Hard Drives To Commit Suicide: Samsung Brings In 32GB NAND SSD

Samsung has announced the 32GB NAND flash-based solid state disk (SSD), changing the way we used to look at storage. So, the question is: Has the time come for the rotating, noicy and power consuming hard drives to pack their bags?The fate of hard drive depends on future developments, but it is certain that Samsung has opened a window (and a pretty big one) for the entry of the NAND flash memory into the notebook and mobile PC market.The 32GB Flash-SSD is free from any motor or mechanical parts and weighs about half as much as a comparably-sized hard drive. The data reading capacity of the drive is three times that of 'traditional' hard drives and it writes 1.5 times faster than conventional hard drives.

Anti-fog radar for aircrafts

Delays in flights due to fog are common in winters in Delhi. To counter this problem, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) ha begun installing a radar system that would allow aircraft movement in dense fog. Once the radar system is installed, transponders on top of all vehicles moving in the technical area will beam their location to the air traffic control (ATC), ensuring a safe passaeg for the aircraft.
The existsng landing system is restricted to a runway visibility range of up to 200 metres. With the radar in place, landings and take-offs will be possible even if visibility falls to 50 metres.

Wireless broadband

Midas communication technologies has launched the CorDECT wireless broadband system for mass deployment. The system uses ETSI DECT air interface with extensions for wireless-in-local-loop service and delivers simultaneous voice and dedicated always on broadband access at a speed upto 256 kbps and toll qunatity voice of 32kbps ADPCM. It can also be used as an access network to transparently support all feautures provided by local exchange on V5.2.
The system has been designed to enable the users to easily adapt to various customer requirement like voice, data and vedio services. It also supports e-mail/chat and sms without a computer or mobile service.

Robotic camel riders

The child like robotic riders developed by the Swiss company K-Team are expected to end the exploitation of young boys by Qatar's rulers as camel jockeys. The $10,000 robotic rider wieghs 27 kg and stands 60cm tall.
The robot is strspped to the camel. A camel handler follws th rider in a vehicle and uses a joystick on the laptop size remote to issue forward, backward, sideways and whip actions. The robot, in turn, uses these commands to drive the camel.
The robot is also equipped with a global positioning system sattelite beacon and shock observers for the rough ride.

Sound weapon

Sonic weapons, developed after Al Queda's attack on USS Cole off Yemen, could be used to deter would-be aggressors. The High pitched warning tone generated by the weapon can cause nausea or fainting, while people outside the beam remain unaffected.
The weapon, a long range acoustic device (LRAD), is loudhailer and warning system that allows military and police authorities to control crowds and clear buildings. It can provide amazing voice and tone clarity in a 15 to 30 degree beam at distances over 300 metres using only two amperes of power. In addition to microphone input, it can communicate in various languages via the built in MP3 player or phraselator.
Two ultrasonic wawes generated by the weapon travel at slightly different frequencies and combine on meeting the target object or person to reproduce original sound with almost no loss of clarity.

Hi-tech gadgets

Days of speaker seemed numbered. The reason: Bangalore based Hi-tech solutions has come up with a gadget that transforms furniture into a sounding surface. Priced just at Rs 3500, it can be used by malls to announce their wares and attract shoppers.
Among other innovative products developed by the company is a digital e-pen that incorporates a mini transmitter at its head to communicate the strokes of the writer to the computer. E-pen is used with the mobile e-notes Taker to transfer written words to the computer over LAN, e-mail or instant messaging. The e-notes Taker costs Rs 10500, while the e-pen costs Rs 7500.
a cigerette lighter shaped device from Hi-tech solutions projects a full keyboard onto a flat surface. It can be used with bluetooth enabled mobiles, PCs or PDAs.

Camera that emails photos

You may no longer require PC to e-mail your pictures. A new camera from Kodak will let you e-mail high-quality images and store the shots automatically in an online image bank. The camera, named EasyShare-one, will directly connect to the internet via a public Wi-Fi hotspot or a home Wi-Fi system.

Replacement of silicon chips

Silicon chips may soon get replaced with new devices based on Mott insulator. Developed by a team of South Korean researchers lead y Kim Hyun-tak of the Electronics & Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), the Mott insulator named after a Noble Physics Prize winner, can conduct electricity at low temparatures of 67 celceius when subjected to a high-voltage shock.
Silicon has a drawback in that it generates heat, rendering it impossile to place ultra-thin circuits on chips. On the other hand, Mott does not generate heat under similar situations.

Robotic housekeeper

Need a domestic help? Consider the 1m tall humanoid robot from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Japan. Named 'Wakamaru' after budding Sumurai warriors, the robot can function as a housekeeper, caretaker for the elderly, security guard and secretary.
The robot, being sold in Japan, can recognize upto 10 faces and converse using a 10,000-word vocabulary. When you are away from home, it can alert you via phone or e-mail of situations like burglary. Wakamaru is also programmed to remind patients to take medication or call emergency service when required.

Your face can open doors

In public places visitors are usually checked in by tickets. In future, you will only need to show your face, an innovative security system from Bosch recognise you as pass.
Electronic facial recording scans the face at a higher resolution using a flexible, tightly-meshed grid. 2200 points on the face are precisely analysed. the face recognition system calculates theese points and uses them to create a characteristic grid within a few seconds. The geometry of this grid is then compared with the calculationpoints saved in the database. If the facial data match, the visitor is allowed to enter.

65nm ASICs

IBM has rolled out a pair of 65nm Application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), including a low power offering for the wireless,mobile consumer electronics markets.
The ASICs are based in the company's Cu-65 process technology, which is equipped with copper interconnects, low k-dielectrics, strained silicon and other feautures.the technology is said to reduce leakage by upto 30 times from the company's previous 90nm ASIC offering. It also increases performance as much as 20 percent over the previous offering.

Smallest blue laser module.

Oxxius, a french start-up claims to have developed the world's smallest blue laser module.Measuring only 50x44x25 mm, the diode-pumped solidstste (DPSS) laser outputs upto 50 mW at a wawelength of 473nm. the product is called the SLIM-473.
According to Thierry Georges, Oxxius' founder and CEO, the laser is an ideal replacement for argon-ion lasers used in biomedical applicationssuchn as cytometry and microscopy.

New circuit boards for pc's

A new circuit board using fibre optics could dramatically increase a computer's data trnsmission speed.The board has been developed by Park Hyo-Hoon, a professor at south korea's informatoin and communications university in Daejeon, and Lee Yong-Tak, a professor of Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology.
With the introduction of pentium IV chips, the data processing speed of a computer's CPU has improved dramatically, but data trnsmission is hampered by bottlenecks occurring in other parts of the circuit board.
Theese bottlenecks do not occur on the new PCB because of the use of optical fibres. With the new technology, it takes only one second to tranmit a one hour vedio clip of high-definition television, while the existing technology takes ten seconds.

Computer implants on human body

"Technological advances will one day allow computers to be implanted in the human body and could help the blind to see and the deaf hear",says microsoft chairman Bill gates.The fantacy is comming closer to reality as computers learn to interact with human charactristics such as voices touch and even smell.
Cochlear implants and other medical implants are already being used to treat hearing problems and some conditions that cause constant pain.Cochlear implants, will employ digital pulses that the brain interprets as sound, help profoundly deaf people hear.Advances are also being made on implants that can help fix eyesight problems.

Mobile on air

Seimens has joined hands with French aircraft manufacturer Airbus to develop a GSM solution that allows use of mobile sets for communication or internet surfing while flying across the continents.The product would be launched in 2006, with Siemens providing the technology and Airbus taking charge of its integration in the aircraft.

High-speed internet on power lines

Broadband companies are planning to use power lines to offer high-speed internet connections.The consumers will have to plug a special adapter into a wall outlet to avail the internet service.
To deliver broadband over electric lines, IBM has joined hands with Centerpoint, a utility company based in Houston.To test and demonstrate the technology,the two companies are jointly going to open a technology centre in Houston.A pilot programme will also be started by Centerpoint in 220 houses of Houston.

Dual veiw monitor

Sharp has developed a liquid crystal display(LCD) that shows two different images to people viewing the screen from the left and the right sides.This means one can surf the internet using the display on one side as a pc screen , while you can watch TV on the other side of the screen.Alternatively two TV channels can also be watched at the same time.

Broadband distribution of movies

To help the gap between film makers and film fans and also put a check on piracy, intel is contemplating distribution of first-run movies over the internet. For the purpose it has joined hand with veteraan actor Morgan Freeman's Revelations Entertainment to form a digital entertainment company called Clickstar.
Clickstar will create an online service in which customers can access, pay and download first-run,pre-dvd-release films and artist created entertainment channels in their homes.

Molecular transistors

Transistors are a key component of electronic devices. By shrinking their size to molecular level, researchers at university of Alberta & university of Liverpool have discovered a way to make faster miniaturised gadgets.
Todays faster transistors need around one million electrons to switch a current. in the new discovery, current flows through a single molecule a billionth of a metre, or nanometre, in size & only one electron is needed to make the switch.
With molecular transistors , devices like medical diagnostic eqipment could run faster & more cheaply on a smaller scale.

Nano electronic memory

Researchers at philips electronics have come up with a semiconducting alloy called antimony/tellurium to integrate memory in very advanced semiconductors feauturing very thin circuits.
The new material needs only a tiny voltage to switch between 'on' & 'off' states, which is used to 'remember' the data stored on a chip. this makes it useful for future chips that will have thinner & smaller circuits & work with lower power levels than current chips.
The material will remember the data after the power of the chip has been switched off, similar to today's flash memory chips used in portable music players & digital cameras.