Evidently undeterred by their potential susceptibility to being hacked, scientists the world over are working hard to create viable quantum computing platforms. A Japanese team claim to have made progress towards creating controllably coupled qubits (which is even harder to achieve than it is to say quickly); a European group are proposing a system based in the interaction of laser light with metallic structures in a ring shape; and an Australian crew have developed a theory that implies it would be possible to make photons of light that behave as solid particles, which could lead to the cracking of hitherto insoluble quantum problems. It’s good to know that progress is marching on, even if the details are way over your head.