Heat could be the key to making hard drives hundreds of times faster
Well, this is interesting: physicists have reportedly discovered a new method of recording data onto hard drives, where the fruits of their labor could see mechanical-based hard drives jump in speeds, up to hundreds of times faster. Heat is the key.
A hard disk drive is a magnetic storage device, which, unlike magnetic tapes, allows random access. The recording surface of a hard drive consists of hundreds of billions of tiny portions that can be magnetized in a particular polar direction to represent 0s or 1s. Recording data flips the direction, which is currently done using an external magnetic field.
A team of researchers led by Thomas Ostler at the University of York, UK have discovered that a short burst of heat can do the job much faster. This is where things get karazay. Up until now, it was thought that heat could only assist in remagnetisation when used in conjunction with a magnetic field. This knowledge base has changed: zapping a magnet with a laser for less than one trillionth of a second, momentarily raising the temperature by over 800-degrees Celcius, can have the same effect.
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RumorTT: NVIDIA Kepler GPU lineup leaked!
Salt, here take it. Let's get onto the goss! Leaked information has floated up from the depths of the Internet from Lenzfire, where they've published some specifications for the upcoming GeForce 600-series. I'll say it again, here's your salt.
This news has me excited. Lenzfire's sources claim that NVIDIA's Kepler GTX680 should be up to 45-percent faster than AMD's fastest Radeon HD 7970 GPU. The interesting part here is that the GeForce GTX680 is said to have just 2GB of RAM, compared to the 7970's 3GB, and is still 45-percent faster. What helps here is the GTX680 reportedly has twice as many stream processors, and backed up by the entire Kepler range being PCI-E 3.0 compliant.
The GeForce GTX680 will reportedly launch with a $649 price, so for just $100 more, you're getting a Team Green card that is 45-percent faster. This could be some very dangerous news for AMD. On a different note, specs of a dual-GPU Kepler-based card are here too.
Continue reading: RumorTT: NVIDIA Kepler GPU lineup leaked! (full post)
Google release Chrome for Android Beta, just for Android 4.0 devices for now
Google have released Chrome for Android Beta, exclusive (for now) for Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich devices. Exactly like the desktop-based Chrome, Chrome for Android Beta is focused on speed and simplicity, but also sports seamless sign-in and sync, so you can take your personalized web browsing experience anywhere you go.
Chrome for Android Beta is built for speed, so when searching, your top search results are loaded in the background as you type so that pages appear to load instantaneously. Chrome for Android is built from the ground up for mobile devices, where Google have reimagined tabs so they fit just as naturally on a small-screen smartphone, as they do on the larger-screen tablet.
Privacy is a big deal for Chrome, and Chrome with Android Beta is no different. Chrome for Android Beta includes the famous incognito mode for private browsing as well as fine-grained privacy options.
Germany-based Caseking acquires Overclockers UK
BREAKING: Germany-based computer hardware retailer, Caseking, have just acquired British-based Overclockers. Overclockers UK have had a long-standing achievement of being one of the biggest sellers of computer hardware in the UK.
They've been in a band of just a few, with companies such as Ebuyer, Scan Computers International, Novatech, and Aria PC in selling PC hardware. Overclockers UK have been around since 1999, and have had their HQ in Newcastle-under-lyme.
The takeover involves 40 members of staff who currently work for Overclockers UK, but at the moment it is not known what the acquisition has in store for both Overclockers UK and its employees. The value of the deal is not exactly known either, but it is estimated to come in at 'less than â¬50 million'. The deal took place on February 1, 2012, and as you probably have guessed, both companies have been quiet about it.
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Microsoft says "What do you want to kill today?", replies with "the Start button in Windows 8"
Microsoft launched one of the most recognisable components of computing, the Start button. It was launched 17 years ago, with a huge advertising campaign, where its hard for people to not know the Start button now.
When it comes to Windows 8, Microsoft are changing it up, not just a bit, but considerably. The removal of the Start button marks a serious change, where the Start button is replaced by the "hot corner." Instead of clicking the Start button to show the full-screen Metro-style Start Screen, you just flick your mouse to the bottom left corner of the screen, or touch it with your finger, and voila - Metro-style Start Screen.
Why would Microsoft do such a thing? Well, they save some on-screen pixels by removing it. That's it. Imagine long-time Windows users, booting up for the first time, not aware of this news and virtually unprepared for there to not be a Start button. They would think the OS is faulty, or a non-legit version. New users, would be OK, but how would they know to push to the bottom left of the screen to display the Metro interface?
Motorola want 2.25% of Apple's mobile sales for their 3G patent use
Motorola have been stirring up some problems for Apple in Germany, where they won an injunction on iCloud and also enforced a previous ruling where it requires Apple to pull some iPhone mobiles from stores in Germany. The sales ban last just hours, after which Apple managed to win a suspension later in the day.
New details have emerged from the battle between Motorola and Apple, where they've said that Motorola Mobility's legal complaints against Apple, want 2.25-percent of Apple's sales of wireless devices in exchange for a patent license covering Motorola's intellectual property. If Motorola wins this, they could receive $2.1 billion in retroactive fees from iPhone revenues dating back to 2007, which amount to a slither under $93 billion. This is before factoring in 3G iPad sales.
Which patent do Motorola have a grip over Apple on? Its 3G/UMTS patent, has recently been declared essential in implementing open industry standards and because of that, Motorola must license it under FRAND (fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory) terms to any competitor that requires it.
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Another torrent site closes, this time voluntarily, BTJunkie closes its doors
BTJunkie was one of top five BitTorrent sites out there, and has after 7 years in operation, decided to voluntarily shut down. This closure is sure to be in relation from the growing pressure from authorities in the U.S. and around the world, with MegaUpload taking the first big blow, as well as The Pirate Bay.
BTJunkie wasn't attacked by the authorities, so this looks like a preemptive move to avoid future legal action, and/or arrests. BTJunkie had boasted 80 million users at one point, and in its farewell message, BTJunkie wrote:
Google HUD eyeglasses, augmented reality is coming soon
Every time a new tech product comes out that I want, I make an excuse to how I can justify its purchase. Two Christmas' ago, I got myself some GTX 570s in SLI, just after my birthday last year, a Galaxy S II, and my birthday coming in March (March 12th to be precise, so all of your presents get to me on time) and now there's something I want.
9to5Google reported on this back in December, with some early information:
Continue reading: Google HUD eyeglasses, augmented reality is coming soon (full post)
Gamer dies during League of Legends 400% bonus IP event, body was unnoticed for 9 hours
A 23-year-old League of Legends gamer has died in a Taipei gaming centre, where his body sat in front of his glowing monitor for 9 hours before anyone noticed that something had happened. Police have reported that Chen Rong-Yu was found sitting rigidly in front of his PC, hands stretched out towards the keyboard and mouse.
It is believed that the gamer had a pre-existing heart condition, but with the mix of low temperatures in the cafe, lack of movement and extreme fatigue, all contributing to the heart attack.
Gamers were taking part in a 400-percent bonus IP event in League of Legends. Chen was involved, and had even been taking regular naps at his desk during the event, which meant that the 30 or so players around him in the cafe did not notice a thing. A cafe employee found him, attempted to wake up, found his body cold, and called the police.
Anonymous eavesdrops FBI conference call, releases audio recording online
Anonymous have had an eventful 2012 thus far, with news today that they've intercepted and recorded a conference call that took place between the FBI and the British police cybercrime division of Scotland Yard on January 17.
Anonymous have now released an audio recording of the nearly 15 minutes of conversation online. During the call, the two parties discussed something quite important, a hacker plot called "Project Mayhem". What is Project Mayhem you ask? Well, it's only a strategy for bringing down Anonymous, you can now understand why this is of importance for Anonymous.
The two parties specifically talk about back arrests of members known as "Kayla" and "Tee-flow", as well as getting Ryan Cleary's indecent images which were found by the USAF who examined his hard drive and 15-year-old "Tehwongz" who has claimed to of hacked 32,000 Steam user names, logins and credit card details.