By Rik Myslewski, 20th February 2009
Researchers have developed a breakthrough storage technology capable of squeezing the contents of 250 DVDs onto a disk the size of a quarter. The technique involves using the self-assembly properties of chemically dissimilar polymer chains to array themselves into ludicrously dense but perfectly regular formations. Working with co-lead investigator Thomas Russell of UMass Amherst, Ting Xu of the University of California at Berkeley was able to create defect-free arrays with cell sizes as small as three nanometers. Three-nanometer domains could theoretically create storage densities of 10 terabytes per square inch. Compare that density to the record 803 gigabytes per square inch achieved in rarified testing of perpendicular magnetic recording technology at TDK's labs, and this new technique has the potential for increasing storage densities by 12.5 times over that record.
Read more here -->Link
Friday, February 20, 2009
Intel replies to solid-state drive 'slowness' critique
by Brooke Crothers February 19, 2009
After a technology review site claimed Intel solid-state drives slow considerably after extended use, Intel said it has not been able to duplicate the results. SSDs have been gaining in popularity because independent testing done to date has typically shown that SSDs--especially the newest generation of drives--outpeform hard disk drives. A review, however, entitled "Long-term performance analysis of Intel Mainstream SSDs" on technology Web site PC Perspectives claimed, among other things, that the Intel X25-M solid-state drive may degrade in performance as a result of "internal fragmentation" and that "a 'used' X25-M will always perform worse than a 'new' one" and, in some cases, drives "would drop to significantly below manufacturer specs." The reviewers claimed that they made an effort to reproduce real-world scenarios. "Dozens of different scenarios were played out on our drives. XP / Vista installs, repeated application / game installs, batch copying of files...were all liberally applied to the X25-M." The review concluded that "all three of our SSDs suffered a drop in performance regardless of the type of workload applied to them."
Read more here -->Link
After a technology review site claimed Intel solid-state drives slow considerably after extended use, Intel said it has not been able to duplicate the results. SSDs have been gaining in popularity because independent testing done to date has typically shown that SSDs--especially the newest generation of drives--outpeform hard disk drives. A review, however, entitled "Long-term performance analysis of Intel Mainstream SSDs" on technology Web site PC Perspectives claimed, among other things, that the Intel X25-M solid-state drive may degrade in performance as a result of "internal fragmentation" and that "a 'used' X25-M will always perform worse than a 'new' one" and, in some cases, drives "would drop to significantly below manufacturer specs." The reviewers claimed that they made an effort to reproduce real-world scenarios. "Dozens of different scenarios were played out on our drives. XP / Vista installs, repeated application / game installs, batch copying of files...were all liberally applied to the X25-M." The review concluded that "all three of our SSDs suffered a drop in performance regardless of the type of workload applied to them."
Read more here -->Link
Dell Mini 10 Officially Unveiled
By Shane McGlaun - February 20, 2009
The netbook market is booming despite many claims that netbooks are cannibalizing sales of more profitable notebook computers. All the major computer makers including Dell, HP, and Lenovo are offering netbooks with the only major holdout being Apple. When Dell launched its Inspiron Mini netbook line, the firm started with a 9-inch netbook and then followed the Mini 9 with the larger Mini 12. With these two machines, Dell skirted what many believe to be the netbook sweet spot in the 10-inch size range. Dell has addressed this hole in their lineup with the official introduction today of the Dell Mini 10. The machine uses a 10.1-inch WSVGA edge-to-edge widescreen display. The keyboard is 92% of full size and the machine weighs 2.86 pounds overall. The touchpad uses multi-touch and supports gestures for easy navigation.
Read more here -->Link
The netbook market is booming despite many claims that netbooks are cannibalizing sales of more profitable notebook computers. All the major computer makers including Dell, HP, and Lenovo are offering netbooks with the only major holdout being Apple. When Dell launched its Inspiron Mini netbook line, the firm started with a 9-inch netbook and then followed the Mini 9 with the larger Mini 12. With these two machines, Dell skirted what many believe to be the netbook sweet spot in the 10-inch size range. Dell has addressed this hole in their lineup with the official introduction today of the Dell Mini 10. The machine uses a 10.1-inch WSVGA edge-to-edge widescreen display. The keyboard is 92% of full size and the machine weighs 2.86 pounds overall. The touchpad uses multi-touch and supports gestures for easy navigation.
Read more here -->Link
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)