As Mac Pro stagnates, PC workstations muscle ahead

Don't want these emails? Unsubscribe here. Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Top stories: Aug 03 - Aug 10 Scientific Method Open-air quantum teleportation performed across a 97km lake by Matthew Francis Sending signals through fiber optic cable is reliable and fast, but because of internal absorption and other effects, they will lose photons—which is a problem when the number of photons being sent is small. This is of particular concern in quantum networks, which typically involve a small number of entangled photons. Direct transmission through free space (vacuum or air) experiences less photon loss, but it's very difficult to align a distant receiver perfectly with the transmitter so that photons arrive at their destination. Read More Features As Mac Pro stagnates, PC workstations muscle ahead by Dave Girard Like many Mac-based creative professionals, I followed this year's WWDC keynote anxiously, awaiting the "one more thing" that never came: an E5 Xeon refresh of the Mac Pro line. Its absence was brutally disappointing; thankfully, Tim Cook broke his vow of secrecy to reassure us that a new Mac Pro will arrive in 2013. But for filmmakers compressing hours of 4K footage or school labs in need of new Maya machines, that's a long time to wait—perhaps too long. Since I was also in the market for a machine to help out with my V-Ray renders, I decided that the time had come to evaluate my alternatives. The current Westmere-based Mac Pro line is definitely out of sync with what's available elsewhere, and it is no longer competitive from a price-to-power standpoint. Read More Features A thermostat that learns? Three months with the Nest by Jacqui Cheng It has been close to a year since the Nest "learning" thermostat was introduced to the public, bringing us one step closer to that elusive home of the future. Founded by the former senior VP of Apple's iPod division, Tony Fadell, along with his partner Matt Rogers, Nest Labs set out to create what is essentially the iPod of the thermostat world. The round, user-friendly device was initially met with excellent reviews, but were these based in reality or were they the result of some Apple-like hype? Read More Forward this message to a friend More hot stories Pics, because it really is happening on Mars Discovery opens door to cheaper solar panels The 10 features removed from Mountain Lion that we miss the most Pics and you assume it did happen Hackers collect significant account details from Blizzard servers Craigslist backtracks, drops exclusive licensing on posts Shell game: why heavier atoms might get stable again Google Translate can now read images of text Male sandpipers do better by choosing sex over sleep Judge sides with porn P2P plaintiff, setting up legal showdown Email Admin Center This newsletter is a service of Ars Technica. Should you no longer wish to receive these messages, unsubscribe. To ensure delivery of this newsletter to your inbox and to enable images to load in future mailings, please add civis@arstechnica.com to your e-mail address book or safe senders list. You are receiving this email at narrongs.hotmobile@blogger.com. Condé Nast Digital 1166 Avenue of the Americas, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10036, attn: Ars Technica Email Coordinator To view our Privacy Policy click here.