My thoughts on some news…
- Atlantis
- TeraByte memory cards
- Cool PSU
- Japanese think 2-3 days of battery time is enough
- Alternative to plane tickets?
- WiFi in prison
- Sleep like the dead
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“What is a TeraByte?”
“What is a GigaByte?”
“I’m not even sure if the term is accepted yet”
“What is battery memory effect?”
“What is DEF CON?”
Ireland Is Lost Island of Atlantis, Says Scientist
Interesting enough, but it never explained the “advanced civilization” part of Plato’s claim.
On a personal note, why did they take Plato’s word as the truth in the first place? Not that I doubt him, but as a human being, you could have some “fun” too you know. Plato’s Atlantis may have just been like Tolkein’s Middle Earth.
Though TeraByte storage shouldn’t really a problem considering technology nowadays, the big scoop is that some people are finally releasing single drive TeraByte solutions… moreso in the form of teeny-weeny memory cards
As I said, already a bunch of manufacturers can deliver hardware with such capacity… the problem is how to make the interface address that huge amount of memory efficiently. We already have hard disks at the hundreds of GigaBytes with different speeds and technologies incorporated in an attempt to access such hardware efficiently.
So they’re supposedly ready now. But in the form of solid-state little memory cards such as CFs, MSs, MMCs, SDs, etc. (they plan to call the new card a “?card”). My question is, obviously that will be pretty friggin’ expensive. A 4GB microdrive as of today costs about $500 – imagine packing about 250+ of those for approximately 1 TeraByte. That would mean 500+ 4GB microdrives for a 2TB card! cue fainting
One would also wonder why they skipped the regular hard disk market altogether. You’d think that the demand for space would be in the desktop/server segment.
Probably because having to access a couple of TBs of data at acceptable latencies would mean platters spinning like crazy – does the term thermal death ring any bell? Solid-state solutions seem to be a smart move.
If solid-state devices would just have enough darned bandwidth to match consumer hard disk performance, then we could phase out platter-based hard disks entirely. There’s nothing to lose really – memory cards are sturdier (perfect for archiving) and small (imagine YottaBytes of data in a shoebox!)
Here I go again… I can dream can’t I?
Check out this cool Power Supply Unit (PSU)
I like. Using a 520W myself, but I think that modular action is worth going down a couple of watts.
In this article, the editor mentioned:
Strange, then, that when asked how long theyd like their battery to last the top responses were 2 days and 3 days, both with 27%, with one week coming way down at 11%, below one day (20%). Why not forever? Do these people like charging their phones?
I disagree. For me, it’s the practicality and timing of such. If the battery could last forever (then it wouldn’t be battery anymore would it? But I digress…), then of course anyone would welcome it.
Mobile power is finite, therefore the rule which governs this scenario is “practicality.” Having recharge cycles at strange times is not preferable as it will invade an individual’s “routine.”
I would say that the results of the survey are precisely because of the memory effect issue. People think that it’s better to charge a fully drained battery, ergo, it would be nice to have your battery conk out when you usually end your day. Having battery time that would last more than days on end spark the paranoia in them -what if they “forget?” It’s much easier to plug in your phone at the end of each day, than try to remember when you should or shouldn’t plug it in. Not everyone knows that most batteries nowadays do not suffer from memory effect. Charging a mobile device’s battery anytime, whether charged or drained, no longer has any performance penalty.
So it’s not that they like charging, but are simply misinformed hehehe.
Japan’s main mobile carrier, NTT DoCoMo, seems to be planning to implement ticketless air flights. Of course that wouldn’t work in international flights – you’ll probabaly never get back home; since you don’t have a ticket to show in the other airports.
This has got to be the stupidest thing anybody has ever though of implementing. Controlling and monitoring a supposedly secure facility with a communication standard that can be tapped from anywhere within (or outside, depending on how good you are)? Having the control on a wireless network is simply foolish no matter how good the security measures are. There is no uncrackable system, that has been a fact in technology since time began. If anyone cared enough to break into a system… all anyone needed was TIME.
I think that prison networks, if ever controlled electronically, should be PHYSICALLY connected. You’d have to physically jack in to gain control. You can’t hack into something you don’t have access to. If your inmate was a DEF CON hacker (or any hacker for that matter), then all he probably needs is practically any WiFi enabled device to try to access the system.
I can see it now: “How did he escape? They slipped a PDA in his cake!” hehehehe
Check this out – Can you say claustrophobia?
I also wonder about the sheltering from gas or fire. Granted that they protect you from burning and equipped with a rebreather system. But I really think if you’re that much in danger that you need that bed, then the people after you will also have enough patience to wait for you or figure out a way to kill you. And I think the Mafia who are after you would love that bed. Now they don’t have to put you in cement when dumping you in the river, or get a coffin for you when burying you alive.
But of course I’m exxagerating. I’m sure that this is usually for accidents (e.g. fire, robbery, etc.).