder, Screen Distance Reminder, and User Sensing technology to help reduce digital eye strain and ensure data security. The dependable TravelMate B series laptops alsoconform to military-grade durability standards that could withstand drops as high as 122 cm, possess reinforced I/O ports and spill-resistant keyboards to protect inner components from damage, and HD webcams that come with a camera shutter for added privacy protection. With Acer's dedication to achieving its Earthion mission in mind, all the education laptops possess recycled materials in their components and packaging, an EPEAT ecolabel, and are TCO Certified, the leading sustainability certification for IT products worldwide.

Acer today launched four new Chromebooks to meet the needs of students, teachers and administrators, including its first Acer Chromebook Vero model designed specifically for the education market. These new models provide the latest in durability, performance, and features, making them a powerful tool for helping educators deliver better learning outcomes.

"As a leading provider of Chromebooks for the K12 education market, Acer knows what students and teachers need to keep the focus on learning - and these new Acer Chromebooks deliver what's needed and more," said James Lin, General Manager, Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer Inc. "Our new Chromebooks provide advances in all the areas that have helped establish them as an essential tool for learning: student-focused durability features, reliable performance and advanced connectivity options to support school technology initiatives."

Acer today announced that it will begin carrying PCs which run on Windows 11 SE, starting with the Acer TravelMate B3 and Acer TravelMate Spin B3 laptops. The portable 11.6-inch laptops were built to survive the school-day, boasting military-grade durability certifications and a 10-hour battery life, and now come pre-installed with Windows 11 SE or Windows 11 Pro Education. Additionally, the devices' chassis have been constructed with over 14% post-consumer recycled plastic.

Acer has been working closely with Microsoft in order to provide devices for pilot programs that bring Windows 11 SE to schools around the world. It is one of the first brands to carry devices featuring the new operating system.

Acer today unveiled the first education tablet running Chrome OS, the Acer Chromebook Tab 10 (D651N). The new Acer Chromebook Tab 10 is designed for Acer's education customers and will be used in K-12 classrooms to expand and enhance student learning by bringing the speed, simplicity and security of Chrome OS into the tablet form factor.

"The Acer Chromebook Tab 10 combines advances in hardware and application support to enable more meaningful learning for an even wider range of K-12 students," said James Lin, General Manager, Commercial & Detachable Notebooks, IT Products Business at Acer. "The new Acer Chromebook Tab 10 encourages students to discover new ways of understanding the world around them."

CTL, an Oregon-based company specializing in comprehensive personalized learning solutions, announced the release of three new models in a refresh of their best-selling NL-series Chromebooks all designed for use in K12 education. The CTL Chromebook NL7, the CTL Chromebook NL7T-360, and the CTL Chromebook NL7TW-360 each provide a variety of benefits to schools looking to invest in Chromebook Deployments.

All three education NL-series Chromebook models by CTL feature a rugged design including an IP41 drop rating, water resistant keyboards, and reinforced ports, hinges, and power plug. The NL series, which is CTL's premium line of Education Chromebook, also includes a tuck away handle for easy carrying, especially useful for carrying from class to class. This series also includes 32GB of storage and a DC-in USB-C Cable.

CTL, an Oregon-based company specializing in comprehensive 1:1 solutions for education, announced today the upcoming release of the CTL Chromebook J41 for Education, the newest addition to their lineup of rugged designed CTL Chromebooks tailor-made for student use.

At a glance, the new CTL Chromebook J41 features a soft-touch, anti-slip rubberized texture. The drop-resistant slim profile design creates a lightweight body weighing in at only 2.45 lbs, making it a great option for the K-12 classroom environment. A water-resistant keyboard further protects the CTL Chromebook J41 by allowing spills to be channeled out and away from internal hardware. The 11.6" matte HD Panel screen is anti-glare ensuring ease of viewing and eye strain as well as being finger-resistant. The CTL Chromebook J41 also comes with the option to be upgraded to an optional 10 point capacitive touchscreen. Sturdy 180 degree hinges help to increase durability as the unit will lay-flat when opened completely. In addition, the unit contains two USB Type-C ports, two USB 3.0 ports, one Micro SD port, and a combo audio jack with an HD Web Camera, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.0.

Intel Corporation unveiled innovative education-focused reference devices for the 21st century interactive learning environment today at Bett 2014. The new Intel Education Tablet and the Intel classmate PC are part of Intel Education Solutions, which includes devices, software, content, services and teacher professional development that work together to transform learning and teaching for student success.

Both the Intel Education Tablet and the classmate PC are student-friendly, rugged designs that can withstand dropping off a desk (from 70 cm) and provide water-resistance and dust-resistance to promote anytime, anywhere learning.

Lenovo today announced the ThinkPad X131e Chromebook -- a fast booting, highly customizable ThinkPad built with rugged features for the daily rigors of K-12 education. The ThinkPad X131e Chromebook simplifies software and security management for school administrators and provides students and teachers with quick access to thousands of apps, education resources and storage.

Throughout the course of a typical school day, students' laptops are often subject to extreme wear and tear. To help school-proof them, the ThinkPad X131e has rugged features including a rubber bumper around the top cover and stronger corners to protect the system in the case of an accidental drop. The hinges and hinge brackets are also strengthened to last more than 50,000 open and close cycles.

Intel Corporation today introduced an Intel studybook, a tablet that is part of the Intel Learning Series family and features unique classroom-ready features and capabilities including an ultra rugged design and specialized educational software. Purpose-built for 1:1 e-learning, a studybook's innovative features include front and rear cameras, microphone, light sensor support project-based inquiry and mobile learning environments. It comes with a capacitive multi-touch LCD screen and is based on an Intel Atom processor Z650.

The rugged tablet reference design is constructed from a single piece of plastic and includes shock-absorbers around the screen. It is designed to withstand accidental drops from a standard student desk and is also water- and dust-resistant. Young students, often owners of slippery fingers can learn and have fun in and out of the classroom with reduced stress for parents and teachers concerned about damage.

One Laptop per Child (OLPC), a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide every child in the world access to new channels of learning, sharing and self-expression, announced today that the Islamic Development Bank has fully funded the initial distribution of 5,000 XO laptops to primary school children in the West African nation of Cameroon. The project will initially span 51 schools in six regions; planning is underway to extend the deployment across the entire country.

The Islamic Development Bank is a multilateral financing institution whose purpose is to foster the economic development and social progress of its 56 member countries - of which Cameroon is one. The Cameroon project represents the first time that the Islamic Development has financed an OLPC deployment.

Google has just struck a deal that will see it supply 27,000 Chromebooks to schools in the US states of Iowa, Illinois, and South Carolina. Rajen Sheth, Google's leader of Chromebook work for business and education announced the deal in a speech at the Florida Educational Technology Conference. "We now have hundreds of schools across 41 states that have outfitted at least one classroom with Chromebooks," he said. This is a particularly significant development, as Google is nurturing its future market base, and facilitating the evolution of computing devices from bloated Wintels to efficient Chromebooks that run off the cloud.

Dell today brings Latitude 2100 to little students and their activities in class. The new Latitude 2100 netbook is also well suited for any business or public institution that needs affordable, durable, Internet-ready devices for e-mail and collaboration. It harbors traditional netbook internals, with kid-friendly design, along with options for a carrying handle, shoulder strap, antimicrobial keyboard, and even a touchscreen LCD. A 10.1-inch LCD screen, an Intel Atom N270 CPU and a choice of three operating systems - Microsoft Windows XP Home, Vista Home Basic or Linux Ubuntu - give live to the netbook. Standard models come with a 3-cell battery and weight 1.32 kg. The base Latitude 2100 configuration retails now at $369.

Today, Microsoft Corp. and Lenovo announced the availability of the Ultimate Academic Personal Computer promotion with high-powered, highly functional, affordable laptop PCs designed specifically for college and university students, faculty, and staff. As part of the program, initially offered as a pilot by Microsoft, Lenovo will offer four different ThinkPad laptops pre-loaded with Windows Vista Ultimate and Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007.

In an attempt to empower millions of students across the country, Indian Government agencies have formulated plans to release a laptop at prices that equal that of a trip to a pizzeria in the west. Under a Government-sponsored scheme that runs parallel to the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) global initiative, the administration sought to implement this scheme to make the computer up to 10 times more affordable than an OLPC. The Government believes that the hidden costs involved in deploying laptops under the OLPC scheme make it still inaccessible to the larger student population, and that much better hardware could be provided at its cost.

The first thing that comes to your mind would probably be the kind of hardware that would make such a cheap laptop. Earliest data trickling in about the specifications indicates each laptop to have about 2 GB of memory, and support wireless networking. We will attempt to find out more about the hardware in the days to come. The Indian Government has reportedly spent close to US $1.5 billion on developing this concept and researching solutions to make this notebook durable and worthy of deployment to the most remote rural areas, that suffer power-outages and voltage fluctuations. Higher Education Secretary R.P. Agrawal said last week that it would be available within six months. The public education scheme governing the deployment of these laptops was flagged off today, in the southern-Indian city of Tirupati. The laptop will be available to students on a priority basis, and will later reach mass-retail channels in the country.

Local computer manufacturers unveiled the Intel-powered convertible classmate PC designs, joining the existing clamshell design to meet the variety of elementary school students' needs worldwide. The new flexible design, based on Intel Corporation technologies, converts instantly from a clamshell to a tablet mode with a touch screen to allow for a more intuitive classroom experience. According to research with students and teachers, the 180-degree swivel design, rotational camera and touch screen encourage flexible classroom interaction and natural collaboration. Both the convertible and the clamshell classmate PC designs are based on ethnographic studies and feedback from pilot programs conducted in both mature and emerging markets.

Recently, UC Berkeley started uploading videos of their lectures to YouTube for the masses to view, free of charge. YouTube now is a host to over 300 hours of lectures on bioengineering, peace and conflict studies, and physics, according to the UC Berkeley. As time goes on, UC Berkeley hopes to upload more lectures to YouTube, and on more topics. "UC Berkeley on YouTube will provide a public window into university life - academics, events and athletics - which will build on our rich tradition of open educational content for the larger community," according to Christina Maslach, the vice provost for undergraduate education.