A Newer, Faster External Hard Drive

Seagate has presented a new generation in hard drive that fit in a computer's USB port. The BlackArmor PS110 Performance Kit consists of a 500GB/7200rpm external hard drive, a power cable, and a USB 3.0 PC express card. The hard drive claims to transfer performance up to three times that of a normal 2.0 hard drive.

For those who are unaware of what USB 3.0 is, it is a faster version of the 2.0. Instead of using four transfer wires, like its predecessor, the new version uses nine, ensuring a faster transfer speed. For example, A normal USB 2.0 would generally have a transfer rate of 35MB/sec, the new 3.0 version has a transfer rate of 100MB/sec. The USB 3.0 also has more subtle improvements, like greater power effeciency and the ability to be built on in the future.

However, Black Armor PS110, being a 3.0 hard drive is advanced and Intel has said that they will not build a processor able to support the new design until 2011. However, as long as the computer has an express card slot, the transfer rate will still be raised.

Although it will take a while for the computer industry to "catch up," the USB 3.0 will become a standard, once again, improving technology.

1.)http://www.testfreaks.com/blog/review/seagate-blackarmor-ps-110-external-hard-drive/

2.)http://www.gizmag.com/seagate-blackarmor-ps110-performance-kit-usb3/13766/

3.)http://www.gizmag.com/usb-30-next-generation-speed/11920/

A Revolution In PC Gaming

Over the past four decades we have witnessed a dramatic evolution in video game technology. Whereas gamers once used a single joysitck to play games such as Pong and Pacman, game developers have now incorporated the use of motion censored controllers to simulate outdoor activities, such as baseball, tennis, and golf on the Wii. This enhancement in video game technology has yielded highly successful sales rates, as the industry expects to make about $15 million in sales in 2010. In order to improve sales, other companies, such as Microsoft and Sony, have announced the launch of their own motion censored controllers by 2011. Microsoft's Project Natal is expected to be launched for the Xbox360 by the 2010 holiday season, and Sony's motion controller will be released for PS3 in the spring.

With the existence of motion controlled gaming already on the Nintendo Wii, and the current development of such gaming by major console companies Microsoft and Sony, one may raise the question: What about the PC? Ever since the release of popular PC game Left 4 Dead 2, Pc game developers have been pressured to create some sort of system for realistic motion censored controllers. Past attempts have been made, such as ASUS's Eeee Stick, but its developers realized after its failure that "strong software support for new hardware peripherals is absolutely crucial for success". Currently, the developer of Left 4 Dead 2, Valve, is showing a great amount of support for the motion control campaign by gaming companies Razer and Sixense.

The motion control system Razer and Sixense have developed is "more integrated and visceral than any platform has so far achieved" according to Chet Faliszek, Valve's lead developer of Left 4 Dead 2. The system uses electromagnetic fields to track movements along six axes. This high level of tracking allows for one-to-one movement and gesture support. The system also yields excellent accuracy of within one millimeter of position an one degree of orientation. The controller proved to be a success at CNET's demo of the unit. At the demo, Sixens's CTO Jeff Bellinghausen performed several actions in an artificial environment. He was able to grab items in space with ease, as well as manipulating their sizes, slicing them, and even throwing them around.

With the three companies Valve, Razer, and Sixense all on board for the project, the release of the motion controller seems imminent. The only thing that may prolong the release date is the possibility further enhancing the controllers for FPS (First Person Shooter) games. Since the controller would be ideal for shooting games, developers are left with an infinite amount of possibilities. However, no matter when the release date is, it is evident that this product will significantly boost PC game sales and quite possibly the purchase of gaming computers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_game_console

http://ces.cnet.com/8301-31045_1-10429832-269.html

http://www.gizmag.com/razer-sixense-valve-motion-controls-pc/13777/

Quantum computing

Quantum computing is the control and observation of quantum particles. Researchers have newly discovered two different ways to place an electron in a nano-sized device on a silicon chip. A quantum computer processor is made up of several quantum bits bundled together. An artificial atom or a quantum dot is a localized single electron that is not attached to an atom. The quantum dot made it easier to introduce the single atom in a silicon disk.

The quantum computer’s power is generated by the electrons spin. The spin can point in one of two directions, imitating the one’s and zero’s in today’s computer system. Electrons also have the ability to stay in a specific spin position, allowing energy to be created, by the electrons.

This break through is the basis of more complex things to come. For example, researchers are working on trying to control the electron’s quantum state for observational reasons.

http://www.unsw.edu.au/news/pad/articles/2010/jan/quantum_computing.html

A Helmet to Prevent Paralysis

Helmets have been used in everything from football and hockey to motorcycle riding are built to protect the head from impact. every year they get better at doing their job, but current helmets still do little to protect of spinal injuries that cause paralyze. But researchers at University of British Columbia in Vancouver are working on a design that could protect the spine during a head-on collision. when someone hits their head straight on flat the force goes through the skull and down to the neck, which cause their neck to crumple as it absorbs the brunt of the force. But taking a blow at angle cause the head to bounce off with out much damage.they have come up with a helmet they call they Pro-Neck-Tor which consists of a outer shell that looks like most helmets today with a rotating inner shell that hugs the head , and a mechanism that connects the two. This is so when taking a impact they outer layer takes the blow and move while that inner layer holds that head still. But when the helmet hits something with enough force, the inner mechanism releases, and the inner shell rotates, guiding the head as if it were hitting an angled surface instead of a flat one.

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/24312/

TV on the go- Once again

Although digital television gave us many advances in technology, they also took away. Digital TV gave us the great new High Definition quality and with a great signal you will also have great reception. With all these great steps into the future, you can't watch your TV while your on the move, but thanks to this new TV on the go you will be able to have access to your TV on the move.

At last years Consumer Electronics Show, LG introduced their new TV the DP570MH, a new portable TV and DVD player with great signals even while you are on the move. The makers of the DP570MH say that the Tv works at a speed of 160 miles and hour which will bring back the always loved TV on the move. The TV which is expected to be released sometime this year will only cost you $250.00, to get the luxury of your mobile television and its perfect signals whether on the move or not.

If you feel that the $250.00 price tag of the DP570MH is too much you may want to consider the Tivit. Going on sale about midyear, the Tivit, smaller than a pack of cards, is not a mobile TV, but a mobile TV receiver. Expect to pay around $125 when it hits the market.

http://gadgetwise.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/07/tv-on-the-go-once-again/?partner=rss&emc=rss

Silicon Microwires Could Have a Sunny Future

http://www.technologyreview.com/energy/24329/?a=f



The attractions of solar power's enormous benefits have led
scientists to race to find a way to create inexpensive, optimally efficient
way solar cells. This venture has been broadly and avidly taken on for many
years by numerous scientists, who have come up with different ways of
creating solar cells. But, none of them are really cost-effective or
sufficiently usable. Recently, it has been found that silicon microwires may
be the solution. Efforts to develop ultra-thin wires that convert sunlight
into electricity have been happening for quite a while in the solar power
research field, but a new method for growing the wires involving silicon
microwires, has roughly doubled their conversion efficiency and may be the
key to advancing further. "All wires thus far have had 1 or 2 percent
efficiency [at the array level] with fundamental questions about whether
they could ever go higher," says Nathan Lewis, a chemist at Caltech who coauthored the study, which appears in *Science.*" It is possible that it can go all the way up to 10% efficiency

levels. These stages have never been reached before especially not with such
an inexpensive method.

Silicon nanowires are usually grown from a silicon substrate with the help
of tiny gold droplets. Under high temperatures, a single wire will quickly
sprout from each droplet like a blade of grass. Gold is an excellent
catalyst for wire growth, but it also introduces impurities that are
generally believed to inhibit electron transport within the wires, reducing
their overall efficiency. By using copper as a better, cheaper alternative,
efficiency rates nearly doubled from the previous wires that came from the
gold, because of higher silicon purity and increased electron transport
capacity. With the development of this new technology, we could be well on
our way to establishing solar power panels throughout the world, at a much
more reasonable price and an excellent usability with innumerous benefits.

2020 - You may see a different Internet

According to U.S computer scientists, in 2020 the internet may no longer be recognized. The internet is a place filled with spam, phishing, and latency. The idea in 10 years is to create an Internet without so many security breaches, containing a higher level of trust as well as built-in identity management. Currently, scientists are trying to build an Internet that is higher performing and more reliable. This new internet will most likely be able to extend to some of the most remote regions of the world . . . even other planets! One reason for this idea of creating a new internet for the futureis because some experts fear that the Internet will collapse under the weight of many cyber-attacks. The biggest goal is to make the Internet more secure. GENI, Global Environment for Network Innovations, is an internet research project that has developed an experiment network infrastructure that is being installed in many universities throughout the United States. This new infrastructure allows researchers to run large experiments of new Internet architectures next to the daily traffic on the Internet today, but not interfering with it. "When we use today's Internet, you and I can buy any application program that we want and run it….GENI takes this idea several steps further. It allows you to install any software you want deep into the network anywhere you want. You can program switches and routers," said Chip Elliot, GENI Project Director. The GENI project contains three types of network infrastructures. If the plan doesn't work out by 2020, U.S Computer Scientists believe that something will have to be done to improve the Internets security. Security is the biggest reason these ideas are being tested and these new ideas may even become reality in the future.

http://www.networkworld.com/news/2010/010410-outlook-vision.html?ts0hb&story=outlook

Artificial Red Blood Cells for Drug Delivery

Most people are aware of the oxygen carrying capacity of red blood cells and their place in the circulatory system. The physical characteristics of red blood cells allow them to squeeze through the small capillaries in our bodies. However, the development of similar synthetic cells have not been successful till the University of California along with researchers in the University of Michigan created spherical particles made out of a polymer poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA), “a compound known for its biocompatible and biodegradable properties.”

When exposed to rubbing alcohol, the spherical particles of PLGA were able to be dissolved and form the double concaved shape of a RBC (red blood cell). Then, the hard PLGA becomes the mold in which researchers add layers of proteins on, cross linking them to make them hold the PLGA. (These proteins are like the thousand different polymers that people have for delivery naturally, hemoglobin for example is the oxygen caring polymer found in RBC.) Afterwards, the “rigid inner structure” is dissolved and what is left is a flexible shell capable of going through capillaries.

The most difficult test is whether these artificial RBC will be able to stay in circulation. In the past, “even synthetic cells one-eighth of the size of regular blood cells were purged from the blood within 30 seconds.” The longest lasting nanoparticle only lasted 24 hours. This will be a crucial aspect, especially to ensure that no immune attack is produced through these synthetic cells.

Synthetic RBCs are still in its early stages but promise success. These synthetic RBC can be used as therapeutic and imaging agents. It has even produced the ideas for perhaps mimicking the delivery systems of viruses and bacteria as well. Perhaps one day it will lead to synthetic blood. Unfortunately for animal lovers, the next step for these cells seems to be animal testing.

Cites:

http://www.in-pharmatechnologist.com/Materials-Formulation/Flexible-artificial-blood-cells-could-improve-drug-delivery-says-US-group

http://www.technologyreview.com/biomedicine/24219/page2/

Kill Your Phone Remotely

A handheld device is often valued in a person's life. The information
that one puts on it may be more valued. Information such as phone
numbers, appointment times, and addresses may be stored in a phone.
More importantly credit card numbers and bank accounts are stored in a
phones memory. A common fear is when a phone is lost or stolen and the
device is put into the wrong hands.
Many handheld devices today have a lockout code, which unless you
have the right password, does not unlock. While the device is locked
you are unable to use any of the phones features except for call an
emergency number such as 911. But what if you're phone is lost or
stolen and you have important personal information on it such as
credit card numbers? Luckily, new phone features such as Apples
"MobileMe" service are created. The objective is to remotely wipe the
phones memory, so important stored information does not get into the
wrong hands. This is commonly known as using the "kill switch".
Apples "MobileMe" service allows Mac users to put information onto
their phone. But more importantly, it allows the user to perform a
remote wipe on a lost or stolen iPhone. The Palm Pre users, after
setting up a new account when activating the device, have the option
of backing up settings, receive updates, or remotely erase information
on the stolen phone. Features similar to the iPhone and Palm Pre, are
also found on Blackberry's, T-Mobile's Android, and phones that use
Windows Mobile.


http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2352755,00.asp?kc=PCRSS03129TX1K0000625&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ziffdavis%2FPCMagazineTips+(PCMag.com+Tips+and+Solutions)&utm_content=Google+Reader