Festival relocated to Essex due to 'quirky' nature, organiser says
It is set to be held in the new Essex location for the first time
Secret criminal past of 'Traveller King' who was buried in a 'six-figure, solid gold' coffin
A traveller 'King' buried in a 'six-figure' solid gold coffin can be revealed as the head of a notorious crime family who was jailed over one of Britain's biggest-ever cowboy building rackets.
Man arrested after Muslim woman and her child were 'racially abused' by people painting flags on buildings
Footage widely circulated on social media shows two topless men painting red crosses on the white walls of flats above a row of shops and restaurants on a high street in Basildon, Essex.
America's Secretive X-37B Space Plane Will Test a Quantum Alternative to GPS for the US Space Force
The mysterious X-37B space-plane — the U.S. military's orbital test vehicle — "serves partly as a platform for cutting-edge experiments," writes Space.com
And "one of these experiments is a potential alternative to GPS that makes use of quantum science as a tool for navigation: a quantum inertial sensor."
This technology could revolutionize how spacecraft, airplanes, ships and submarines navigate in environments where GPS is unavailable or compromised. In space, especially beyond Earth's orbit, GPS signals become unreliable or simply vanish. The same applies underwater, where submarines cannot access GPS at all. And even on Earth, GPS signals can be jammed (blocked), spoofed (making a GPS receiver think it is in a different location) or disabled — for instance, during a conflict... Traditional inertial navigation systems, which use accelerometers and gyroscopes to measure a vehicle's acceleration and rotation, do provide independent navigation, as they can estimate position by tracking how the vehicle moves over time... Eventually though, without visual cues, small errors will accumulate and you will entirely lose your positioning...
At very low temperatures, atoms obey the rules of quantum mechanics: they behave like waves and can exist in multiple states simultaneously — two properties that lie at the heart of quantum inertial sensors. The quantum inertial sensor aboard the X-37B uses a technique called atom interferometry, where atoms are cooled to the temperature of near absolute zero, so they behave like waves. Using fine-tuned lasers, each atom is split into what's called a superposition state, similar to Schrödinger's cat, so that it simultaneously travels along two paths, which are then recombined.
Since the atom behaves like a wave in quantum mechanics, these two paths interfere with each other, creating a pattern similar to overlapping ripples on water. Encoded in this pattern is detailed information about how the atom's environment has affected its journey. In particular, the tiniest shifts in motion, like sensor rotations or accelerations, leave detectable marks on these atomic "waves". Compared to classical inertial navigation systems, quantum sensors offer orders of magnitude greater sensitivity. Because atoms are identical and do not change, unlike mechanical components or electronics, they are far less prone to drift or bias. The result is long duration and high accuracy navigation without the need for external references.
The upcoming X-37B mission will be the first time this level of quantum inertial navigation is tested in space.
The article points out that a quantum navigation system could be crucial "for future space exploration, such as to the Moon, Mars or even deep space," where autonomy is key and when signals from Earth are unavailable.
"While quantum computing and quantum communication often steal headlines, systems like quantum clocks and quantum sensors are likely to be the first to see widespread use."
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
I spent £72k on my dream caravan... but within six months I was only going to get back a fraction of that - now I'm broke and too stressed to work
Katherine Upton, 48, remortgaged her house to purchase the £62k mobile home from a Haven holiday village in Sussex.
Jeering Dragons' Den panel called my business a 'delusional disaster' - now I'm worth £40million!
For those who walk away cash injections of tens of thousands of pounds, the daunting prospect of going on Dragon's Den is well worth the anxiety.
Is 'Saint' Peter Andre REALLY an angel? Katie Price's ex mocked her disabled son Harvey and told Junior not to kiss boys...as her mum reveals her true feelings about him
Peter Andre has long been portrayed as the nice guy after his short-lived marriage to glamour model Katie Price imploded - but the resurfacing of clips from their reality show has challenged that narrative.
Pregnant Sophie Habboo accidentally posts full frontal picture of husband Jamie Laing to fans as they enjoy romantic Bank Holiday weekend
The reality star, 30, had taken to Instagram to share a glimpse of her bank holiday weekend with fans as she enjoyed downtime with Jamie, 37.
Music Services Caught Streaming AI-Generated Albums Impersonating Real Singers
The BBC reports a growing trend in music: "for established (but not superstar) artists to be targeted by fake albums or songs that suddenly appear on their pages on Spotify and other streaming services."
Even dead musicians have had AI-generated "new" material added to their catalogues... According to music industry analysts Luminate, about 99,000 songs are uploaded to streaming services every day, usually via dozens of distribution services, which ask the uploader to submit the artist's details. If that information is incorrect, and a song wrongly gets listed under an existing artist's name, it's down to them or their label to complain and get it removed.
Spotify took three weeks to remove fakes of folk singer/songwriter Emily Portman, according to the article, "and she still hasn't regained control of her Spotify artist profile... Considering how the streaming era has already made a big dent in many artists' incomes, Emily Portman says this affair has felt like a "very low blow"... She suspects independent artists are being targeted because star names have more protection and more power to get fraudulent releases removed swiftly."
But it's also happened to "a number of Americana and folk-rock artists who have had fake tracks posted using their names in recent weeks — apparently all from the same source," including Wilco frontman Jeff Tweedy, J Tillman (now known as Father John Misty), Sam Beam (aka Iron & Wine), Teddy Thompson and Jakob Dylan:
All the releases used the same style of AI artwork and were credited to three record labels, two with apparently Indonesian names. Many listed the same name as a songwriter — Zyan Maliq Mahardika. That name has also been credited on other songs mimicking real US Christian musicians and metalcore bands. Spotify said it had flagged the issue with the distributor and removed these tracks as they "violated our policy against impersonating another person or brand." It added it would "remove any distributor who repeatedly allows this type of content on our platform"....
Tatiana Cirisano from media and technology analysis company Midia Research says AI is "making it easier for fraudsters" to fool listeners, who are also more "passive" in the algorithmic age. She thinks bad actors posing as real-life artists are hoping their fraudulent tracks will "rack up enough streams" — hundreds of thousands — to earn them a nice payday. "I would think that the AI fakes are targeting lesser-known artists in the hopes that their schemes fly under the radar, compared to if they were to target a superstar who could immediately get Spotify on the line," she notes.
But streaming services and distributors are "working hard" and getting better at spotting it, she stresses, "ironically, also by using AI and machine learning!
Read more of this story at Slashdot.
Luisa Zissman continues to share defiant bikini snaps amid skinny-shaming row - after sparking fierce debate for revealing she smashed her childrens' iPads in front of them
The Apprentice star, 38, sparked controversy in recent weeks after sharing a selfie in a two-piece while on holiday, leading to comments regarding her weight.
Victoria and David Beckham look more smitten than ever after 26 years of marriage as they enjoy loved-up lunch with their children in Nerano during Italian yacht getaway
Victoria Beckham and her husband David couldn't keep their hands off each other during a recent family lunch with their children in Nerano, Italy, last week.
Duncan James SPLITS from boyfriend after six years together as Blue singer shares post about 'growth' to fans amid heartache
The Blue singer, 47, started dating Rodrigo in 2019 and regularly posted loved up snaps of them both for fans.
The beautiful cottage just a short drive from Essex named one of the best in the region
This stunning holiday spot boasts panoramic views of the beach
Essex farmers warn Labour's inheritance tax changes will be 'disastrous'
Chancellor Rachel Reeves' decision to scrap inheritance tax relief for farms valued over £1m has left families suddenly facing a 20 per cent tax bill
Upcoming road closures across Essex with one road shut for 136 days
All the road closures across Essex over the coming weeks
Teen convicted of burglary after victim tracked stolen AirPods to defendant's house
Colchester Youth Court heard the defendants burgled a house in Wivenhoe and tried to break into a second address.
Braintree charity golf day raises hundreds for disability charity
The 19th annual Braintree District Mencap Charity Golf Day at Gosfield Golf Club raised hundreds to support people with disabilities.
Controversial X Factor star who faced off with Simon Cowell looks unrecognisable after reinventing himself as a 'spiritual healer' 10 years later
The Birmingham native, now 32, whose real name is Mason Binnell, competed on The X Factor back in 2015 where he locked horns with Simon Cowell.
Britain to sizzle in final throes of summer as Bank Holiday Monday predicted to be hotter than Morocco with 29C high
In what could be the hottest August Bank Holiday in 60 years, drivers have been warned to expect traffic jams as sun-seekers travel to beaches and beauty spots.
Claudia Schiffer shows support for her husband Matthew Vaughn's team by posing in a Brentford shirt after he invested in the Premier League club
Claudia Schiffer showed her full support for her husband Sir Matthew Vaughn by posing in his team's football shirt after he invested in the English club.