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Computer
NIST develops the world's first two-qubit programmable quantum computer
19:55 November 17, 2009 PST
In a paper recently published on Nature Physics, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) documented the implementation and verification of a two-qubit quantum computer that, according to researchers, is a truly general-purpose machine and could soon be used as a building block for much larger quantum computers. Read More
litl webbook aims to be a big deal for the household
By Darren Quick
21:03 November 15, 2009 PST
The creators of the litl webbook have designed everything, including the hardware, software and operating system, to make it easy for users to blend “lean-forward” web-based content with “lean back” TV-like viewing of photos and other digital content. Aimed at every member of the family, the litl can be used as a regular laptop and the display also flips through 180 degrees into easel mode, which allows it to stand upright like a digital photo frame. Read More
Esquire magazine to release augmented reality edition
By Paul Ridden
15:04 November 15, 2009 PST
After experimenting with things like origami (May edition) and e-ink (October 2008 edition), Esquire magazine is running a special "augmented reality" edition in December where readers use custom-designed software and a webcam to interact with the pages being viewed and get access to 3D animated video content. Read More
AsusTek unveils the ESC 1000 - 1.1 teraflop ‘personal supercomputer’
By Paul Lester
19:26 October 29, 2009 PDT
Goodbye to the days when supercomputers had to fill a room and welcome Asus, purveyor of all things Eee and its first ever supercomputer - the ESC 1000. Produced in conjunction with NVIDIA and the National Chiao Tung university in Taiwan, the desktop-sized machine is capable of speeds up to a mighty 1.1 teraflops, which may pale in comparison to the petaflop Roadrunner, but then so does the footprint. Read More
Pocket projector meets handheld computer - the Allcam CP1
By Jeff Salton
17:24 October 28, 2009 PDT
Allcam has crammed a lot of technology into a very small space to create the CP1 - a handheld computer/pico projector that runs Windows CE and is designed for the business professional who conducts presentations on-the-fly. It's got a built-in mouse-pad, but it also has mini-USB connector for keyboard and mouse (or any other USB device). There's also it a speaker, around four hours of battery life and it weighs just under 1kg (2.2lbs). Read More
Apple iMac updates - new features including 27-inch widescreen model
By Jeff Salton
01:16 October 21, 2009 PDT
We’ve featured plenty of news lately about updates to laptops but here’s news for Mac-lovers who like their computers to "stay at home". Apple has unveiled an all-new iMac range featuring bigger and brighter LED-backlit 21.5 and 27-inch widescreen displays in a new edge-to-edge glass design and seamless all-aluminum enclosure. Apple says the new models are the fastest iMac’s ever, with Intel Core 2 Duo processors starting at 3.06GHz, and Core i5 and i7 quad-core processors for extra performance. What’s more, new iMacs come with a wireless keyboard and the all-new wireless Magic Mouse, the world’s first mouse with Multi-Touch technology pioneered by Apple on the iPhone. Read More
10/GUI the human computer interface of the future for people with more than two fingers
By Darren Quick
03:43 October 14, 2009 PDT
Those old enough to remember the command line interfaces of yesteryear are only too aware of what a godsend the Graphical User Interfaces (GUI) of today are. However, the human computer interface (HCI) developed in the 1970s at Xerox PARC, combining a desktop metaphor GUI and mouse controller, has remained largely unchanged ever since. Now R. Clayton Miller proposes the next step in the evolution of HCI's with his 10/GUI concept that harnesses the power of multi-touch by removing the touch surface from the screen. Read More
New advances in excitonics promise faster computers
16:44 October 1, 2009 PDT
Much of today's research in electronics is geared towards obtaining faster computing and higher communication speeds. Researchers at UC San Diego are no exception, and have recently announced they have made another important step towards achieving exciton-based computation at room temperatures. Excitonics exploits the unique properties of excitons instead of the usual electrons, and promises much faster performance by interfacing more naturally with optical communications such as fiber optics. Read More
Cyber 'ants' patrol PC networks against computer worms and other threats
00:46 September 29, 2009 PDT
In looking for highly efficient ways to solve complex problems, we've often seen researchers mimic the solutions found by nature over billions of years: smart fabrics inspired by pine cones, spectrum analyzers modeled after the human ear and powerful search-and-optimization genetic and evolutionary algorithms, to name just a few. The latest piece of news comes from Wake Forest University, where the group dynamics of ant colonies have inspired security software to fight computer worms and other threats. Read More
New computer tool could lead to better crops and safer pesticides
By Jeff Salton
21:11 September 23, 2009 PDT
Researchers engaged in developing new strains of crops, such as drought-resistant wheat and new pesticides that are more environmentally-friendly, are also creating a computing tool that could help scientists predict how plants will react to different environmental conditions. It’s hoped their findings will help create better crops, such as tastier and longer-lasting tomatoes. Read More
The multimedia Athena sofa
By Jude Garvey
17:19 September 20, 2009 PDT
Call me crazy, but isn’t a sofa meant to be a place of relaxation? Apparently, it’s not any more. Swiss-based Artanova has created a modern, upholstered sofa that incorporates multimedia into its design. Featuring creamy upholstery and stainless steel feet, this is one stylish-looking piece of furniture on its own, but it also boasts a computer, wireless MP3 player and iPod/iPhone dock, as well as subwoofer and loudspeakers. Read More
Freeze your hard disk with the USB Windows Icebox
15:16 September 20, 2009 PDT
Almost every PC user knows about the importance of making regular data backups — often from their own, unfortunate personal experience. But, due to laziness and technical difficulties, only a small percentage of users actually performs regular maintenance other than updating antivirus software. The Windows IceBox is a convenient solution to this problem that plugs into your USB port and immediately freezes changes on your selected hard drive partitions, virtually eliminating the need for maintenance. Read More
Close shave with Thanko USB Electric Razor
By Jeff Salton
20:04 September 10, 2009 PDT
Got a last-minute hot date? Meeting with the boss? Getting snide comments about your ‘porn star mustache’? Or just couldn’t be bothered? Whatever your reason for needing a quick shave at work, the Thanko USB Electric Razor is your savior. Just plug it into the USB port on your computer, and whiskers-be-gone. And if your monitor’s nice and shiny, who needs a mirror? Read More
Altec Lansing's 200W Expressionist Ultra MX6021 computer speaker system
By Jeff Salton
19:29 September 7, 2009 PDT
Some people like their PC gaming experiences big. They spend big money on big games, big monitors and big gaming accessories but suffer from SSS (small sound syndrome). Well, listen up! Altec Lansing has released the Expressionist™ Ultra (MX6021), a distinctively styled and powerful three-piece home speaker system for computers, MP3 players and more that delivers 200W RMS. And with this quality of sound, it won’t be just the gamers taking advantage of all that power. Consumers who keep their music on their PC will greatly benefit from these speakers. Read More
No surface too shiny for new Logitech mice
By Jeff Salton
23:48 August 20, 2009 PDT
Logitech has released a mouse that makes portable computing easier – one that operates on shiny surfaces. Utilising its Darkfield Laser Tracking, the company says its mouse can operate on virtually any surface – including clear glass (that’s at least 4mm thick) and other high-gloss surfaces found in today’s modern home and office. The technology is available in two models – the Logitech Performance Mouse MX (full-size) and the Logitech Anywhere Mouse MX (compact for notebooks). Read More
Extending Moore’s Law using nuclear fusion
By Darren Quick
22:22 August 20, 2009 PDT
We recently looked at a technique that could help extend Moore’s Law by using DNA molecules as scaffolding to pack more power and speed into computer chips. Now researchers from Purdue University and the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory are working to achieve the same result by adapting the same methods used in fusion-energy research to create extremely thin plasma beams for a new class of 'nanolithography'. Read More
Building circuit boards using DNA scaffolding
By Darren Quick
00:50 August 20, 2009 PDT
There have been a few breakthroughs in recent years that hold the promise of sustaining Moore’s Law for some time to come. These include attaching molecules to silicon and replacing copper interconnects with graphene. Now IBM are proposing a new way to pack more power and speed into computer chips by using DNA molecules as scaffolding for transistors fabricated with carbon nanotubes and silicon wires. Read More
Reconfigurable supercomputer aims for best of both worlds
17:51 July 28, 2009 PDT
Today's computers can carry on a wide range of tasks thanks to a general architecture that allows for great flexibility at the cost of a non-optimal performance; on the other end, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) can carry on a very specific task with great speed and energy efficiency, but are very inflexible. Now Novo-G, a reconfigurable supercomputer developed at the University of Florida that's described as the most powerful of its kind, is attempting to take the best from both worlds by being able to effectively change its hardware configuration as needed to compute with the greatest possible speed and efficiency. Read More
Scientists stick with silicon to extend Moore's Law
By Jeff Salton
23:40 July 26, 2009 PDT
Scientists at Rice University and North Carolina State University have found a method of attaching molecules to semiconducting silicon that may help manufacturers reach past the current limits of Moore's Law as microprocessors become smaller and more powerful. Read More
‘Beauty’ of sunspots revealed by supercomputers
By Jeff Salton
23:13 July 26, 2009 PDT
An international team of scientists led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) has created the first-ever comprehensive computer model of sunspots. It is hoped the use of the supercomputer modeling - the supercomputers undertake 76 trillion calculations per second - will help scientists unlock mysteries of the sun and its impacts on Earth. Read More
New software ensures no-one will ever read over your shoulder again
19:14 July 23, 2009 PDT
We need a name to describe that sensation you often get, in an office or out in public, that someone’s looking at your computer screen from behind you. Screen-dropping? Shoulder-surfing? Whatever it’s called, it’s annoying – and a potential security threat. Baltimore company Oculis, has developed a program that tracks an authorized reader's eyes to show only them the correct text. Anyone else looking at the screen will see only gobbledygook Read More
MIT team develops hi-fi quantum memory
20:27 July 21, 2009 PDT
Scientists are rapidly achieving important breakthroughs in quantum computing, from obtaining precise manipulation of four photons at the same time to the very first quantum processors. But just like in traditional electronics, a quantum computer can't be realized with information processing alone — we need a reliable way to store and retrieve quantum information too. A new breakthrough by MIT researchers represents a step forward in acheiving this goal of high-fidelity quantum memory. Read More
Quantum computer closer: Optical transistor made from single molecule
23:51 July 6, 2009 PDT
Quantum photonics is a particularly attractive field to scientists and engineers alike in that it could, once some core issues have been resolved, allow for the production of integrated circuits that operate on the basis of photons instead of electrons, which would in turn enable considerably higher data transfer rates as well as dramatically reduced heat dissipation. Now in yet another important achievement on the road to quantum computing, researchers from ETH Zurich have managed to create an optical transistor from a single molecule. Read More
Viewsonic enters the PC market with the VPC100 All-in-One PC
By Darren Quick
21:35 July 2, 2009 PDT
Viewsonic, well known as a manufacturer of affordable LCD monitors, has decided to add a little bit extra to its latest release by cramming the guts of a PC behind a 19-inch LCD display to produce the VPC100 All-in-One PC. Viewsonic’s first entry into the PC market maintains the company’s reputation for affordability with its USD$599 price tag and cuts office clutter with its lone cable. Read More
Hillcrest motion sensing mouse keeps you in the Loop
By Jude Garvey
20:27 June 21, 2009 PDT
Almost three years after we first encountered the Loop pointer, Hillcrest Labs has announced that its uniquely designed motion sensing mouse is available direct to consumers. Read More
Terotech
- November 21, 2009 @ 19:38 UTC
