Super Fast Memory To Replace Hard Drives?
December 12th, 2006
IBM, Qimonda and Macronix have discovered new technology that allows memory chips to work faster while consuming less power. This new invention makes use of the PCM memory cards and is made from of a type of semiconductor alloy.
The new material makes “phase-change” memory 500 to 1,000 times faster than “flash” memory utilizing half as much power.
This new breakthrough would allow mobile computers to replace fragile hard drive units with the new PCM cards.
Phase-change memory basically uses an alloy that can be swapped between an ordered crystalline phase and disordered amorphous phase. No power is needed to maintain a phase so this type of memory is non-volatile - this means that no data will be lost when you power down your machine.
This would take mobile computing to a whole new level I would think.
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2
December 8th, 2006
Ubisoft has confirmed that Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2 is set for release in Quarter 2 of 2007. Developed by Ubisoft’s Paris and Red Storm Studios, the game will be released on XBox 360, PS3, PSP and the PC.
GRAW2 will once again put you in charge of the US military’s elite fighting unit - the Ghosts. Set in the year 2014, you will have to guide your Ghosts in fending off attacks on US soil from Mexican loyalists and insurgent rebel forces that have thrown Mexico into a full-scale civil war.
New battlegrounds have been added which include your Ghosts defending cross border attacks. The Ghosts will also do battle in mountain terrains, deserts and in their home ground of El Paso, Texas.
The AI has been overhauled as well where the enemies are intelligent enough to use vertical game play to pick off your Ghosts from higher vantage points - not to mention outflanking your Ghosts if you leave your back open. Squad mate AI has also been improved.
The new cross-com 2.0 will allow you to see what friendly forces see at the top left of your screen. You can also command air strikes on a target and replenish armaments using mobile artillery MULE. There is also a new medic soldier to heal your squad.
check out PALGN for the trailer.
Slip Into A Pair Of Lights
December 8th, 2006
Waking up in the middle of the night is normal for some people - especially if they have problems with their bladder. When nature calls, you gotta get to the toilet real quick. Moving around in the dark is already tricky when you are at your own home. It gets even trickier when you are away at a hotel for example.
That’s why somebody out there invented these lighted slippers. Now you can head straight to the toilet without tripping over anything (other than your own feet that is…).
These slippers have built-in light sensors so that they don’t turn on in the daytime or in a brightly lit room. You don’t have to switch on the lights when it is dark either, just slip on the slippers and the lights come on all by themselves. Once you are done with them, the lights go off a few seconds after you take the slippers off.
Power comes from 2 replaceable lithium ion batteries.
Batman In A Honda?
December 5th, 2006
Here is Honda’s entry for the Design Challenge section of the LA Motor Show (which was won by the HUMMER O2).The first thing that struck me was that it looks kinda like the classic batmobile with the twin cockpit concept.
Labeled as the Honda Extreme concept, the strength of this car lies in its ‘recyclable sustainability’. The body is made of honeycomb polycarbonate that allows you to change the look of the car according to your fancy. To top it off, the chassis can be recycled after five years of usage.
I guess batman would find it useful after all judging by the amount of different designs of batmobiles running around Gotham City at one time or another.
HUMMER O2 - The Breathing Car
December 3rd, 2006
This GM’s HUMMER O2 concept won the LA Auto Show Design Challenge. With the design challenge theme being ‘Environmental Sustainability’, the HUMMER O2 concept fits the bill and offers a whole lot more.
What’s so great about it you say? Well, this car makes its own oxygen! The HUMMER O2 is fitted with phototropic body shell that produces oxygen for the life of the car. The body panels are filled with algae that converts carbon dioxide to oxygen - something that a plant normally does in the day time.
The thing is, I coulda sworn that plants practicing photosynthesis do the exact opposite at night - they convert oxygen into carbon dioxide, just like you and me. This here HUMMER O2 could be a tad uncomfortable for extended night rides, no?
Inside A PS3 - Literally!
November 13th, 2006This is what the PS3 would look like if you took it apart.
Maybe some of you out there can take it apart without destroying the PS3 in the process. Just imagine the amount of tweaking that can be done if you managed to take apart the PS3 and still have it working.
ReviewMe… Write And Ye Shall Be Paid!
November 13th, 2006Surfing the web is like going on an interesting journey that is full of surprises at every corner. No matter how many times you do it, there is alway some website somewhere that makes you think “why didn’t I do that?”. It is no secret that there is money to be made on the world wide web. If you surf a lot, then you see a lot of sites and would probably have a lot of opinions on those sites too. So why not write your opinions and be paid for them?
That is what ReviewMe is all about. It is an interesting idea where they will pay you for reviewing a website. The site is fairly new so they do have to prove themselves. I stumbled onto the site by chance while flipping through some blogs and decided to give it a shot.
Registration is quite straightforward. All you have to do is fill up a simple form and your registration would be approved. You need to have a blog though because this is where you will post reviews - just like the one I am writing. My blog was approved instantly although I suspect that once the site picks up, there would be a tighter screening process. This instant approval is probably to get the system going quickly. Lucky me!
There are two methods of payments at the moment: via check or paypal. The amount of money that they will pay you will depend on how much an advertiser is willing to fork out for getting his website reviewed. This review of ReviewMe is netting me 20 bucks!
Review assignments are given to you by the advertisers that signs up on ReviewMe. These advertisers will select the blogs that they want a review to appear on and name their price. Once accepted, you are given 48 hours to complete a review. Upon completion, submit the review and wait for approval. You are then paid for every approved review. Since your blog would be the one attracting potential customers, it is important to have an interesting blog to win review assignments. Other than a minimum of 200 words, there are no other restrictions on reviewing a website - you can write your honest opinion and be paid for it.
You get paid to write about someone else’s website, why not?
Mother of all Blond Jokes
November 11th, 2006This has got to be the best blond joke there ever was, is and ever going to be!
Railgun: Smaller Bullets, Bigger Destruction
October 30th, 2006
Guns are all about destroying. It can be used as a symbol of peace - like sticking roses in the muzzle - but guns were ever only invented with one purpose; to destroy. Over the years, the mainstream of gun technology has always been based on the principle of expanding gases (except for the PHaSR gun). Stick a projectile into a barrel and stuff packed explosives right behind the projectile. Ignite the explosive and make it exploded. Since the only surface that will give way is the projectile, the expanding ball of hot gas will push the projectile out of the barrel with great speed.
Gun barrel technology improved over the years to give the projectiles greater accuracy. But one case still remains: if you want to deliver the projectile further, you need a bigger explosion. Bigger explosions mean bigger projectile packages. Big gun, big bang, big booms.
Big guns with big ammunition can only mean one thing - a heavy package. With the amount of stuff that the modern soldier has to lug about, some form of method need to be mobilized to reduce the burden. An exoskeleton unit is in the works to help reduce the load on an average soldier. But what you really need is a new gun.
Read the rest of this entry »
Cloaking Device A Reality
October 21st, 2006
Scientists at Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering have made a breakthrough on cloaking technology. Going on the principle that an object can be made invisible by forcing light to go around it, the scientists constructed a device that does just that. The limitation right now is that the device can only re-route microwaves so a Harry Potter type of demo is still far down the road.
With proper funding, the scientists believe that they can construct a full scale light-bending device to test out the cloaking effect.
Cue DARPA.
