While I'm thinking such a technology is just a mere possibility, this technology will make its debut this summer.

The latest spin-off from CERN, the particle physics centre that created the web, the grid could also provide the kind of power needed to transmit holographic images; allow instant online gaming with hundreds of thousands of players; and offer high-definition video telephony for the price of a local call.

David Britton, professor of physics at Glasgow University and a leading figure in the grid project, believes grid technologies could “revolutionise” society. “With this kind of computing power, future generations will have the ability to collaborate and communicate in ways older people like me cannot even imagine,” he said.

The power of the grid will become apparent this summer after what scientists at Cern have termed their “red button” day - the switching-on of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the new particle accelerator built to probe the origin of the universe. The grid will be activated at the same time to capture the data it generates.

This meant that scientists at Cern - where Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the web in 1989 - would no longer be able to use his creation for fear of causing a global collapse. This is because the internet has evolved by linking together a hotchpotch of cables and routing equipment, much of which was originally designed for telephone calls and therefore lacks the capacity for high-speed data transmission.

By contrast, the grid has been built with dedicated fibre optic cables and modern routing centres, meaning there are no outdated components to slow the deluge of data. The 55,000 servers already installed are expected to rise to 200,000 within the next two years. More...

How it affects our current life?
Eventhough the possibility of the grid to be available to domestic internet users is very unlikely in the near future, we can still envisage the huge impact of this breakthrough. Everything that seems impossible previously such as holographic video conference will become a reality.

Technorati Tags: cern, fiber optic, FiberOptic, internet 2, Internet2, large hadron collider

Is there any catch?

This service is absolutely free and the only thing that you need to worry about is your operator charges. Getting an unlimited data plan seems to be the best option in order to fully appreciate this service as you will not be overwhelmed by the charges and the data bottleneck.

Installation

Installation is just a piece of cake, thanks to Avot MV for its simple installation and intuitive interface; both provides far reaching benefits to many users of different technology exposures. Everything is self-explanatory, to put it simply. Ok, where should you start? All you need to do is just pointing your mobile to Avot Mobile Site and download the client to your mobile device. Currently it supports Windows Mobile 5.0, Pocket PC, and Smartphone mobile devices; literally covers up over 70 different mobile phones.

Sigh, my Sony Ericsson w850i is not good enough to run this program, so I can only take a brief glimpse on my friend’s PDA. Hey, if you were in the same boat with me and will be using the compatible mobiles in the near future or in dire need to have a sneak peek, take a look at these 2 videos, here and here. They show you how the service looks like and how it functions.

Why should you try this out?

There are several features that will definitely lure you into trying this service.

- The quality of audio/video is exceptional because it is streamlined directly from the original content providers. Furthermore, it does not employ any video transcoding which is responsible in reducing the audio/video quality and limiting the number of videos. If you find a video with terrible quality, you will know right away it must be something wrong from the video sharing provider ends. Getting this fact right is important because you know where the problem is rooting from and you know how to deal with it (get alternative video with superb quality!).

- Special technology to overcome network latency and bandwidth limitations is also used on the patented codec to allow seamless streaming videos and this technology will definitely enhance your experience with Avot MV. Besides, the codec also understands multiple file types from multiple video sharing sites (content providers). It means the number of videos listed from your query is larger than you might imagine.

- Avot mV works globally across all EDGE, 3G carriers and EV-DO data networks and Wi-Fi with current preview on Windows Mobile phones. The support for other phones will be released in the next few months.

- The solution lets user to organize the web videos systematically in the playlist and unlimited number of playlists can be created and added on the fly.

If you are interested in learning this application and would like to find out its latest updates, visit AVot blog and drop them a feedback. With this solution still in beta version, I’m sure there are a lot of rooms for improvements and be the one to fill up the spaces by contributing ideas and constructive feedbacks.

Technorati Tags: review, Avot Media, youtube, video on mobile, technology, handphone, pda

Do you like to disassemble tech toys? Then this trick is for you! Do you know that CCDs (Charge Couple Devices), which are responsible to capture light in digital cameras, are very sensitive to infrared light? It's for this reason that producers insert an IR filter into their devices, in a way to be able to amplify visible light and to stop infrared. Here's the amazing part: as explained in this video

Transform Your Webcam Into An Infrared Cam! - video powered by Metacafe

You can disassemble your webcam and replace the IR filter with something else, and so transforming your webcam into an infrared device! All you have to do is to replace the filter with two layers of blackened photo film: they prevent the passage of visible light, but let the IR reach the CCD.

The result? Very cool. At the end of the video you can see nice tricks performed with the IR webcam, for example you can clearly see the light emitted from remote controls, you can look at the weird protection used on standard banknotes and see many dark object as if they were pale
and much more. All you have to do is just some patience, and you will be rewarded with
a lot of fun. Happy modding to all!

Technorati Tags: infra red cam, webcam, modding, hacks

You can also get memory card cleaner from Amazon at the price of £ 4.99

Product Features

- Can eliminate memory card read/write problems experienced with your handheld equipment
- Ensures that your memory card slot remain dirt free and improves usage life
- Uses patented material to remove all traces of dirt on contact within the memory card slot
- For Secure Disk and MultiMedia Digital Cameras and Card Readers

Technorati Tags: memory card, storage,

Technorati Tags: android, robot, interesting

Basically, the principle underlying this technique is to use geometric shapes such as circles, squares and triangles for computing combining with various colors and preserve the data in images instead of using conventional way; the application of binary bits (zeroes and ones). A lot of questions might come across your mind right now; how the data can be retrieved, how's the transfer rate of data and many more.

To start with, all the data need to be converted to a common format called “Rainbow Format”. In order to retrieve the data back, all you need to have is a scanning drive (had been developed for the purpose of demonstration). This new ground-breaking technology apparently has a lot of advantages. The storage devices will be shrunk drastically and the biodegradable nature of this storage device will surely show a promising future to our environment.

Quoting a research study carried out in the US in 2003, he says the entire static data in the US would require $5 billion (Indian Rupees 230 billion) for storage with the current storage devices. But Rainbow based databank could reduce the cost to Rs.3.5 million. He says he could construct databank with almost 123.60 Peta Byte (PB) capacity.

Peta byte? Yeah, we are now moving on to a new realm of terminology. ;)

Source: ArabNews

Technorati Tags: technology, storage

The specially created page can be used over and over again max 50 times. Xerox started work on the special after researchers studied how offices used paper. "You could see there were these documents people only use once or twice or for the day, and then they’re gone. You start to classify them. And from that, you could see that two out of every five [printed pages] are for daily use," said Paul Smith, a lab manager at the Xerox Research Centre of Canada. The paper is coated with special chemicals and once the paper goes through the printer it is exposed to a light source causing the text to on the paper to fade. It normally takes 16 to 24 hours for the text to fade but passing the paper through the printer quickens the process.

It reminds me of my Professional Studies coursework :)

source: New Launches.

Technorati Tags: technology, xerox, self erasable paper

With the space usage reached the warning level, I started to survey at Amazon and Dabs. The growth of space is almost exponential but the prices barely increase, which is good for consumer like me :). I look at this particular product, the Maxtor One Touch III - 500 GB which is around £160 (inclusive VAT). It's quite expensive and with same amount of money you were only able to buy 200 GB of external HD, that was 2 years ago. I would wait until next year where the price gradually starts to decline. I hope by the end of the second quarter of 2007, the price would decline to £120 (fingers crossed).

Look at its shape, for me, it's less appealing to Maxtor One Touch II. But who cares, as long as it can take large sum of data, and it's not choking, that's good enough.

Product Features

• Automated OneTouch backup
• 7200 RPM spindle, 16 MB buffer for fast drive performance, seamless data exchange, and instant access to your files
• 500GB capacity stores 225,000 photos, or 21 hours of DV video, or 4,950 hours of music
  Plug and play. Simply connect using the USB 2.0 cable and get up and running fast
• Easy-to-use interface simplifies drive management, security, and backup scheduling

Technical Details

Model: F01H500
Item Package Quantity: 1
Hardware Platform: PC
Device Type: Hard drive
Form Factor: External
Drive Type: 3.5-inch ATA
Capacity: 500 GB
Spindle Speed: 7200 RPM
Buffer: 16 MB
Seek Time: 9.0 ms
Interface: USB 2.0 (1.1 compatible)
Interface Transfer Rate: 480 Mbps
Sustained Transfer Rate: 33 MBps
Operating Temperature: 41 to 95 degrees F
Dimensions: 5.3 x 2.6 x 8.5 inches
Weight: 3.2 pounds
System Requirements: Pentium III, 500 MHz equivalent processor or higher, Windows 2000/XP, 128MB (256 recommended) RAM, CD-ROM drive, Internet connection (for system updates)
Warranty: 1 year

Get more detail about Maxtor One Touch III at Maxtor OneTouch III Turbo Edition Review.

Technorati Tags: external hard disk, maxtor one touch III, storage

It has been a couple of week since the new ground-breaking Intel processor Core 2 Quad was officially released and I just realised it's already in the market! Here are the two excerpts taken from TechSpot and Hexus.net.

Get more detail pictures, specifications and all the facts about this processor from the links below.

Currently, there are four Core 2 Duo processors which were released at the initial launch (E6300, E6400, E6600 and E6700). There is also the Core 2 Extreme processor dubbed the X6800, though it offers very little in the way of performance over the E6700. There is said to be four new Core 2 Duo processors on the way that will run on a 1333MHz FSB and will all feature the larger 4MB L2 Cache. They are the E6650, E6750, E6800 and E6850, though we are not here to discuss these processors today. Rather, we are here to examine the new Kentsfield micro-architecture which is based on a quad-core 65nm design.

Read more at TechSpot.

Intel’s quad-core processor, codenamed Kentsfield, has been one of its least well kept secrets. In fact, benchmarks have been leaking out for months. Illicit samples obtained on the black market were the first to appear, then Intel itself gave more than just a sneak peek at its most recent Developer Forum. The numbers were already impressive back then, but at last the Core 2 Extreme QX6700 is finally here.

Read more at Hexus.net.

Eventhough the multi core era has begun, but very few applications that can really take advantage of this state-of-the-art processor. For those who have money, go and get it as it's a good investment for the future but I rather wait for some time until the price starts to settle down.

Additional links
- Intel QX6700 Quad-Core CPU
- Double Double: Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700
- Intel Core 2 Extreme QX6700 Quad-Core Performance Preview

Technorati Tags: intel core 2 quad, kentsfield, multi core

Source: Chip Chick

Technorati Tags: gadget, mouse pad, usb, technology