Details Published: Wednesday, 11 December 2019 07:59

More than half (54 percent) of cyber security professionals have expressed concerns that quantum computing will outpace the development of security technologies, according to new research from the Neustar International Security Council (NISC). Keeping a watchful eye on developments, 74 percent of organizations said that they are paying close attention to the technologys evolution, with 21 percent already experimenting with their own quantum computing strategies.

A further 35 percent of experts claimed to be in the process of developing a quantum strategy, while just 16 percent said they were not yet thinking about it. This shift in focus comes as the vast majority (73 percent) of cyber security professionals expect advances in quantum computing to overcome legacy technologies, such as encryption, within the next five years. Almost all respondents (93 percent) believe the next-generation computers will overwhelm existing security technology, with just 7 percent under the impression that true quantum supremacy will never happen.

Despite expressing concerns that other technologies will be overshadowed, an overwhelming number (87 percent) of CISOs, CSOs, CTOs and security directors are excited about the potential positive impact of quantum computing. The remaining 13 percent were more cautious and under the impression that the technology would create more harm than good.

At the moment, we rely on encryption, which is possible to crack in theory, but impossible to crack in practice, precisely because it would take so long to do so, over timescales of trillions or even quadrillions of years, said Rodney Joffe, Chairman of NISC and Security CTO at Neustar. Without the protective shield of encryption, a quantum computer in the hands of a malicious actor could launch a cyber attack unlike anything weve ever seen.

For both todays major attacks, and also the small-scale, targeted threats that we are seeing more frequently, it is vital that IT professionals begin responding to quantum immediately. The security community has already launched a research effort into quantum-proof cryptography, but information professionals at every organization holding sensitive data should have quantum on their radar. Quantum computing's ability to solve our great scientific and technological challenges will also be its ability to disrupt everything we know about computer security. Ultimately, IT experts of every stripe will need to work to rebuild the algorithms, strategies, and systems that form our approach to cyber security, added Joffe.

http://www.nisc.neustar

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Security leaders fear that quantum computing developments will outpace security technologies - Continuity Central

Back to Menu By Luke Dormehl December 10, 2019 3:00AM PST Close IBM Research

In 1950, a man named John Bennett, an Australian employee of the now-defunct British technology firm Ferranti, created what may be historys first gaming computer. It could play a game called Nim, a long-forgotten parlor game in which players take turns removing matches from several piles. The player who loses is the one who removes the last match. For his computerized version, Bennett created a vast machine 12 feet wide, 5 feet tall, and 9 feet deep. The majority of this space was taken up by light-up vacuum tubes which depicted the virtual matches.

Bennetts aim wasnt to create a game-playing machine for the sake of it; the reason that somebody might build a games PC today. As writer Tristan Donovan observed in Replay, his superlative 2010 history of video games: Despite suggesting Ferranti create a game-playing computer, Bennetts aim was not to entertain but to show off the ability of computers to do [math].

Jump forward almost 70 years and a physicist and computer scientist named Dr. James Robin Wootton is using games to demonstrate the capabilities of another new, and equally large, experimental computer. The computer in this question is a quantum computer, a dream of scientists since the 1980s, now finally becoming a scientific reality.

Quantum computers encode information as delicate correlations with an incredibly rich structure. This allows for potentially mind-boggling densities of information to be stored and manipulated. Unlike a classical computer, which encodes as a series of ones and zeroes, the bits (called qubits) in a quantum computer can be either a one, a zero, or both at the same time. These qubits are composed of subatomic particles, which conform to the rules of quantum rather than classical mechanics. They play by their own rules a little bit like Tom Cruises character Maverick from Top Gun if he spent less time buzzing the tower and more time demonstrating properties like superpositions and entanglement.

I met Wootton at IBMs research lab in Zurich on a rainy day in late November. Moments prior, I had squeezed into a small room with a gaggle of other excited onlookers, where we stood behind a rope and stared at one of IBMs quantum computers like people waiting to be allowed into an exclusive nightclub. I was reminded of the way that people, in John Bennetts day, talked about the technological priesthood surrounding computers: then enormous mainframes sequestered away in labyrinthine chambers, tended to by highly qualified people in white lab coats. Lacking the necessary seminary training, we quantum computer visitors could only bask in its ambience from a distance, listening in reverent silence to the weird vee-oing vee-oing vee-oing sound of its cooling system.

Wottons interest in quantum gaming came about from exactly this scenario. In 2016, he attended a quantum computing event at the same Swiss ski resort where, in 1925, Erwin Schrdinger had worked out his famous Schrdinger wave equation while on vacation with a girlfriend. If there is a ground zero for quantum computing, this was it. Wotton was part of a consortium, sponsored by the Swiss government, to do (and help spread the word about) quantum computing.

At that time quantum computing seemed like it was something that was very far away, he told Digital Trends. Companies and universities were working on it, but it was a topic of research, rather than something that anyone on the street was likely to get their hands on. We were talking about how to address this.

Wootton has been a gamer since the early 1990s. I won a Game Boy in a competition in a wrestling magazine, he said. It was a Slush Puppy competition where you had to come up with a new flavor. My Slush Puppy flavor was called something like Rollin Redcurrant. Im not sure if you had to use the adjective. Maybe thats what set me apart.

While perhaps not a straight path, Wootton knew how an interest in gaming could lead people to an interest in other aspects of technology. He suggested that making games using quantum computing might be a good way of raising public awareness of the technology.He applied for support and, for the next year, was given to my amazement the chance to go and build an educational computer game about quantum computing. At the time, a few people warned me that this was not going to be good for my career, he said. [They told me] I should be writing papers and getting grants; not making games.

But the idea was too tantalizing to pass up.

That same year, IBM launched its Quantum Experience, an online platform granting the general public (at least those with a background in linear algebra) access to IBMs prototype quantum processors via the cloud. Combined with Project Q, a quantum SDK capable of running jobs on IBMs devices, this took care of both the hardware and software component of Woottons project. What he needed now was a game. Woottons first attempt at creating a quantum game for the public was a version of the game Rock-Paper-Scissors, named Cat-Box-Scissors after the famous Schrdingers cat thought experiment. Wootton later dismissed it as [not] very good Little more than a random number generator with a story.

But others followed. There was Battleships, his crack at the first multiplayer game made with a quantum computer. There was Quantum Solitaire. There was a text-based dungeon crawler, modeled on 1973s Hunt the Wumpus, called Hunt the Quantpus. Then the messily titled, but significant, Battleships with partial NOT gates, which Wootton considers the first true quantum computer game, rather than just an experiment. And so on. As games, these dont exactly make Red Dead Redemption 2 look like yesterdays news. Theyre more like Atari 2600 or Commodore 64 games in their aesthetics and gameplay. Still, thats exactly what youd expect from the embryonic phases of a new computing architecture.

If youd like to try out a quantum game for yourself, youre best off starting with Hello Quantum, available for both iOS and Android. It reimagines the principles of quantum computing as a puzzle game in which players must flip qubits. It wont make you a quantum expert overnight, but it will help demystify the process a bit. (With every level, players can hit a learn more button for a digestible tutorial on quantum basics.)

Quantum gaming isnt just about educational outreach, though. Just as John Bennett imagined Nim as a game that would exist to show off a computers abilities, only to unwittingly kickstart a $130 billion a year industry, so quantum games are moving beyond just teaching players lessons about quantum computing.Increasingly, Wootton is excited about what he sees as real world uses for quantum computing. One of the most promising of these is taking advantage of quantum computings random number generating to create random terrain within computer games. In Zurich, he showed me a three-dimensional virtual landscape reminiscent of Minecraft. However, while much of the world of Minecraft is user generated, in this case the blocky, low-resolution world was generated using a quantum computer.

Quantum mechanics is known for its randomness, so the easiest possibility is just to use quantum computing as a [random number generator], Wootton said. I have a game in which I use only one qubit: the smallest quantum computer you can get. All you can do is apply operations that change the probabilities of getting a zero or one as output. I use that to determine the height of the terrain at any point in the game map.

Plenty of games made with classical computers have already included procedurally generated elements over the years. But as the requirements for these elements ranging from randomly generated enemies to entire maps increase in complexity, quantum could help.

Gaming is an industry that is very dependent on how fast things run

Gaming is an industry that is very dependent on how fast things run, he continued. If theres a factor of 10 difference in how long it takes something to run that determines whether you can actually use it in a game. He sees today as a great jumping-on point for people in the gaming industry to get involved to help shape the future development of quantum computing. Its going to be driven by what people want, he explained. If people find an interesting use-case and everyone wants to use quantum computing for a game where you have to submit a job once per frame, that will help dictate the way that the technology is made.

Hes now reached the point where he thinks the race may truly be on to develop the first commercial game using a quantum computer. Weve been working on these proof-of-principle projects, but now I want to work with actual game studios on actual problems that they have, he continued. That means finding out what they want and how they want the technology to be [directed].

One thing thats for certain is that Wootton is no longer alone in developing his quantum games. In the last couple of years, a number ofquantum game jams have popped up around the world. What most people have done is to start small, Wootton said. They often take an existing game and use one or two qubits to help allow you to implement a quantum twist on the game mechanics. Following this mantra, enthusiasts have used quantum computing to make remixed versions of existing games, including Dr. Qubit (a quantum version of Dr. Mario), Quantum Cat-sweeper (a quantum version of Minesweeper), and Quantum Pong (a quantum version of, err, Pong).

The world of quantum gaming has moved beyond its 1950 equivalent of Nim. Now we just have to wait and see what happens next. The decades which followed Nim gave us MITs legendary Spacewar in the 1960s, the arcade boom of the 1970s and 80s, the console wars of Sega vs. Nintendo, the arrival of the Sony PlayStation in the 1990s, and so on. In the process, classical computers became part of our lives in a way they never were before. As Whole Earth Catalog founder Stewart Brand predicted as far back as 1972 Rolling Stone in his classic essay on Spacewar: Ready or not, computers are coming to the people.

At present, quantum gamings future is at a crossroads. Is it an obscure niche occupied by just a few gaming physics enthusiasts or a powerful tool that will shape tomorrows industry? Is it something that will teach us all to appreciate the finer points of quantum physics or a tool many of us wont even realize is being used, that will nevertheless give us some dope ass games to play?

Like Schrdingers cat, right now its both at once. What a superposition to be in.

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Inside the weird, wild, and wondrous world of quantum video games - Digital Trends

Executive Summary

Over the next few decades, agility will not come from speed; it will come from the ability to explore multiple domains at once and combine them into something that produces value. This means computer scientists working with cancer scientists, for example, to identify specific genetic markers that could lead to a cure. This change will be profound and we will need to rethink old notions about how we compete, collaborate, and bring new products to market. Here are three key shifts.

For the past few decades, agility in the technology sector has largely meant moving faster and faster down a predetermined path; innovation has largely been driven by our ability to cram more transistors onto a silicon wafer. With every new generation of chips came new possibilities and new applications. The firms that developed those applications the fastest won.

Over the coming decades, however, agility will take on a new meaning: the ability to explore multiple domains at once and combine them into something that produces value. Well need computer scientists working with cancer scientists, for example, to identify specific genetic markers that could lead to a cure. To do this, well need to learn how to go slower to have a greater impact.

This change will be profound. We will need to rethink old notions about how we compete, collaborate, and bring new products to market. More specifically, we will have to manage three profound shifts that will force us to widen and deepen connections between talent, technology, and information rather than just moving fast and breaking things.

Shift 1: From A Digital To A Post-Digital Age. Its hard to imagine that 30 years ago, most American households didnt have a computer, much less a mobile phone. Yet today, a typical teenager armed with a smartphone has access to more information than a highly trained specialist working at a major institution a generation ago.

Whats driven all this advancement has been Moores Law, our ability to double the power of our computing technology about every 18 months. Yet now Moores Law is approaching theoretical limits and will most likely come to an end in the next decade. New computing architectures, such as quantum and neuromorphic technologies, have great potential to further advancement, but will be far more complex than digital chips. Make no mistake, the transition will not be seamless.

At the same time, were seeing the rise of nascent technologies, such as synthetic biology, advanced materials science and artificial intelligence. Again, these new technologies represent a significant increase in complexity. Were rapidly moving from an environment where we understand the technologies we use and their implications extremely well to an era in which we do not. If we continue to move fast and break things, we are likely to break something important.

Shift 2: From Rapid Iteration to Exploration. Over the past 30 years, weve had the luxury of working with technologies we understand extremely well. Every generation of microchips opened vast new possibilities, but worked exactly the same way as the last generation, creating minimal switching costs. The main challenge was to design applications.

So it shouldnt be surprising that rapid iteration emerged as a key strategy. When you understand the fundamental technology that underlies a product or service, you can move quickly, trying out nearly endless permutations until you arrive at an optimized solution. Thats often far more effective than a more planned, deliberate approach.

Over the next decade or two, however, the challenge will be to advance technology that we dont understand well at all. Quantum and neuromorphic computing are still in their nascent stages. Exponential improvements in genomics and materials science are redefining the boundaries of those fields. There are also ethical issues involved with artificial intelligence and genomics that will require us to tread carefully.

So in the future, we will need to put greater emphasis on exploration. We will need to spend time understanding these new technologies and how they relate to our businesses. Most of all, its imperative to start exploring early. By the time many of these technologies hit their stride, it may be too late to catch up.

Shift 3: From Hypercompetition to Mass Collaboration.The competitive environment weve become used to has been relatively simple. For each particular industry, there have been distinct ecosystems based on established fields of expertise. Competing firms raced to transform fairly undifferentiated digital inputs (chips, code, components, etc.) into highly differentiated products and services. You needed to move fast to get an edge.

This new era, on the other hand, will be one of mass collaboration in which government partners with academia and industry to explore new technologies in the pre-competitive phase. For example, the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research combines the work of five national labs, a few dozen academic institutions, and hundreds of companies to develop advanced batteries.

Or consider the Manufacturing Institutes, which focus on everything from advanced fabrics and biopharmaceuticals to robotics and composite materials. These active hubs allow companies to collaborate with government labs and top academics to develop the next generation of technologies. They also operate dozens of testing facilities to help bring new products to market faster.

Ive visited some of these facilities and have had the opportunity to talk with executives from participating companies. What has struck me is how how excited they are for the possibilities of this new era. Agility for them doesnt mean learning to run faster down a chosen course, but to widen and deepen connections throughout a technological ecosystem.

Not so long ago, this kind of mass collaboration, often involving direct competitors would have seemed strange, if not hopelessly naive. Yet today, high performing firms from corporate VCs to corporate accelerators are increasingly aware that they need to connect or get shut out. One example is especially instructive. When IBM decided to develop the PC in 1980, they sent a team to Boca Raton to work in secret and launched the product a year later. To develop quantum computing, however, theyve created a Q Network, which includes several of the National Labs, research universities, potential end users like major banks and manufacturers as well as startups.

Whats becoming increasingly clear is that the breakthrough applications of the future will not be based on a single technology like a digital microchip. These new technologies are far too complex for anyone to develop on their own. Thats why we can expect the basis of competition to shift away from design sprints, iterating, and pivoting to building meaningful relationships in order to solve grand challenges. Power in this new era will not sit at the top of industrial hierarchies, but will emanate from the center of networks and ecosystems.

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Why Move Fast and Break Things Doesn't Work Anymore - Harvard Business Review

Our bodies are made up of seven chakras and the most important one among them is the sixth one, the third eye. Also known as the 'Ajna chakra', our third eye is considered to be extremely powerful because it is a potent source of intuitive wisdom which can guide you towards creative pursuits, do away with negativity, provide knowledgeable insight and perhaps lead you to the highest form of intelligence helping open your eyes towards what needs attention. When acting in full force, the third eye can help you see clearly, clear mental blockages and also improve mental flexibilities. In fact, the third eye has been hailed as the most important form of sense in many cultures and activating it is considered to be the most crucial. What if we told you, there is a certain form of meditation which can open up your powerful sixth sense and get you in touch with your inner self? While the third eye carries the benefit of connecting us to our gut feelings and work one step ahead of our basic five senses, it mostly stays dormant or closed. That's where the benefits of meditation come into play. According to healers, meditation is the simplest and the best way to awaken, vitalize and activate your third eye.

Meditation helps clear out the negative toxins from the body, channelize your energies and help you concentrate better. Forms of meditation can also help you be self-aware, active your Ajna chakra, shift your state of consciousness to higher states with every session, thereby taking away anxiety and worries from the root and transcend into the innermost thought processes and make it work at the fullest capacity. Doing so can also put back focus on your mind, improve concentration and boost clarity.

The best way of opening up your third eye

Excerpt from:

All you need to know about third eye meditation - Times of India

Event Date:

Repeats every week until Thu Feb 13 2020 .

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By Dharma Zephyr Insight Meditation Community

Presented by Dharma Zephyr Insight Meditation Community, a meditation class series begins this January 2020 in Carson City. The 6-week class will introduce attendees to the practice of sitting, walking, and eating meditation, and teach participants how to bring mindfulness to everyday life.

Kathy and Tom will draw on what theyve learned about meditation over years of evolving practice.

Beginners and experienced meditators alike are welcome. There will be ample time for Q & A to begin or refine your practice. Core Buddhist concepts will also be explored. Some classes will include mindful movement. Preregistration is encouraged.

Go here for more information.

Tom Gray brings more than 15 years of practice to this class. He comes from a scientific perspective which is both a blessing and an obstacle; the practice has helped him to address anger and self-judgement issues. Kathy Schwerin began her practice almost 30 years ago. Everyday mindfulness has been her focus; her meditation practice has changed over the years and she is eager to share the many tools that have been helpful.

Both of them have a deep love of the Buddhist dharma because it works! There is no charge; donations gratefully accepted.

For more information or to preregister, please contact Tom@dharmazephyr.org.

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Meditation class series in Carson City begins this January - Carson Now

Tuesday, December 10, 2019 | 11:52 AM

Michael DiVittorio | Tribune-Review

Michael DiVittorio | Tribune-Review

Michael DiVittorio | Tribune-Review

Looking for something to do in Plum or Oakmont this week?

Here are some suggestions:

Meditation with a Monk is set for 6 to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Oakmont library. Join the monks from Natrona Heights Pittsburgh Buddhist Center for an hour of relaxing meditation. The program is offered every Tuesday evening.

Somatics classes with personal trainer Tom Capriotti will be offered from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Thursday at the Oakmont library.

Somatics is a series of soft movements that can help alleviate lower back, neck and shoulder pain. Oakmont library programs are free. Call 412-828-9532 or go to oakmontlibrary.org for more information.

STEAM Story Time is set for 1 to 1:40 p.m. Tuesday at the Plum library. Activities are designed for 4- and 5-year-olds with their parents/caregivers and will be related to science, technology, engineering, arts and math. Registration is required.

Plum library hosts a movie matinee from 1 to 4 p.m. Thursday. This weeks feature is Murder Under the Mistletoe, a Miss Fisher mystery. Popcorn will be provided. No registration is necessary. Go to plumlibrary.org for more information on Plum library programs.

The Oaks Theater will host a special screening of National Lampoons Christmas Vacation at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at 310 Allegheny River Blvd.

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets to the all-ages event are $8. Burks BBQ in Oakmont will have dinners available at the event for $10. More information is available online at the oakstheater.com or by calling 888-718-4253.

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Happening in Plum and Oakmont this week: meditation, movies and more - TribLIVE

He who lives in harmony with himself, lives in harmony with the universe.

-Marcus Aurelius

WhatsApp deactivated.

Facebook Uninstalled.

Airplane Mode On.

For a long time, smartphone users have followed this approach to focus or simply live a stress-free life. They have cursed mobile applications for the distraction and anxiety they face in their daily lives.

But, this perspective changed drastically the moment mindfulness apps came into existence.

Mobile applications like Calm begun helping users meditate and live a peaceful live even when keeping their phone aside. A result of which is that the mindfulness meditation app market, which was valued at $959M as of 2015 and $1.21B in 2017, is expected to grow to $2.08B by 2022, with an annual average revenue growth of 11.4%.

This not only made users enjoy a peaceful life without leaving the digital world, but also proved that its a good decision to step into this market with the assistance of top app development companies.

But, before you or anyone think in this direction and invest in calm like meditation app development, it is advised to be familiar with the reason behind this popularity. Or better say, having the knowledge of key driving factors of calm like mediation app market size. A glimpse of which we will cover in the next section of the article.

In the present days, around 75% 90% of people in the United States visits doctors for stress-related issues and around 13% of kids are showing the symptoms of anxiety disorder because of stress.

Because of this, more and more people are becoming conscious about the ill effects of stress and mediation as a way to improve their mental health. Something that is giving a push to the mindfulness app development market.

With an increase in the number of smartwatches and smart screens, people are getting an opportunity to keep a real-time record of their mental health and well-being. This is again favoring the flourishing market for meditation apps.

Now while you know the reasons that ignite the zeal to develop mindfulness app like Calm or HeadSpace, lets move to the best mindfulness meditation apps in the market.

All these best mindfulness meditation apps right from Headspace to Happier, Buddhify, Insight Timer, Smiling Mind, and The Mindfulness App are doing an amazing job in the marketplace. But, the one we will focus entirely in this article is Calm application.

Introduced back in 2012 as a meditation tool, Calm has now gained a huge momentum in the marketplace as a guide for proper sleep and relaxation. The application, till date, has over 60M downloads and 80,000 new daily users. It has also received the title of the Top grossing Health and Fitness Application and the 20th Top App on the App Store. A credit of which can be given to the simple working mechanism of this application.

Whats more, the application has recently raised a funding of $88M, valuing it at $1B and collaborated with various popular products like Soundproof Phone Booth ROOM.

This altogether has made every business enthusiast interested in calm like meditation app development. It has raised a hype to getting comprehend with the technicalities of the application and build a clone with the help of top Android or iOS app development company.

Assuming that you are also one of those who wish to try their luck in this field, lets cover the technical aspects of Calm-like application here starting with taking a look into the top meditation app features.

When it comes to Calm-clone app development, the foremost feature you need to focus on is Profile Creation.

This feature, as depicted from the name, enable users to create their own profiles on the application where they can see/store all the information related to them or the activities they have participated in.

Under this category, users opt in for the best of the stories that relaxes their body and mind and help them sleep nicely.

The Calm Masterclasses feature of the app lets users avail exclusive classes from worlds best mindfulness experts across the globe.

This app feature enables users to change the scenic view that would be the background of the application.

From the morning stretch to warm up, this feature of Calm mobile app helps users come across the best ways to relax your body.

With this feature, you can set the duration of breathing exercises and exhale all of your worries without allocating a special time for meditation.

Under this category, the Calm mobile app sends different kinds of reminders to users for living a stress-free life. This includes reminders to practice mindfulness, to sleep, and to check-in the app.

These meditation app features have shown given peace of mind to users. But, what has given a new definition to calmness is the unique user experience strategy this application has worked with.

So, taking the same into consideration, lets take a sneak peek of the Calm meditation app design strategy.

Right from the icons to the typography, colors, and visual elements used in the Calm mobile application, everything gives a feeling of warmth and tranquility. A major focus has been kept on making intense topics like Stress, Anxiety, Relationships, and Self-care seem balanced and a bit more comfortable.

Calm application has also followed the concept of minimal app design thoroughly. The app has introduced the least required features and elements on the screens to give a soothing experience to users. An evidence of which is the Breathing Exercise app screen.

Calm mobile application uses the power of Push notifications to remind users about their scores, next activity schedules, and more. This is not solely helping users enjoy higher benefits of this mindfulness app, but is also making it imperative for other business enthusiasts to build a push notification strategy that boosts conversions.

The Calm app smartly categories content under different labels that eases the process of finding the right content. Also, it avails content in the voice form that lures users to pick this mindfulness meditation app over others.

The Calm-like mobile app has also invested in App Localization. Meaning, the app content is available in six different languages including English, German, and Spanish. These gives users an option to grab the content in their local languages, which increases the possibilities of acquiring more users.

With this covered, lets climb to the next level of the ladder and see what mindfulness technology stack back these functionalities.

As weve already shared in our blog on picking the best technology stack for your app, the programming languages, frameworks, and tools we consider leaves a great impact on the outcomes. While the right technology stack results in proper working of your app and enhances the results, the wrong one can ruin your apps image.

So, understanding the intensity of knowing the right tech stack, lets check for what comes under the label of mindfulness app tech stack.

Now as you know the basics technicalities, it is likely that you would be expecting discussion around the cost to develop mindfulness app like calm in the next section.

But, wait.

Before we switch to calm like meditation app development cost, it is necessary for you to be familiar with the challenges your hired app development company would face while building the app, alongside the market-related issues you would come across.

So, lets check for the challenges you might come across while building an app like Calm.

The headmost challenge your hired team app developers would face is maintaining simplicity and higher loading speed while adding ample options into the application.

When talking about app localization, there are various key challenges associated with developing multilingual apps. Mitigating those challenges and delivering the app on pre-decided timeline would again be a challenge for your hired app partners.

In the present scenario, there are various mindfulness meditation apps available in the market. However, only a few of them are backed by solid research. This has made consumers sceptical about which app to prefer and which not. And thereafter, made it challenging for business enthusiasts to win the trust of these customers and keep them hooked to their platform.

Something that is possible if you introduce the right amount of transparency into your app working.

Users, when concentrating completely on mindfulness market, are majorly not in favor of paying subscription fee for the apps. Likewise, the companies in this domain are extensively focusing on implementing effective price benchmarking to get better outcomes.

So again, higher subscription rate can be a stumbling block in the path of Entrepreneurs planning to invest in calm like meditation app development.

With this, lets wait no further and tear down the cost to build a mobile app like Calm.

The cost to make an app, as described in detail in our mobile app development cost guide, is not fixed. It varies depending on various factors such as:-

In such a scenario, the optimal way to get an exact cost of developing an app like Calm is to contact the best app experts.

Now, while this would have shared insights around how much you need to invest into the Calm-like meditation app development, lets turn towards how to earn back the money. Or simply say, lets learn about the business and revenue model of Calm mobile application.

Calm and other such mindfulness meditation apps highly rely upon subscription model. That implies, a meditation app monetization model where users pay a fixed subscription fee for unlocking the advanced features of the app on a monthly or yearly basis.

Under this label, mobile apps like Calm and HeadSpace provides users an opportunity to pay for purchasing some services/products related to meditation from the platform itself.

By embracing this Calm app business and revenue model, you would be able to generate revenue nearly equal to that of Calm application. But, to outshine the mindfulness app market, you would have to put some extra efforts.

Wondering what those extra efforts would be? What ways can you accelerate the pace of gaining the Calm-like meditation app development cost back? Lets wrap up this article covering the same.

Though the Calm app has efficiently categorized the content to deliver better search experience, a search option on the app screen can elevate the outcomes. So, look ahead to introduce a search filter option into your meditation and mindfulness app like Calm.

AR/VR technology can take users to a virtual environment which can trigger their fears and anxieties in a better manner. And this way, speed up their process of relaxing and improving their mental health.

So, discussing the integration of such cutting-edge technologies while planning Calm-like app development process is also an effective way to raise the outcomes.

While building a Calm-clone application is a profitable business, it is again a good decision to start with a MVP first. The Minimal Viable Product (MVP) will help you to enter the market with less resources, time, and budget, and improve your application depending on the changing user behavior and needs.

Since both the applications are popular in the market and offer certain value to the users, it is unwise to conclude one being better than the other without comparing. So, we advise you to go through this blog alongside that on Headspace to get an optimal answer.

When talking about developing a meditation app like Calm, the process is not as easier as it seems. You would have to focus on multiple things both from development and business front. So, we recommend you consult with top healthcare app development company for getting a relevant answer.

Some features of Calm app are free to use. But, to unlock more features and explore the world of mindfulness, you would have to pay a monthly/yearly subscription fee.

Shrikant Srivastava

VP Technology

In search for strategic sessions?.

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The Only Resource You Need for Calm-like Meditation App Development - Appinventiv

No one had to introduce Joseph to Mary. He had known her his whole life. No dating services in those days, unless you count arranged marriages. Who knows? Perhaps a yente did the honors of officially connecting them and their families. The perfect match, she might say. Its the way things used to work, the way things still work in some places. You westerners, said a student from the Far East, fall in love and get married. We get married and fall in love.

Tradition calls Joseph a carpenter, but the word tekton (Isnt this the carpenters son?) actually can mean stone mason, which means the man had superior technical skills. Joseph the builder living in the Galilean backwoods probably earned his keep and honed his craft in cities like Capernaum and Sepphoris. It may not have earned him a kings ransom, but a man with gifted hands usually does pretty well. Any idea what plumbers make these days?

Joseph enjoyed at least one other skill not often praised in Christmas-loving circles. He paid close attention to his Bible. An engagement interrupted by a pregnancy could get a woman killed in those days. A Bible reader could easily justify it. How did Joseph, reading the same Bible, decide to divorce her quietly and so protect young Mary? What doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly? (Micah 6:8). Thats how. He did the best he could, until he knew better. What would have happened if Mary had been engaged to a mean man?

The old, odd pronoun trouble of the KJV, male-stacked genealogies, verses yanked way out of context all serve as flimsy proofs of the Bibles sexism. But as the Gospel unfolds, and through the leaves of history, Joseph takes a back seat to mother Mary. Joseph may be the patron saint of happy death, since he died in the arms of Mary and Jesus. But he could easily be the patron of all those unnoticed, forgotten holy ones. Those who keep this world spinning with their uncommon kindnesses.

The Rev. Eugene Stockstill is pastor of Ebenezer United Methodist Church and Myrtle United Methodist Church in Union County.

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MEDITATION: Joseph shows what it means to study Bible - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal

Patrick Carr will debut songs from upcoming 2020 album at Teds on December 13. Photo by Kat Lancaster

When the Road Darkens is an apt title for singer-songwriter Patrick Carrs 2017 EP. While not a sad collection, per se, theres a soberness to his folksy storytelling and instrumentals.

An English major and self-described book nerd, Carrs songs are filled with literary references. One will recognize the nod to the green light from The Great Gatsby in Dont Let It Break Your Heart.

I adapted the title of the EP from a line found in The Lord of the Rings, Carr explains, which originally read, [f]aithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens. So far, only one person has been able to guess where the title comes from.

Though he initially organized the five tracks so they would flow musically, coincidentally, they also take listeners down a road that continues to darken around themes of hope, longing, past loves and depression. It starts with Sibylle in an Orange Hue. An introduction, lightly constructed with whimsical wind chimes, draws in listeners to an almost quiet meditation.

I find music tends to send your minds eye to a certain place or time, Carr says, so adding the wind chimes and birds in the opening was to kind of set the stage for the beginning of the EPs journey.

Inspired by a German singer-songwriter named Sibylle Baier, Carr stumbled upon a photo of her labeled Sibylle in an Orange Hue. He used some of the words from the photos title as lyrics.

In my mind, the song describes someone who is suffering from depression, and as the narrator, Im trying to convince her that everything will be alright in the end, he explains.

While Carr often involves his friends, William Glover (piano) and Sean McClain (drums), in his music, he, too, is quite a multi-instrumentalist. Mostly a self-taught guitarist playing along to Led Zeppelin records, his fingerstyle playing is heavily influenced by singer-songwriter and guitarist Nick Drake.

I pretty much spent months trying to nail that kind of fingerstyle playing and now its an integral part of my music, he notes. Ive always been interested in guitar growing up, but never really had the right reason or motivation to start playing. Once I heard Black Dog on my dads copy of the fourth Led Zeppelin record, I really wanted to learn so I could play that song.

Carr also plays bass, organ, ukulele, mandolin, glockenspiel (similar to a xylophone), and an Indian drone instrument called a shruti box. According to Carr, bass isnt hard when starting with a foundation in guitar, but it needs to be approached differently than the guitar.

Paying attention to bassists like Carol Kaye from the Wrecking Crew kind of gave me that light bulb moment, he continues. I started playing ukulele when I was a junior in high school after a friend brought his along on a field trip. Mandolin is a new instrument for me and Ive really only played it seriously for about two or three years now. I just kind of love stringed instruments, so I end up collecting and playing them. . . . but Im not the best mandolin player so sitting in a bluegrass jam would be catastrophic.

Carrs upcoming show at Teds will include performances of tunes from When the Road Darkens. He will play a few new songs as well, indicative of his influences from Nick Drake to Ryley Walker to Bon Iver. Lyrically, they are even more introspective, often dealing with feeling lost and trying to navigate life. What remains consistent is his penchant for literature, as heard in The Jaws of Hell. I took the title from a Radiohead lyric and the song makes a very loose connection to Dantes Inferno, Carr says.

In October, Carr recorded a few tracks featuring a flute and saxophone player, and Glover back on piano. The plan is to have two new records in 2020: an instrumental EP called Vox Humana and a full-length album.

So far I havent settled on a title for the full-length record yet, he notes. Ive got a few different titles that Im kicking around right now, but Im kind of waiting for the entire record to be finished before I decide on the title that feels right.

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QUIET MEDITATIONS: Patrick Carr set to play solo show at Ted's ILM's Alternative Weekly Voice - encore Online

$SPY

You may have heard that trading meditation can help you trade better, but it is not for everyone, though I have yet to hear a case where it has not helped after giving it an honest effort

Here, I will introduce you meditation for traders and hopefully remove some of the roadblocks that have prevented you from giving it a try in the past.

You will learn why it works, how it can benefit and how to meditate properly.

It is something that I believe should be part of what some call holistic trading, where one is not just looking for entries and exits, but consider all aspects of your life and how they can improve your trading.

Trading better usually means that your quality of life will also improve, and the 2 will continually build upon each other.

You may think that doing meditation means that you have to join a religion or live in a commune or something, no.

Although many meditation practices do have religious roots, it is not a requirement that you join any type of group to get the benefits.

It is similar to trading, where you are free to learn from different teachers and take what works and leave what does not.

Another misconception is that it is time consuming, complicated or mystical. It can really be as simple or complex as you make it.

Just like in trading do what works for you.

Meditation works by allowing us to control the state of our minds.

We can measure these states by the frequency of the electromagnetic waves that our brains give off. The measurement process is called electroencephalography or EEG, for short.

There are different tools that you can use at home to measure your brainwaves.

If you are not familiar with the different types of brain waves, below is a short summary.

Mediation is associated with the theta and delta states, but I have included the others so you understand the bigger picture.

The human brain does not only operate in one state at a time, but in fact gives off brain waves of these frequencies all the time.

When I talk about being in these states however, I am referring to the dominant frequency.

Gamma: When your brain is giving off frequencies of greater than 30 Hz, you are in gamma state. This is the state that is most conducive to active learning and information retention.

It is also probably the least studied state. If you need to learn something, consider trying to increase your brain activity before you sit down to study.

This is the state that monks can frequently achieve after years of practice

Beta: This is when we are giving off frequencies between about 12 30 Hz, we are in an alert state and doing normal daily functions like analyzing and planning.

Alpha: This refers to the brain waves that are in the frequency between about 8-12 Hz. This frequency range is associated with conscious reflection and a relaxed state of being. This is often when we are most creative.

Theta: Now we get into where meditation starts. When the brain is giving off waves in the 4-8 Hz range.

It is a state of deep relaxation and awareness. In this state, you have an increased ability to visualize things and solve complex problems creatively.

Delta: When you go down past theta, you are in delta, which is less than 4 Hz. When the brain is in this state, you are often in deep sleep, although some long-time practitioners of meditation can reach this state while awake. This state is associated with healing.

The Big Q: How do you know what state you are in?

The Big A: There are many devices of varying complexity that will measure your brain wave activity or biofeedback devices that will measure your stress level.

Look around and see what suits your needs and budget.

There are many good reasons to practice meditation. In trading terms, it can lead to better concentration, calm under pressure and improved overall performance.

The benefits extend way beyond trading however. You will probably find that you are more relaxed in your everyday life and are able to cope with situations that may have overwhelmed you in the past.

According to a Harvard study, meditation has even been shown toward off disease.

Now that you know how it can benefit you and how it works, take a look at how to meditate properly, as follows:

A Basic Trading Meditation

If you just want something to get started, here is simplest form of meditation that you can do.

Just do it every day for 5 days, see how you feel.

You may have heard of this type of meditation before because it is very popular.

The Key reason thatTranscendental Meditationhas become so popular is because of its simplicity and the fact that it is does not tie itself to any religion or lifestyle.

For people who do not like to sit still, Qi Gong may be a good alternative. It isnt meditation in the more well-known sense, where you sit and close your eyes, but it does provide many of the same benefits.

The idea behind this Taoist practice is that you are cultivating and distributing your bodys energy. You move and breathe in ways that help you become more centered and energized. I do these exercises occasionally and I feel great afterwards.

If you dig deep enough, you will find that almost all of the major world religions practice some form of meditation. Even if you do not believe in the religious part, you can still learn a lot by studying these practices.

Buddhism is the religion most frequently associated with meditation.

Keep in mind that you may have to do some searching to find what works best for you, so do not get discouraged if you do not feel any benefits right away.

Just enjoy the trading meditation process and understand that it is a lifelong endeavor.

Have a terrific week.

benefits, breathe, meditate, meditation, relax, SPY, stress, traders, trading

Paul A. Ebeling, polymath, excels in diverse fields of knowledge. Pattern Recognition Analyst in Equities, Commodities and Foreign Exchange and author of The Red Roadmasters Technical Report on the US Major Market Indices, a highly regarded, weekly financial market letter, he is also a philosopher, issuing insights on a wide range of subjects to a following of over 250,000 cohorts. An international audience of opinion makers, business leaders, and global organizations recognizes Ebeling as an expert.

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Get Started With Trading Meditation - Live Trading News