Friday, February 20, 2009

Nanotech research could fit 10 trillion bits of data onto disk the size of a quarter

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/20/nanotech-research-could-fit-10-5tb-of-data-onto-disk-the-size-of/

Two researchers, Ting Xu and Thomas Russell, are in the midst of developing some potentially sweet nanotech that could allow storage of around 10.5 terabits (or 10 trillion bits) of data on a space the size of a quarter. They're currently working on the technique, which starts with a sliced crystal (sapphire or silicon) sliced at a jagged angle, which is then heated to 2,700 degrees Farenheit which causes the crystal to reorganize itself into a sawtooth pattern at three nanometer angles. The crystal is then sprayed with a custom polymer, dryed, and treated again with a different solvent, after which the polymer then settles into a hexagonal pattern on the surface of the crystal. Sound complicated? Well, it is, and all the kinks aren't quite work out, but the technique essentially provides a path to creating a self-assembling disk with far more storage capacity than anything currently available. The current state of the research will be detailed in the upcoming issue of Science magazine. We'll believe it when we see it, but keep up the good work, guys!

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Nanotech research could fit 10 trillion bits of data onto disk the size of a quarter originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 11:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of fee! ds.< /p>

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ASUS experimenting with Android-based netbook

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/20/asus-experimenting-with-android-based-netbook/


We'd already heard that ASUS was at least considering using Android on its Eee PC netbook, and seen it wrangled onto one unofficially (see above), but ASUS's Samson Hu has now offered a few more details that indicate just how serious the company is about the XP/Linux alternative. Apparently, ASUS has already allocated a team of engineers to work on the Android-based netbook, which Hu says could be ready by the end of the year, although the company isn't committing to actually releasing a product until it sees how things pan out. No further word on ASUS's other Android experiments, unfortunately, but it seems safe to bet that ASUS is devoting even more attention to those, at least if its latest timeline is any indication.

[Via GadgetMix.com]

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ASUS experimenting with Android-based netbook originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 12:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Philips Net TV rumored to go live in April

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/20/philips-net-tv-rumored-to-go-live-in-april/


We've been hearing about Philips' attempt to jump on the burgeoning connected HDTV bandwagon for nearly a year now, but at long last, it seems like the company will finally be making it happen -- months after everyone else stole the thunder at CES. At any rate, Pocket-lint has it that the aforesaid outfit is readying its Net TV module -- which should be an add-on of some sort that connects via wire to its 8000, 9000 and Cinema 21:9 HDTVs -- for an April release. The box will purportedly bring the web's best content to your HDTV through an easy-to-understand user interface, and the WiFi capability means that you won't have to run an Ethernet cable to your set. Like most everything Philips does in the HDTV / home entertainment space, we suspect this will also be limited to Europe, but a boy can dream, can't he?

[Via ShinyShiny]

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Philips Net TV rumored to go live in April originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 13:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ARM's stash of netbook oddities and a Windows Mobile 6.5 MID

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/20/arms-stash-of-netbook-oddities-and-a-windows-mobile-6-5-mid/


We're not sure what sort of shenanigans ARM gets up to, but it managed to amass itself quite the interesting collection of netbooks for its MWC booth. Information was scant, but they were showing that Freescale i.MX-based Pegatron netbook and nettop we saw at CES, an ultrawide 11.1-inch Snapdragon-based netbook from Wistron, a Snapdragon-based convertible tablet netbook from Inventec Alaska, and a totally odd "tech demo" of a Qualcomm-based Wistron MID semi-running a sketch version of Windows Mobile 6.5. Most all of the systems were in some level of prototype form, and seemed unbearably slow at running whatever prototype flavor of Linux they happened to have, while the MID didn't really seem to operate at all, at least to our touch. Still, it's clear that Snapdragon and Freescale i.MX are allowing for some pretty wild and thin form factors while still rocking decent battery life.

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ARM's stash of netbook oddities and a Windows Mobile 6.5 MID originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 14:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NVIDIA Ion platform to support VIA Nano processors this year

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2009/02/20/nivida-ion-platform-to-support-via-nano-processors-this-year/

It's pretty clear NVIDIA already has some big plans for its new nettop / netbook-specific Ion platform, and it looks like its reach is about to get broader still, with company president Jen-Hsun Huang reportedly confirming that the platform will also support VIA's Nano processor by the end of the year. As you may recall, the two companies had been in off and on talks about a partnership last year before things finally fell though in November, and there was even a point where it seemed like NVIDIA might actually acquire VIA. No word from Intel on this latest development, although it doesn't seem like it'll be affecting the Atom's status as the go-to processor in the short term. There's also unfortunately no indication as to exactly what sort of VIA-powered, Ion-based systems we can expect to see, although it certainly wouldn't be a surprise if they followed the Ion / Atom combo and went with a nettop first.

[Via GadgetMix.com]

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NVIDIA Ion platform to support VIA Nano processors t! his year originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 15:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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