A funny thing happened on the way to the quantum computer: someone looked at the qubit. No, seriously. They looked at the qubit, and the data that had been stored there changed (and was thus lost) because [quantum computing]. TheNextWeb has a super cool piece on «time crystals,» a real thing that might be what quantum computing needs to be more reliable and not stored near absolute zero. If you’re interested in quantum computing, definitely check out this article. Here’s a snippet:

One of the strangest things about qubits is they act differently when observed. Without a certain amount of coherency, any data transmitted, created, or stored in a quantum system could simply vanish the moment we try to look at it. According to the research, the solution might be the generation of time crystals in quantum bits, so that they’ll “want” to be coherent.

Andy Rubin, the father of Google’s Android OS, is reportedly looking for a buyer for his Essential smartphone company. Essential 2 phone development has been cancelled, and sales of the original model haven’t topped 150,000 units. The idea of a pure Android smartphone with expandability through accessories was appealing in concept, but not in practice considering Essential’s price dropped from US$699 to $200 before and sales still didn’t take off. Now sources are telling Bloomberg Credit Suisse Group AG is helping shop the company around. Essential is a perfect example of how difficult it is to make a hit in the smartphone market, even if you’re the guy that led Google’s Android team.