TeleHuman to Revolutionize Videoconferencing
Researchers at Queen’s University in Canada are developing technology that can only be compared to that of Star Trek. The technology deals with life-sized 3D holograms that will allow users to interact with each other just like they were in the same room. The practical application of this technology is virtually limitless.
Teens Texting and Driving: Bad Combination
Texting while driving is not the best of combinations for safety, but convincing the multitudes who do is a tough sell. An advocacy group in Belgium made a video of drivers texting while driving, making them believe it will soon be a new law and on the driver’s test. The resulting reactions from the drivers are pretty much what you would expect and tends to drive home the group’s no texting while driving sentiment.
How To Survive A Robot Uprising
How to survive a robot uprising. Seriously, this guy is an expert...he wrote to book on the Robopocalypse.
Projected Augmented Reality Tabletop
In MirageTable, a 3-D stereoscopic projector projects content directly on top of the curved screen. The information is captured by the Kinect camera, which also tracks the user's gaze. This enables presentation of correct perspective use to a single user on top of the dynamic changing geometry of the real world.
Balloon Popping With Lasers!
How do you pop 100 balloons in a single file line (aside from a BMG .50 cal)? You use a laser like this! Thanks to Ed Cabarles for the linkage on this one.
Real Tracking and Shooting Portal Turret
A student at Penn State University has built a functional portal turret as a class project. Upgrade the nerf bullets to real ones and this kid has a bright future with the Defense Department.
Redesigning chkdsk and the new NTFS health model
The previous chkdsk and NTFS health model
While exceedingly rare, there are a variety of unique causes for disk corruption today. Whether they are caused by media errors from the hard disk or transient memory errors, corruptions can happen in file system metadata (the information used to map physical blocks to that vacation photo you took last year). To maintain access to your data, Windows must isolate and correct these errors, and the way to do this is by running the chkdsk utility.
In past versions, NTFS implemented a simpler health model, where the file system volume was either healthy or not. In that model, the volume was taken offline for as long as necessary to fix the file system corruptions and bring the volume back to a healthy state.
Downtime was directly proportional to the number of files in the volume. Reliable telemetry data from systems all over the world have shown us that, although corruptions are quite rare, when chkdsk is needed, it can take between a few seconds to a few hours to run, depending on the number of files in the drive–and even longer for larger storage servers.
In Windows Vista and Windows 7, we made significant optimizations to the speed of chkdsk but, as hard disk capacities have continued to double every 18 months and the number of files per volume is increasing at an equal rate, chkdsk has taken longer and longer to complete (even with speed improvements).
So in Windows 8, we’ve changed the way we approach the health model of NTFS and changed the way we fix corruptions so as to minimize the downtime due to chkdsk. We’ve also introduced a new file system for the future, ReFS, which does not require an offline chkdsk to repair corruptions.
While exceedingly rare, there are a variety of unique causes for disk corruption today. Whether they are caused by media errors from the hard disk or transient memory errors, corruptions can happen in file system metadata (the information used to map physical blocks to that vacation photo you took last year). To maintain access to your data, Windows must isolate and correct these errors, and the way to do this is by running the chkdsk utility.
In past versions, NTFS implemented a simpler health model, where the file system volume was either healthy or not. In that model, the volume was taken offline for as long as necessary to fix the file system corruptions and bring the volume back to a healthy state.
Downtime was directly proportional to the number of files in the volume. Reliable telemetry data from systems all over the world have shown us that, although corruptions are quite rare, when chkdsk is needed, it can take between a few seconds to a few hours to run, depending on the number of files in the drive–and even longer for larger storage servers.
In Windows Vista and Windows 7, we made significant optimizations to the speed of chkdsk but, as hard disk capacities have continued to double every 18 months and the number of files per volume is increasing at an equal rate, chkdsk has taken longer and longer to complete (even with speed improvements).
So in Windows 8, we’ve changed the way we approach the health model of NTFS and changed the way we fix corruptions so as to minimize the downtime due to chkdsk. We’ve also introduced a new file system for the future, ReFS, which does not require an offline chkdsk to repair corruptions.
Theme Song Performed by Floppy Drives
If you've spent countless unproductive hours of your life on YouTube, you may already be pretty familiar with floppy drive music, but if you aren't, then you are in for a world of surprise. If you thought the CD-ROM drive brought along the death of the floppy drive, you are wrong because they are back with a musical vengeance.
While he is just one of the many creative artists who have created sweet floppy drive music, YouTube user MrSolidSnake745 has just finished what could be his greatest work yet: the Doctor Who theme song performed by his orchestra of eight robotic floppy minions.
While he is just one of the many creative artists who have created sweet floppy drive music, YouTube user MrSolidSnake745 has just finished what could be his greatest work yet: the Doctor Who theme song performed by his orchestra of eight robotic floppy minions.
Micron Announces its First DDR4 Module, Production in Q4
Micron said that it has begun shipping "fully functional" DDR4 memory modules in sample numbers to customers. DDR4 is expected to be shipping in volume in 2014, but Micron believes that it will enter volume production in the fourth quarter of this year and have the chips ready for applications in early 2013. The modules were developed in collaboration with Nanya and manufactured as a the 4 Gb DDR4 x8 part in a 30 nm process. When in production, Micron says it will be offering RDIMMs, LRDIMMs, 3DS, SODIMMs and UDIMMs in standard and ECC versions. Initial speeds of the devices will reach 2,400 MT/s and eventually hit 3,200 MT/s.
"With the JEDEC definition for DDR4 very near finalization, we've put significant effort into ensuring that our first DDR4 product is as JEDEC-compatible as it can be at this final stage of its development," said Brian Shirley, vice president for Micron's DRAM Solutions Group, in a prepared statement. "We've provided samples to key partners in the market place with confidence that the die we give them now is the same die we will take into mass production."
Micron's roadmap looks especially interesting in the light of its planned acquisition of Elpida Memory, which could boost its DRAM market share to an estimated 25 percent, according to market research firm IHS. The company could grow into a serious competitor for Samsung, which announced the first DDR4 module in January 2011.
"With the JEDEC definition for DDR4 very near finalization, we've put significant effort into ensuring that our first DDR4 product is as JEDEC-compatible as it can be at this final stage of its development," said Brian Shirley, vice president for Micron's DRAM Solutions Group, in a prepared statement. "We've provided samples to key partners in the market place with confidence that the die we give them now is the same die we will take into mass production."
Micron's roadmap looks especially interesting in the light of its planned acquisition of Elpida Memory, which could boost its DRAM market share to an estimated 25 percent, according to market research firm IHS. The company could grow into a serious competitor for Samsung, which announced the first DDR4 module in January 2011.
Wolfenstein 3D Turns 20, Play it For Free in Your Browser
The classic shooter Wolfenstein 3D was released for DOS on May 5, 1992 -- twenty years ago -- developed by id Software and published by then-shareware giant Apogee Software. The game seemingly put the FPS genre on the map, allowing players to run through corridors and shoot enemies in a first-person view. It was revolutionary at the time, and was only surpassed by id Software's next big release, DOOM.
Celebrating Wolfenstein's 20th anniversary by launching a free-to-play version of the classic PC shooter that runs within a Web browser. All three episodes are intact: Episode 1: Escape from Wolfenstein, Episode 2: Operation: Eisenfaust, and Episode 3: Die, Fuhrer, Die! It can be played here at Wolfenstein 3D's dedicated site, or over on the game's Facebook page here.
Celebrating Wolfenstein's 20th anniversary by launching a free-to-play version of the classic PC shooter that runs within a Web browser. All three episodes are intact: Episode 1: Escape from Wolfenstein, Episode 2: Operation: Eisenfaust, and Episode 3: Die, Fuhrer, Die! It can be played here at Wolfenstein 3D's dedicated site, or over on the game's Facebook page here.
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