Technology
There is a common misconception when assessing computers in suggesting that parallel processing increases speed. This simply isn't true.
Parallel processing is intended to increase throughput by addressing queuing delays that may be experienced by "ready" units of work that are waiting for access to the processor. Each processor is essentially a hardware server for instructions to be processed. In modern computers there are actually multiple points of parallelism and overlap processing, but the primary point is to avoid delays.
Instruction processing occurs with…
It seems that some people have misinterpreted the recent publication of Levitin and Toffoli's paper as implying that somehow there are alternative technologies or approaches that can salvage Moore's Law. This is incorrect.
"In the early 1980s, Levitin singled out a quantum elementary operation, the most basic task a quantum computer could carry out. In a paper published today in the journal Physical Review Letters, Levitin and Toffoli present an equation for the minimum sliver of time it takes for this elementary operation to occur. This establishes the speed limit for all possible…
University of Utah engineers have shown off a wireless network of radio transmitters that can track people moving behind solid walls, which may help police grab intruders or rescue hostages and might also help retail marketing and border control.
Their method uses radio tomographic imaging (RTI), which can "see," locate and track moving people or objects in an area surrounded by inexpensive radio transceivers that send and receive signals. People don't need to wear radio-transmitting ID tags.
The study involved placing a wireless network of 28 inexpensive radio transceivers – called nodes –…
A recent LiveScience article 'Computers Faster Only for 75 More Years' has indicated that new research conducted by two physicists have placed a speed limit on what's attainable regardless of the size of the components.
Moore's Law1 has often been touted as representing an infinite curve of progress, but this explanation clearly indicates that nothing proceeds indefinitely. In addition, depending on technological developments in computer design and architecture, that limit may actually occur within 20 years according to Scott Aaronson, an assistant professor of electrical…
Everyone knows about being an organ donor - you may even have a little sticker saying it's okay for doctors to remove parts from you in order to save someone else. Pacemaker donations from funeral homes are less well known but patients who received refurbished pacemakers in the Philiipinnes have survived without complications, according to a case series reported by the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center.
The pacemakers were implanted in 12 patients at the University of Philippines/Philippine General Hospital who could not afford advanced cardiac care and were confined to…
Suppose that when you started your car today, it displayed a question on the dashboard: “Should I advance the timing by 4 degrees?” The car wouldn’t go until you responded. What would you think?
What if you were having a house built, and the builder sent you a text message: “Should we put your floor joists 16 inches on center? I need an answer immediately, or my workers are going to another job.” Would you know how to respond, without asking any questions back and risking losing the day?
How about if you tried to visit a web site, and your browser responded with a popup that said, “There’…
In the parlance of those younger tech addicts of the acronym persuasion - OMG. Times a million.
You can be in Star Wars.
"Whaaaaaaaat?!?", you exclaim while knocking the X-Wing model on your desk over in your haste to push your glasses back up your nose and flip your Jedi robe back over your shoulders.
I would never joke about something as sacred as this. You can now participate in the re-creation of Star Wars IV: A New Hope. A new project called "Star Wars: Uncut" allows anyone, even this guy, to contribute to and participate in a re-creation of the first installment of the original series.…
Most people have at one time or another hitched their internet connection on to someone else's wi-fi signal, or have had others use theirs. Annoying? Yes. But it could also get you in trouble if the snooper is engaged in illegal activity, says The Working Guy's Christopher Null.
It's not just about slowing down your connection; while they're downloading Mad Men via bittorrent, you could be on the hook for their actions.
Wireless security and encryption systems are fraught with problems and insecurity, and other methods to restrict your signal to a small area are cumbersome at best.
This is…
When I worked for IBM, I didn’t use Skype. As with many large companies, they don’t allow the use of software on company computers unless the lawyers have approved the terms and conditions — the end-user license agreement, EULA — and the company lawyers didn’t approve the Skype license. It didn’t matter much to me: I had a Cisco IP telephone on my desk, and software on my computer to control the phone. I could make and receive calls from my computer as though I were at my desk.
As soon as I left, though, I installed Skype. I’d heard a lot about it, and I wanted to try it. But beyond just…
You can think of it as the United Nations of knowledge - except no dictators wearing pistols are allowed to get up and spout nonsense. Or you could think of it as the Wikipedia of knowledge, without letting marketing people and activists control what gets seen.
Europeans call it DRIVER and it already has millions of documents.
The backbone of DRIVER is a technological breakthrough that enables institutions to link repositories of knowledge together into one huge, networked online ‘library of libraries’. The software, called D-NET, can link information collected on diverse…