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archive: Nov-Dec 2005
Tech-news archive: November-December 2005
Gel battery boost for radio tags
(Dec 22, 2005)
The new battery technology is expected to be married to radio tags
Japanese company NEC has developed a lightweight, flexible battery
that is less than a millimetre thick and can be recharged in half
a minute. It is called the Organic Radical Battery (ORB) and is based
on a type of plastic that exists in a gel state. The gel allows the
battery to be extremely pliant, with a thickness of 300 microns. ORBs
could eventually be embedded into devices such as smart cards, wearable
computers and intelligent paper.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
New Mexico lands space business
(Dec 18, 2005)
US taxpayers will foot the bill for a planned $225m (£127m) spaceport
that Virgin Galactic will use to launch its space tourism business,
under a plan unveiled on Wednesday. New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson
said he will ask state legislators for $100m (£56.4m) over three years
to build the commercial base in Upham. The rest of the money would
come from local towns and the federal government. The towns can expect
to be richly rewarded for their investments.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Data disasters dog computer users
(Dec 6, 2005)
Dozy dads and art accidents feature in an annual list of top 10 data
disasters compiled by computer experts. One incident involved a dog
that used a USB flash drive as a chew toy and almost ate all its owner's
data. Also featured is a PC enthusiast who turned his hard drive into
a box of spare parts when he tried to recover data himself. But top
of the list is an old laptop containing key company data that was
found filled with cockroach corpses.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
3G industry optimistic for 2006
(Nov 28, 2005)
3G stands for third generation, which, put simply, is broadband for
your mobile. However, much of the hype around the services it offers
— including video, picture messaging, and accessing the internet
— has not been realised in past years. Despite all the fancy
offerings, it turns out that most people use their phones to make
telephone calls and send the occasional text. In Europe voice is the
clear revenue winner, closely followed by text. But we only spend
an average of 1 euro a month on all the other services put together.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Console wars: Which is best?
(Nov 25, 2005)
As Microsoft unleashes its Xbox 360, gamers face a difficult decision
— whether to buy the new machine or wait for the next gen consoles
from Sony and Nintendo. Three game journalists present the case for
their console of choice. Xbox 360 is the first console to take advantage
of the new high definition standard. All games made for the console
will run in this new widescreen graphical format which, if you have
the correct screen, is the biggest leap forward for games graphics
since the first home 3D games in 1995.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
Living camera uses bacteria to capture image
(Nov 24, 2005)
A dense bed of light-sensitive bacteria has been developed as a unique
kind of photographic film. Although it takes 4 hours to take a picture
and only works in red light, it also delivers extremely high resolution.
The “living camera” uses light to switch on genes in a genetically
modified bacterium that then cause an image-recording chemical to
darken. The bacteria are tiny, allowing the sensor to deliver a resolution
of 100 megapixels per square inch.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
The ideas interview: Ray Kurzweil
(Nov 21, 2005)
Ray Kurzweil has enormous faith in science. He takes 250 dietary supplements
every day. He is sure computers will make him much, much cleverer
within decades. He won't rule out being able to live for ever. Even
if medical technology cannot prevent the life passing from his body,
he thinks there is a good chance he will be able to secure immortality
by downloading the contents of his enhanced brain before he dies.
What is more, he says, his predictions have tended to come true. "You
can predict certain aspects of the future."
Read
more. Source: Guardian |
Digital cameras: Choosing the right one
for you
(Nov 18, 2005)
You're pushing a trolley through the supermarket when you spot a pyramid
of digital cameras, piled up high and selling cheap. Or you might
be browsing online when up flashes a special offer on the latest five-megapixel
camera. Should you join the digital revolution and snap up a new snapper,
or will your ageing film camera last another holiday? Before you take
the plunge, look beyond the price with exclamation marks and consider
just what going digital involves.
Read
more. Source: Independent |
Supercomputers set processor pace
(Nov 14, 2005)
IBM's Blue Gene/L supercomputer has kept its position as the most
powerful number cruncher in the world. Its hold on the top slot was
revealed in the latest list of the Top 500 supercomputers on Earth.
Blue Gene/L was top of the biannually produced list because in June
2005 it set a new world record performance of 280.6 trillion calculations
per second. It could head supercomputer rankings for a while as it
has still not reached its maximum possible performance.
Read
more. Source: BBC |
US military sets laser PHASRs to stun
(Nov 8, 2005)
The US government has unveiled a "non-lethal" laser rifle designed
to dazzle enemy personnel without causing them permanent harm. But
the device will require close scrutiny to ensure compliance with a
United Nations protocol on blinding laser weapons. The Personnel Halting
and Stimulation Response (PHASR) rifle was developed at the Air Force
Research Laboratory in New Mexico, US, and two prototypes have been
delivered to military bases in Texas and Virginia for further testing.
The US Department of Defense (DoD) believes the weapon could be used,
for example, to temporarily blind suspects who drive through a roadblock.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
Silicon chip works on the speed of light
(Nov 3, 2005)
A silicon chip that can carry light and even slow it down has been
unveiled by IBM researchers in the US. The chip demonstrates some
of the essential techniques for creating high-speed photonic memory,
which many researchers believe will one day make electronic memory
obsolete in optical communications networks. Engineers have known
for decades that it is more efficient to communicate with photons
than electrons. Photons do not interact easily with stray electronic
and magnetic fields nor with each other and so are better for long-distance
communications. Today most of the world's communications networks
rely on light and the optical fibres that carry it.
Read
more. Source: New Scientist |
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