Advances in Computers thread

[ScienceRocks]

Seagate packs 2 TB of storage into 7 mm-thick laptop hard drive
By Darren Quick - September 2, 2015

When it comes to data storage capacity, too much is never enough. But Seagate is doing its best to sate people's craving for gigabytes on the go by announcing the world's highest capacity 2.5-inch hard drive. Equaling the 2 TB capacity of the Samsung Spinpoint M9T that the company unveiled back in 2013, the new drive is 2.5 mm thinner than that unit, stretching the calipers to just 7 mm.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Quantum computing will bring immense processing possibilities

The one thing everyone knows about quantum mechanics is its legendary weirdness, in which the basic tenets of the world it describes seem alien to the world we live in. Superposition, where things can be in two states simultaneously, a switch both on and off, a cat both dead and alive. Or entanglement, what Einstein called "spooky action-at-distance" in which objects are invisibly linked, even when separated by huge distances.

But weird or not, quantum theory is approaching a century old and has found many applications in daily life. As John von Neumann once said: "You don't understand quantum mechanics, you just get used to it." Much of electronics is based on quantum physics, and the application of quantum theory to computing could open up huge possibilities for the complex calculations and data processing we see today.
Imagine a computer processor able to harness super-position, to calculate the result of an arbitrarily large number of permutations of a complex problem simultaneously. Imagine how entanglement could be used to allow systems on different sides of the world to be linked and their efforts combined, despite their physical separation. Quantum computing has immense potential, making light work of some of the most difficult tasks, such as simulating the body's response to drugs, predicting weather patterns, or analysing big datasets.
Such processing possibilities are needed. The first transistors could only just be held in the hand, while today they measure just 14 nm – 500 times smaller than a red blood cell. This relentless shrinking, predicted by Intel founder Gordon Moore as Moore's law, has held true for 50 years, but cannot hold indefinitely. Silicon can only be shrunk so far, and if we are to continue benefiting from the performance gains we have become used to, we need a different approach.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Squishy transistors: a device concept for fast, low-power electronics

An international team of researchers from the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), IBM the University of Edinburgh and Auburn University have shown that a new device concept - a 'squishy' transistor - can overcome the predicted power bottleneck caused by CMOS (complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor) technology reaching its fundamental limits. Moore's law predicted that the number of transistors able to fit on a given die area would double every two years. As transistor density doubled, chip size shrank and processing speeds increased. This march of progress led to rapid advances in information technology and a surge in the number of interconnected devices. The challenge with making anything smaller is that there are fundamental physical limits that can't be ignored and we are now entering the final years of CMOS transistor shrinkage. Furthermore, this proliferation is driving an increase in data volume, accompanied by rising demands on energy to process, store and communicate it all; as a result, IT infrastructure now draws an estimated 10 % of the world's electrical power. Previous efforts have focused on remediation by reducing the amount of energy per bit. However, soon we will hit a power barrier that will prevent continued voltage scaling. The development of novel, low-power devices based on different physical principles is therefore crucial to the continued evolution of IT.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Wacom Bamboo Spark creates digital copies of written notes – no special paper required

• Ben Coxworth
• September 3, 2015
• 9 PICTURES

If you want a smartpen – which digitizes your handwriting and transmits it to a computer or mobile device – you currently have your choice of models including the Neo Smartpen N2, the LiveScribe Sky or the Orée Stylograph. All of those pens, however, require you to use special paper that's unique to that particular product. By contrast, Wacom's just-announced Bamboo Spark system works with a non-electronic pen and whatever A5-sized paper you've got on hand.

Samsung Gear S2: Hands-on

• Chris Wood
• September 3, 2015
• 14 PICTURES

Samsung's newly announced Gear S2 smartwatch is instantly appealing. It offers a compelling combination of touch and physical controls, a sharp colorful interface and two distinct flavors of hardware. Read on for Gizmag's full hands-on impressions.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Ricoh ups the resolution of spherical photography with Theta S

• Simon Crisp
• September 3, 2015
• 12 PICTURES

With faster lenses, larger image sensors and increased resolution, the new Ricoh Theta S, which was launched today at IFA 2015, is a decidedly more grown-up version of the quirky spherical camera. The new model can shoot more detailed spherical photos, and its 360-degree videos are now recorded in Full HD 1920 x 1080 at 30 fps (frames per second).

 

[ScienceRocks]

Intel invests US$50 million in quantum-computing research

Intel announced today (Thursday Sept. 3) an investment of $50 million and “significant engineering resources” inquantum computing research, in a 10-year collaborative relationship with the Delft University of Technology and TNO, the Dutch Organisation for Applied Research.
“A fully functioning quantum computer is at least a dozen years away, but the practical and theoretical research efforts we’re announcing today mark an important milestone in the journey to bring it closer to reality,” said Mike Mayberry, Intel vice president and managing director of Intel Labs.
Infographic: Quantum Computing
The Promise of Quantum Computing By Intel CEO Brian Krzanichg

 

[ScienceRocks]

5G technology to 'transform the world': Huawei vice president

Speaking at the 29th meeting for "Telecommunications and the Digital Economy" in the Spanish city of Santander, he highlighted Huawei was backing the new technology "because it will help us overcome the challenges which cannot be fully faced with existing technology", Xinhua news agency reported.
SEE ALSO: Sony Xperia Z5 vs Sony Xperia Z5 Premium: Which Is The Best?
Ji on Thursday said Huawei was "playing a leading role in the definition and promotion of 5G in the world and had contributed actively to the 5G ecosystem".
He added 5G would allow for new applications, while allowing for new business models and even new industry, although needing massive investment from companies looking to develop it.
SEE ALSO: Sony Shines At IFA 2015: Top 6 Devices Launched
"Only in this way can we understand the shared needs for 5G networks in all vertical industries. We should let the needs of business lead the elaboration of the rules surrounding the innovation in technology and convert the 5G networks into the key factor for the future industrial revolution," said Ji.

Printable holograms will enable holographic lens telescopes and smart windows

Researchers have developed a method for printing optical holographic lenses that could greatly simplify their fabrication. Because the method can be performed quickly and easily, it could potentially be used by astronauts to print lenses while in space for holographic lens telescopes. While current holographic lens fabrication methods are...

 

[ScienceRocks]

Intel 6th generation core processor for triple batterey life and 2.5 times better performance

Intel Corporation introduced the 6th Generation Intel® Core™ processor family, the company's best processors ever. The launch marks a turning point in people's relationship with computers. The 6th Gen Intel Core processors deliver enhanced performance and new immersive experiences at the lowest power levels ever and also support the broadest...

 

[ScienceRocks]

Verizon to start testing 5G in the U.S. in 2016

We usually talk about seeing "5G," the next big jump in mobile data speeds, coming online around 2020 or later. But Verizon Wireless says it's ready to start testing its next generation network in 2016.

The largest wireless carrier in the U.S. is teaming up with Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm and Samsung to develop and test the technology in sandboxed environments at the company's "innovation centers" in San Francisco and Waltham, Massachusetts as well as launch field trials next year.

"5G is no longer a dream of the distant future," said Verizon Executive Vice President Roger Gurnani in a statement. "We feel a tremendous sense of urgency to push forward."

Samsung has a 4K Blu-ray player coming in 2016

• Chris Wood
• September 8, 2015
• 5 PICTURES

Samsung's new player supports 4K Blu-ray playback, giving users more to watch on their glossy new panels. The product, which was announced at the IFA show in Berlin, will also support upscaling and streaming services.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Philippines to Roll Out Nationwide Free Wi-Fi Service by 2016

The Philippines is planning free Wi-Fi services to half of its towns and cities this year and nationwide coverage by end-2016, limiting the data revenue prospects for Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and Globe Telecom Inc.
The free Internet service will cost the government about 1.5 billion pesos ($32 million) a year and will be available in areas such as public schools, hospitals, airports and parks, said Monchito Ibrahim, deputy executive director of the Information and Communications Technology Office.
“If subscribers move to using free public Wi-Fi, telecoms may need to lure them into getting higher-end services,” Ibrahim said in a Sept. 4 interview in Makati City, referring to the country’s two main phone companies. The government’s “focus is on areas that absolutely don’t have access.”

The new service is expected to push data charges lower in the Philippines. Access to the Internet costs about $18 a megabit per second in the country, more than three times the global average of $5, according to research firm International Data Corp. or IDC.

I wish we could do this!

 

[ScienceRocks]

As Expected Apple Unveils iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus

The Apple iPhone 6S will be available in silver, gold, rose gold and space grey. The Apple 6S Plus returns with a 5.5-inch display. Both boast a new glass that's "incredibly durable," says Schiller. Apple confirms 3D Touch, a new way to interact with the phone. It's pressure sensitive, so it will read your inputs based on how hard or soft...

 

[ScienceRocks]

Samsung will double the memory of high end smartphones to 6 Gigabytes

Samsung Electronics announced that it is mass producing the industry’s first 12-gigabit (Gb) LPDDR4 (low power, double data rate 4) mobile DRAM, based on its advanced 20-nanometer (nm) process technology. The newest LPDDR4 is expected to significantly accelerate the adoption of high capacity mobile DRAM worldwide. The 12Gb LPDDR4 brings...

 

[ScienceRocks]

HandyCase lets users operate mobile devices from both sides

• Stanley Goodner
• September 9, 2015
• 4 PICTURES

Despite the rapid advancement of smartphones and tablets, accessory makers continually find new ways to enhance the mobile device experience. No longer are cases and covers just for rugged protection, as many provide additional features on top of that. Handscape is set to change how people interact with devices. The company's HandyCase is designed to let users operate touchscreens with fingers set behind the device.

 

[ScienceRocks]

World's First Compact 300 GHz Receiver for Wireless Communications of Tens of Gigabits per Second

Fujitsu Limited and Fujitsu Laboratories announced the development of the world's first 300 GHz band compact receiver capable of high-speed wireless communications at a rate of several tens of gigabits per second. Radio signals with a frequency greater than 100GHz, called the terahertz band, allow for increases in usable frequency range...

 

[ScienceRocks]

Functional carbon nanotube integrated circuits: a breakthrough

Dealing with environmental degradation

Northwestern University engineers say that have finally found the key to practical use of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in integrated circuits. Individual transistors made from CNTs are faster and more energy-efficient and reliable than those made from other materials.
The problem. But making the leap to wafer-scale integrated circuits (a microprocessor typically has a billion transistors) is a challenge. The process is incredibly expensive, often requiring billion-dollar cleanrooms to keep the delicate nano-sized components safe from the potentially damaging effects of air, water, and dust.
And researchers have struggled to create a carbon nanotube-based integrated circuit in which the transistors are spatially uniform across the material, which is needed for the overall system to work.
The solution. Now Hersam and his team have found a key to solving all these issues: newly developed encapsulation layers that protect carbon nanotubes from environmental degradation

 

[ScienceRocks]

MIT researchers unveil new approach that could help enable chips with thousands of cores

Researchers from MIT have unveiled the first fundamentally new approach to cache coherence in more than three decades, a memory-management scheme that could help enable chips with thousands of cores.
In a modern, multicore chip, every core — or processor — has its own small memory cache, where it stores frequently used data. But the chip also has a larger, shared cache, which all the cores can access.
If one core tries to update data in the shared cache, other cores working on the same data need to know. So the shared cache keeps a directory of which cores have copies of which data.
That directory takes up a significant chunk of memory: In a 64-core chip, it might be 12 percent of the shared cache. And that percentage will only increase with the core count. Envisioned chips with 128, 256, or even 1,000 cores will need a more efficient way of maintaining cache coherence.
At the International Conference on Parallel Architectures and Compilation Techniques in October, MIT researchers unveil the first fundamentally new approach to cache coherence in more than three decades. Whereas with existing techniques, the directory’s memory allotment increases in direct proportion to the number of cores, with the new approach, it increases according to the logarithm of the number of cores.
In a 128-core chip, that means that the new technique would require only one-third as much memory as its predecessor. With Intel set to release a 72-core high-performance chip in the near future, that’s a more than hypothetical advantage. But with a 256-core chip, the space savings rises to 80 percent, and with a 1,000-core chip, 96 percent.
When multiple cores are simply reading data stored at the same location, there’s no problem. Conflicts arise only when one of the cores needs to update the shared data. With a directory system, the chip looks up which cores are working on that data and sends them messages invalidating their locally stored copies of it.
“Directories guarantee that when a write happens, no stale copies of the data exist,” says Xiangyao Yu, an MIT graduate student in electrical engineering and computer science and first author on the new paper. “After this write happens, no read to the previous version should happen. So this write is ordered after all the previous reads in physical-time order.”

 

[ScienceRocks]

Terahertz breakthrough opens pathway for 100x faster Wi-Fi

There isn’t much worse than a slow, buffering Wi-Fi connection, but all that could end thanks to the development of terahertz wireless networks.
A group of researchers has just reported a breakthrough in communications technology that could open up more research on wireless networks capable of providing connectivity at 100x the speed of what we’ve got today.
Hailing from Brown University, the researchers have cracked a way to create multiplex terahertz waves – making it possible for separate streams of data to be sent through the waves – for the first time.
The process is crucial to developing a communications system that is capable of replacing microwaves in our mobile and Wi-Fi networks, which are increasingly having to handle more data.
Daniel Mittleman, one of the Brown University researchers who worked on the project, said that his team is building a prototype terahertz network to further experiment with the tech.
“Any terahertz communications application is going to need some form of multiplexing and demultiplexing,” Mittleman said.

 

[ScienceRocks]

Zuckerberg says ‘Dislike’ button is finally coming to Facebook http://www.talkandroid.com/265117-zuckerberg-says-dislike-button-is-finally-coming-to-facebook/…

 

[waltky]

Matthew wrote: Radio signals with a frequency greater than 100GHz, called the terahertz band...

A terahertz would be 1000 GHz...

... possum workin' on hookin' up a linear accelerator to his computer...

... should push out a couple o' gazillahertz.

 

[longknife]

Zuckerberg says ‘Dislike’ button is finally coming to Facebook http://www.talkandroid.com/265117-zuckerberg-says-dislike-button-is-finally-coming-to-facebook/…

Now if we could only get a Dislike button here!!!!!