old-and-new-technology

15 Hot New Technologies That Will Change Everything

2012-07-30T13:40:00.000-07:00

The Future of Your PC's Hardware

Memristor: A Groundbreaking New Circuit

What is it? As its name implies, the memristor can "remember" how much current has passed through it. And by alternating the amount of current that passes through it, a memristor can also become a one-element circuit component with unique properties. Most notably, it can save its electronic state even when the current is turned off, making it a great candidate to replace today's flash memory.

Memristors will theoretically be cheaper and far faster than flash memory, and allow far greater memory densities. They could also replace RAM chips as we know them, so that, after you turn off your computer, it will remember exactly what it was doing when you turn it back on, and return to work instantly. This lowering of cost and consolidating of components may lead to affordable, solid-state computers that fit in your pocket and run many times faster than today's PCs.

Someday the memristor could spawn a whole new type of computer, thanks to its ability to remember a range of electrical states rather than the simplistic "on" and "off" states that today's digital processors recognize. By working with a dynamic range of data states in an analog mode, memristor-based computers could be capable of far more complex tasks than just shuttling ones and zeroes around.

When is it coming? Researchers say that no real barrier prevents implementing the memristor in circuitry immediately. But it's up to the business side to push products through to commercial reality. Memristors made to replace flash memory (at a lower cost and lower power consumption) will likely appear first; HP's goal is to offer them by 2012. Beyond that, memristors will likely replace both DRAM and hard disks in the 2014-to-2016 time frame. As for memristor-based analog computers, that step may take 20-plus years.

32-Core CPUs From Intel and AMD

Photograph: Courtesy of IntelIf your CPU has only a single core, it's officially a dinosaur. In fact,quad-core computing is now commonplace; you can even get laptop computers with four cores today. But we're really just at the beginning of the core wars: Leadership in the CPU market will soon be decided by who has the most cores, not who has the fastest clock speed.

What is it? With the gigahertz race largely abandoned, both AMD and Intel are trying to pack more cores onto a die in order to continue to improve processing power and aid with multitasking operations. Miniaturizing chips further will be key to fitting these cores and other components into a limited space. Intel will roll out 32-nanometer processors (down from today's 45nm chips) in 2009.

When is it coming? Intel has been very good about sticking to its road map. A six-core CPU based on the Itanium design should be out imminently, when Intel then shifts focus to a brand-new architecture called Nehalem, to be marketed as Core i7. Core i7 will feature up to eight cores, with eight-core systems available in 2009 or 2010. (And an eight-core AMD project called Montreal is reportedly on tap for 2009.)

After that, the timeline gets fuzzy. Intel reportedly canceled a 32-core project called Keifer, slated for 2010, possibly because of its complexity (the company won't confirm this, though). That many cores requires a new way of dealing with memory; apparently you can't have 32 brains pulling out of one central pool of RAM. But we still expect cores to proliferate when the kinks are ironed out: 16 cores by 2011 or 2012 is plausible (when transistors are predicted to drop again in size to 22nm), with 32 cores by 2013 or 2014 easily within reach. Intel says "hundreds" of cores may come even farther down the line.

Nehalem and Swift Chips Spell the End of Stand-Alone Graphics Boards

When AMD purchased graphics card maker ATI, most industry observers assumed that the combined company would start working on a CPU-GPU fusion. That work is further along than you may think.

What is it? While GPUs get tons of attention, discrete graphics boards are a comparative rarity among PC owners, as 75 percent of laptop users stick with good old integrated graphics, according to Mercury Research. Among the reasons: the extra cost of a discrete graphics card, the hassle of installing one, and its drain on the battery. Putting graphics functions right on the CPU eliminates all three issues.

Chip makers expect the performance of such on-die GPUs to fall somewhere between that of today's integrated graphics and stand-alone graphics boards--but eventually, experts believe, their performance could catch up and make discrete graphics obsolete. One potential idea is to devote, say, 4 cores in a 16-core CPU to graphics processing, which could make for blistering gaming experiences.

When is it coming? Intel's soon-to-come Nehalem chip includes graphics processing within the chip package, but off of the actual CPU die. AMD's Swift (aka the Shrike platform), the first product in its Fusion line, reportedly takes the same design approach, and is also currently on tap for 2009.

Putting the GPU directly on the same die as the CPU presents challenges--heat being a major one--but that doesn't mean those issues won't be worked out. Intel's two Nehalem follow-ups, Auburndale and Havendale, both slated for late 2009, may be the first chips to put a GPU and a CPU on one die, but the company isn't saying yet.

USB 3.0 Speeds Up Performance on External Devices

The USB connector has been one of the greatest success stories in the history of computing, with more than 2 billion USB-connected devices sold to date. But in an age of terabyte hard drives, the once-cool throughput of 480 megabits per second that a USB 2.0 device can realistically provide just doesn't cut it any longer.

What is it? USB 3.0 (aka "SuperSpeed USB") promises to increase performance by a factor of 10, pushing the theoretical maximum throughput of the connector all the way up to 4.8 gigabits per second, or processing roughly the equivalent of an entire CD-R disc every second. USB 3.0 devices will use a slightly different connector, but USB 3.0 ports are expected to be backward-compatible with current USB plugs, and vice versa. USB 3.0 should also greatly enhance the power efficiency of USB devices, while increasing the juice (nearly one full amp, up from 0.1 amps) available to them. That means faster charging times for your iPod--and probably even more bizarre USB-connected gear like the toy rocket launchers and beverage coolers that have been festooning people's desks.

When is it coming? The USB 3.0 spec is nearly finished, with consumer gear now predicted to come in 2010. Meanwhile, a host of competing high-speed plugs--DisplayPort, eSATA, and HDMI--will soon become commonplace on PCs, driven largely by the onset of high-def video. Even FireWire is looking at an imminent upgrade of up to 3.2 gbps performance. The port proliferation may make for a baffling landscape on the back of a new PC, but you will at least have plenty of high-performance options for hooking up peripherals.

Wireless Power Transmission

Wireless power transmission has been a dream since the days when Nikola Tesla imagined a world studded with enormous Tesla coils. But aside from advances in recharging electric toothbrushes, wireless power has so far failed to make significant inroads into consumer-level gear.

What is it? This summer, Intel researchers demonstrated a method--based on MIT research--for throwing electricity a distance of a few feet, without wires and without any dangers to bystanders (well, none that they know about yet). Intel calls the technology a "wireless resonant energy link," and it works by sending a specific, 10-MHz signal through a coil of wire; a similar, nearby coil of wire resonates in tune with the frequency, causing electrons to flow through that coil too. Though the design is primitive, it can light up a 60-watt bulb with 70 percent efficiency.

When is it coming? Numerous obstacles remain, the first of which is that the Intel project uses alternating current. To charge gadgets, we'd have to see a direct-current version, and the size of the apparatus would have to be considerably smaller. Numerous regulatory hurdles would likely have to be cleared in commercializing such a system, and it would have to be thoroughly vetted for safety concerns.

Assuming those all go reasonably well, such receiving circuitry could be integrated into the back of your laptop screen in roughly the next six to eight years. It would then be a simple matter for your local airport or even Starbucks to embed the companion power transmitters right into the walls so you can get a quick charge without ever opening up your laptop bag.

64-Bit Computing Allows for More RAM

In 1986, Intel introduced its first 32-bit CPU. It wasn't until 1993 that the first fully 32-bit Windows OS--Windows NT 3.1--followed, officially ending the 16-bit era. Now 64-bit processors have become the norm in desktops and notebooks, though Microsoft still won't commit to an all-64-bit Windows. But it can't live in the 32-bit world forever.

What is it? 64-bit versions of Windows have been around since Windows XP, and 64-bit CPUs have been with us even longer. In fact, virtually every computer sold today has a 64-bit processor under the hood. At some point Microsoft will have to jettison 32-bit altogether, as it did with 16-bit when it launched Windows NT, if it wants to induce consumers (and third-party hardware and software developers) to upgrade. That isn't likely with Windows 7: The upcoming OS is already being demoed in 32-bit and 64-bit versions. But limitations in 32-bit's addressing structure will eventually force everyone's hand; it's already a problem for 32-bit Vista users, who have found that the OS won't access more than about 3GB of RAM because it simply doesn't have the bits to access additional memory.

When is it coming? Expect to see the shift toward 64-bit accelerate with Windows 7; Microsoft will likely switch over to 64-bit exclusively with Windows 8. That'll be 2013 at the earliest. Meanwhile, Mac OS X Leopard is already 64-bit, and some hardware manufacturers are currently trying to transition customers to 64-bit versions of Windows (Samsung says it will push its entire PC line to 64-bit in early 2009). And what about 128-bit computing, which would represent the next big jump? Let's tackle one sea change at a time--and prepare for that move around 2025.

Windows 7: It's Inevitable

Whether you love Vista or hate it, the current Windows will soon go to that great digital graveyard in the sky. After the tepid reception Vista received, Microsoft is putting a rush on Vista's follow-up, known currently as Windows 7.

What is it? At this point Windows 7 seems to be the OS that Microsoft wanted to release as Vista, but lacked the time or resources to complete. Besides continuing refinements to the security system of the OS and to its look and feel, Windows 7 may finally bring to fruition the long-rumored database-like WinFS file system. Performance and compatibility improvements over Vista are also expected.

But the main thrust of Windows 7 is likely to be enhanced online integration and more cloud computing features--look for Microsoft to tie its growing Windows Live services into the OS more strongly than ever. Before his retirement as Microsoft's chairman, Bill Gates suggested that a so-called pervasive desktop would be a focus of Windows 7, giving users a way to take all their data, desktop settings, bookmarks, and the like from one computer to another--presumably as long as all those computers were running Windows 7.

When is it coming? Microsoft has set a target date of January 2010 for the release of Windows 7, and the official date hasn't slipped yet. However, rumor has the first official beta coming out before the end of this year.

Google's Desktop OS

In case you haven't noticed, Google now has its well-funded mitts on just about every aspect of computing. FromWeb browsers to cell phones, soon you'll be able to spend all day in the Googleverse and never have to leave. Will Google make the jump to building its own PC operating system next?

What is it? It's everything, or so it seems. Google Checkout provides an alternative to PayPal. Street View is well on its way to taking a picture of every house on every street in the United States. And the fun is just starting: Google's early-beta Chrome browser earned a 1 percent market share in the first 24 hours of its existence. Android, Google's cell phone operating system, is hitting handsets as you read this, becoming the first credible challenger to the iPhone among sophisticated customers.

When is it coming? Though Google seems to have covered everything, many observers believe that logically it will next attempt to attack one very big part of the software market: the operating system.

The Chrome browser is the first toe Google has dipped into these waters. While a browser is how users interact with most of Google's products, making the underlying operating system somewhat irrelevant, Chrome nevertheless needs an OS to operate.

To make Microsoft irrelevant, though, Google would have to work its way through a minefield of device drivers, and even then the result wouldn't be a good solution for people who have specialized application needs, particularly most business users. But a simple Google OS--perhaps one that's basically a customized Linux distribution--combined with cheap hardware could be something that changes the PC landscape in ways that smaller players who have toyed with open-source OSs so far haven't been quite able to do.

Check back in 2011, and take a look at the not-affiliated-with-Google gOS, thinkgos in the meantime.

Gesture-Based Remote Control

Photograph: Courtesy of Reatrix

We love our mice, really we do. Sometimes, however, such as when we're sitting on the couch watching a DVD on a laptop, or when we're working across the room from an MP3-playing PC, it just isn't convenient to drag a hockey puck and click on what we want. Attempts to replace the venerable mouse--whether with voice recognition or brain-wave scanners--have invariably failed. But an alternative is emerging.

What is it? Compared with the intricacies of voice recognition, gesture recognition is a fairly simple idea that is only now making its way into consumer electronics. The idea is to employ a camera (such as a laptop's Webcam) to watch the user and react to the person's hand signals. Holding your palm out flat would indicate "stop," for example, if you're playing a movie or a song. And waving a fist around in the air could double as a pointing system: You would just move your fist to the right to move the pointer right, and so on.

When is it coming? Gesture recognition systems are creeping onto the market now. Toshiba, a pioneer in this market, has at least one product out that supports an early version of the technology: the Qosmio G55 laptop, which can recognize gestures to control multimedia playback. The company is also experimenting with a TV version of the technology, which would watch for hand signals via a small camera atop the set. Based on my tests, though, the accuracy of these systems still needs a lot of work.

Gesture recognition is a neat way to pause the DVD on your laptop, but it probably remains a way off from being sophisticated enough for broad adoption. All the same, its successful development would excite tons of interest from the "can't find the remote" crowd. Expect to see gesture recognition technology make some great strides over the next few years, with inroads into mainstream markets by 2012.

Radical Simplification Hits the TV Business

The back of most audiovisual centers looks like a tangle of snakes that even Medusa would turn away from. Similarly, the bowl of remote controls on your coffee table appeals to no one. The Tru2way platform may simplify things once and for all.

What is it? Who can forget CableCard, a technology that was supposed to streamline home A/V installations but that ultimately went nowhere despite immense coverage and hype? CableCard just didn't do enough--and what it managed to do, it didn't do very well. Enter Tru2way.

Tru2way is a set of services and standards designed to pick up the pieces of CableCard's failure by upgrading what that earlier standard could do (including support for two-way communications features like programming guides and pay-per-view, which CableCard TVs couldn't handle), and by offering better compatibility, improved stability, and support for dual-tuner applications right out of the box. So if you have a Tru2way-capable TV, you should need only to plug in a wire to be up and running with a full suite of interactive cable services (including local search features, news feeds, online shopping, and games)--all sans additional boxes, extra remotes, or even a visit from cable-company technicians.

When is it coming? Tru2way sets have been demonstrated all year, and Chicago and Denver will be the first markets with the live technology. Does Tru2way have a real shot? Most of the major cable companies have signed up to implement it, as have numerous TV makers, including LG, Panasonic, Samsung, and Sony. Panasonic began shipping two Tru2way TVs in late October, and Samsung may have sets that use the technology available in early to mid-2009.

Curtains for DRM

Petrified of piracy, Hollywood has long relied on technical means to keep copies of its output from making the rounds on peer-to-peer networks. It hasn't worked: Tools to bypass DRM on just about any kind of media are readily available, and feature films often hit BitTorrent even before they appear in theaters. Unfortunately for law-abiding citizens, DRM is less a deterrent to piracy than a nuisance that gets in the way of enjoying legally obtained content on more than one device.

What is it? It's not what it is, it's what it isn't--axing DRM means no more schemes to prevent you from moving audio or video from one form of media to another. The most ardent DRM critics dream of a day when you'll be able to take a DVD, pop it in a computer, and end up with a compressed video file that will play on any device in your arsenal. Better yet, you won't need that DVD at all: You'll be able to pay a few bucks for an unprotected, downloadable version of the movie that you can redownload any time you wish.

When is it coming? Technologically speaking, nothing is stopping companies from scrapping DRM tomorrow. But legally and politically, resistance persists. Music has largely made the transition already--Amazon and iTunes both sell DRM-free MP3s that you can play on as many devices as you want.

Video is taking baby steps in the same direction, albeit slowly so far. One recent example: RealNetworks' RealDVD software (which is now embroiled in litigation) lets you rip DVDs to your computer with one click, but they're still protected by a DRM system. Meanwhile, studios are experimenting with bundling legally rippable digital copies of their films with packaged DVDs, while online services are tiptoeing into letting downloaders burn a copy of a digital movie to disc.

That's progress, but ending all DRM as we know it is still years off. Keep yes.

Use Any Phone on Any Wireless Network

The reason most cell phones are so cheap is that wireless carriers subsidize them so you'll sign a long-term contract. Open access could change the economics of the mobile phone (and mobile data) business dramatically as the walls preventing certain devices from working on certain networks come down. We could also see a rapid proliferation of cell phone models, with smaller companies becoming better able to make headway into formerly closed phone markets.

What is it? Two years is an eternity in the cellular world. The original iPhone was announced, introduced, and discontinued in less than that time, yet carriers routinely ask you to sign up for two-year contracts if you want access to their discounted phones. (It could be worse--in other countries, three years is normal.) Verizon launched the first volley late last year when it promised that "any device, any application" would soon be allowed on its famously closed network. Meanwhile, AT&T and T-Mobile like to note that their GSM networks have long been "open."

When is it coming? Open access is partially here: You can use almost any unlocked GSM handset on AT&T or T-Mobile today, and Verizon Wireless began certifying third-party devices for its network in July (though to date the company has approved only two products). But the future isn't quite so rosy, as Verizon is dragging its feet a bit on the legal requirement that it keep its newly acquired 700-MHz network open to other devices, a mandate that the FCC agreed to after substantial lobbying by Google. Some experts have argued that the FCC provisions aren't wholly enforceable. However, we won't really know how "open" is defined until the new network begins rolling out, a debut slated for 2010.

Your Fingers Do Even More Walking

Last year Microsoft introduced Surface, a table with a built-in monitor and touch screen; many industry watchers have seen it as a bellwether for touch-sensitive computing embedded into every device imaginable. Surface is a neat trick, but the reality of touch devices may be driven by something entirely different and more accessible: the Apple iPhone.

What is it? With the iPhone, "multitouch" technology (which lets you use more than one finger to perform specific actions) reinvented what we knew about the humble touchpad. Tracing a single finger on most touchpads looks positively simian next to some of the tricks you can do with two or more digits. Since the iPhone's launch, multitouch has found its way into numerous mainstream devices, including the Asus Eee PC 900 and a Dell Latitude tablet PC. Now all eyes are turned back to Apple, to see how it will further adapt multitouch (which it has already brought to its laptops' touchpads). Patents that Apple has filed for a multitouch tablet PC have many people expecting the company to dive into this neglected market, finally bringing tablets into the mainstream and possibly sparking explosive growth in the category.

When is it coming? It's not a question of when Multitouch will arrive, but how quickly the trend will grow. Fewer than 200,000 touch-screen devices were shipped in 2006. iSuppli analysts have estimated that a whopping 833 million will be sold in 2013. The real guessing game is figuring out when the old "single-touch" pads become obsolete, possibly taking physical keyboards along with them in many devices.

Cell Phones Are the New Paper

Photograph: Courtesy of TSA (left); courtesy of Tickets.com (right)

Log in to your airline's Web site. Check in. Print out your boarding pass. Hope you don't lose it. Hand the crumpled pass to a TSA security agent and pray you don't get pulled aside for a pat-down search. When you're ready to fly home, wait in line at the airport because you lacked access to a printer in your hotel room. Can't we come up with a better way?

What is it? The idea of the paperless office has been with us since Bill Gates was in short pants, but no matter how sophisticated your OS or your use of digital files in lieu of printouts might be, they're of no help once you leave your desk. People need printouts of maps, receipts, and instructions when a computer just isn't convenient. PDAs failed to fill that need, so coming to the rescue are their replacements: cell phones.

Applications to eliminate the need for a printout in nearly any situation are flooding the market. Cellfire offers mobile coupons you can pull up on your phone and show to a clerk; Tickets.com now makes digital concert passes available via cell phone through its Tickets@Phone service. The final frontier, though, remains the airline boarding pass, which has resisted this next paperless step since the advent of Web-based check-in.

When is it coming? Some cell-phone apps that replace paper are here now (just look at the ones for the iPhone), and even paperless boarding passes are creeping forward. Continental has been experimenting with a cell-phone check-in system that lets you show an encrypted, 2D bar code on your phone to a TSA agent in lieu of a paper boarding pass. The agent scans the bar code with an ordinary scanner, and you're on your way. Introduced at the Houston Intercontinental Airport, the pilot project became permanent earlier this year, and Continental rolled it out in three other airports in 2008. The company promises more airports to come. (Quantas will be doing something similar early next year.)

Where You At? Ask Your Phone, Not Your Friend

GPS is taking off, as phone makers, carriers, and service providers have realized that consumers generally have no idea where they are, ever. A location-based service (LBS) takes raw GPS data that pinpoints your location and enhances this information with additional services, from suggesting nearby restaurants to specifying the whereabouts of your friends.

What is it? LBS was originally envisioned as simply using old-school cell-phone signal triangulation to locate users' whereabouts, but as the chips become more common and more sophisticated, GPS is proving to be not only handy and accurate but also the basis for new services. Many startups have formed around location-based services. Want a date? Never mind who's compatible; who's nearby? MeetMoi can find them. Need to get a dozen people all in one place? Both Whrrl anduLocate's Buddy Beacon tell you where your friends are in real time.

Of course, not everyone is thrilled about LBS: Worries about surreptitious tracking or stalking are commonplace, as is the possibility of a flood of spam messages being delivered to your phone.

When is it coming? LBS is growing fast. The only thing holding it back is the slow uptake of GPS-enabled phones (and carriers' steep fees to activate the function). But with iPhones selling like Ben & Jerry's in July, that's not much of a hurdle to overcome. Expect to see massive adoption of these technologies in 2009 and 2010.

Our Greatest Hits

Predicting the future isn't easy. Sometimes PC World has been right on the money. At other times, we've missed it by a mile. Here are three predictions we made that were eerily prescient--and three where we may have been a bit too optimistic.

1983 What we said: "The mouse will bask in the computer world limelight... Like the joystick before it, though, the mouse will fade someday into familiarity."

We hit that one out of the park. Mice are so commonplace that they're practically disposable.

1984 What we said: "Microsoft Windows should have a lasting effect on the entire personal computer industry."

"Lasting" was an understatement. Windows has now amassed for Microsoft total revenues in the tens of billions of dollars and is so ubiquitous and influential that it has been almost perpetually embroiled in one lawsuit or another, usually involving charges of monopoly or of trademark and patent infringements.

1988 What we said:"In the future you'll have this little box containing all your files and programs... It's very likely that eventually people will always carry their data with them."

For most people, that little box is now also their MP3 player or cell phone.

And Biggest Misses

1987 What we said: "When you walk into an office in 1998, the PC will sense your presence, switch itself on, and promptly deliver your overnight e-mail, sorted in order of importance."

When we arrive in our office, the computer ignores us, slowly delivers the overnight e-mail, and puts all the spam on top.

1994 What we said: "Within five years... batteries that last a year, like watch batteries today, will power [PDAs]."

Perhaps our biggest whiff of all time. Not only do these superbatteries not exist (nor are they even remotely in sight), but PDAs are pretty much dead too.

2000 What we said: We wrote about future "computers that pay attention to you, sensing where you are, what you're doing, and even what your vital signs are... Products incorporating this kind of technology...could hit the market within a year."

While many devices now feature location-sensing hardware, such a PC has yet to come to pass. And frankly, we'd be glad to be wrong about this one.

VMware Partner Exchange 2012 conference coverage

2012-07-27T12:54:00.004-07:00

VMware Partner Exchange 2012 will bring VMware channel partners together to learn about the company’s upcoming releases and how to build a business around its existing product line.When the first VMware Partner Exchange took place, in 2008, the company’s sole focus was server virtualization. VMware View was brand new, “cloud” was little more than a buzzword and the mobile enterprise revolved around BlackBerry. But today, VMware is heavily involved in desktop virtualization, cloud computing and the consumerization of IT. This expansion presents new opportunities for VMware channel partners, but also some challenges. With all these products and technologies, it can be hard to keep up.VMware channel partners will be looking for direction at VMware Partner Exchange 2012, which takes place Feb. 13-16 in Las Vegas, and we’re bringing you all the news from the show right here. Check back often for the latest updates on VMware technologies, products and channel programs.VMware SMB appeal still lags Microsoft, VARs sayDespite a reorganized sales force and additional channel incentives for partners, VMware still faces an uphill battle against Microsoft for the SMB market, say VARs at the VMware Partner Exchange conference. VARs want VMware to focus more effort on educating customers about VMware, as well as look at the pricing for SMB customers.VMware partners eye new channel incentivesVMware announced new solution competencies for VARs in specific areas. Some partners liked the program, as it would give them a competitive advantage over other partners. But smaller partners with limited resources will be forced to pick their battles.

Intel Tri-Gate 3D processor aims to beat the heat, boost performance

2012-07-27T12:51:00.002-07:00

Infrastructure VARs excited about the speed improvements and energy savings of Intel’s latest processors have even more advancements to look forward to as the company moves to a three-dimensional processor design.The shift to a 3D processor (called Intel Tri-Gate) is necessary for future performance and efficiency gains. It has enormous implications for reducing the heat produced by systems and for compressing the amount of space that components need in the typical data center chassis, according to custom system builders.The technology isn’t likely to show up in client hardware for three to four years, but it will be a big deal earlier on for the server market. As data centers become more dense, many IT managers are struggling to balance performance gains with limitations in power distribution and cooling infrastructure. “How much equipment can be deployed is often not as limited by space as it is limited by power,” said Chuck Orcutt, product manager for Nexlink, the product line made by system builder Seneca Data Distributors Inc. in North Syracuse, N.Y. “In some cases, it comes down to the design of the board or the chassis; it is really important to design the exact correct solution for the client’s application.”
The Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product portfolio (codenamed Sandy Bridge) rolled out earlier this month and is designed to increase server performance by up to 80%. It also improves energy efficiency by up to 50%, according the benchmarks Intel uses in its introduction materials. A major server refresh wave includes line updates from all the usual top-tier OEM suspects, which could be good news for technology providers that want to sell to customers that have been postponing refreshes.
Intel Tri-Gate (codenamed Ivy Bridge), the 3D processor line, will be at the center of the next wave of updates. A new 22-nanometer manufacturing process makes it all possible, and Intel is putting it in place throughout 2012. Intel will eventually use the design across its entire chip portfolio, from chips for tiny mobile gadgets up to those in high-end servers. The design moves electrons across three dimensions (instead of the two dimensions found in current chips) and enables them to operate at lower voltages without sacrificing performance, according to Intel.
“The reason for 3D from Intel’s standpoint is to keep Moore’s Law consistent,” said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies Inc., the Campbell, Calif.-based analyst firm. “From a pure consumer standpoint, at the processor level that means you can have much faster chips at a lower power draw.”
Charles Liang, chairman, CEO and president of Super Micro Computer Inc., a systems builder based in San Jose, Calif., said his organization anticipates an additional 30% to 50% improvement in server performance as a result of the Intel Tri-Gate 3D processor approach. At the same time, he expects that it will reduce power consumption by 30% to 40%.
“For sure, this will make IT more green,” he said. “For really high-performance systems, which includes lots of our architecture, this will be a way to better address the heat issues.”
About the expert
Heather Clancy is an award-winning business journalist in the New York City area with more than 20 years’ experience. Her articles have appeared in Entrepreneur, Fortune Small Business, the International Herald Tribune and The New York Times. Clancy was previously editor at Computer Reseller News, a B2B trade publication covering news and trends about the high-tech channel.

Mobility rewrites the rules for POS system services

2012-07-27T12:45:00.005-07:00

Mobile technology is rewriting the rules for point-of-sale system services. This is creating opportunities for solution providers with security, wireless and broad e-commerce skills.Tablet computers have accelerated adoption of open system point-of-sale (POS) solutions that integrate multiple transaction methods, including mobile and traditional fixed in-store sales terminals as well as e-commerce sites. This shift means systems are less tied to specific proprietary POS system hardware than in the past.one motivation is generational: Entrepreneurs are opting for systems that can "follow" clients and support better tableside service. Rather than adopting fixed POS system terminals, small-business owners that have grown up with PCs and the Web are opting for mobile computers that can run POS applications served up via an Internet connection, Stewart said."There is a paradigm shift happening in POS," said Jim Stewart, general manager for Advanced Data Systems, a POS system service provider in Midlothian, Ill. "The iPad has made a certain dent in our space."To amplify his point, sales of handheld POS system devices reached $1.1 billion in 2011 and are projected to hit $3.1 billion by 2018, according to a forecast from Winter Green Research.The shift toward mobile devices and other open system hardware has inspired Advanced Data Systems to shift toward a subscription-based model for the POS system services and software applications it represents, Stewart said.In addition, the solution provider increasingly is being called upon to create solutions that combine customer loyalty systems with social networks. "The line is blurring quite a bit with loyalty and credit-card integration and online ordering applications," Stewart said.
If you have security or wireless skills, the adoption of mobile solutions could help solution providers get their foot in the door of this vertical market, said Hillel Sackstein, president ofVirtual Graffiti Inc., a $30 million POS system services and solution provider in Irvine, Calif.
As retailers, restaurants and hospitality companies incorporate mobile devices into their POS workflow, more of them require security and wireless experts to bring discipline and better management to their network infrastructure, Sackstein said.
Case in point: Virtual Graffiti was tapped to help retailer Cathy Jean Shoes centralize its order and reporting process and then create a secure conduit for data to be shared among its 46 retail locations. It used a secure VPN tunnel and firewalls to comply with Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards.
Retailers are motivated both by an interest in rolling out internal mobile applications, such as personal shopping solutions, and by an interest in encouraging store visitors to use their mobile devices to consider in-store promotions and other marketing offers.
Forrester Research Inc. reported in January 2012 that almost half of all tablet computer users are actually completing some sort of shopping transaction on their devices. A similar number of consumers use smartphones to research or search for information on products while they are in a store.
"Retailers have realized that every person is carrying around at least one wireless device that might be able to connect to their network, so their needs for this infrastructure have significantly increased," Sackstein said.
About the expert
Heather Clancy is an award-winning business journalist in the New York City area with more than 20 years’ experience. Her articles have appeared in Entrepreneur, Fortune Small Business, the International Herald Tribune and The New York Times. Clancy was previously editor at Computer Reseller News, a B2B trade publication covering news and trends about the high-tech channel.

Restaurant, hospitality and retail industries using mobile POS system services

Stun Gun iPhone Case

2012-07-24T12:42:00.005-07:00

Stun Gun iPhone Case

The Yellow Jacket iPhone case will protect more than your phone; it can also deliver 650,000 volts of electricity to an attacker.

Developed by Seth Froom and currently seeking funding on indiegogo, the Yellow Jacket stun gun case features a built in battery that can add an extra 20 hours of battery life. The battery also powers the zap of electricity, which is enough to bring down a grown man. The stun gun can be deployed with one hand and features a safety switch to prevent it from being deployed accidentally.

private cloud orchestration

2012-07-22T12:00:00.004-07:00

With a private cloud, IT managers can borrow technologies pioneered by public cloud providers and apply them to their own data center. These clouds have many moving parts -- virtualization management, chargeback systems, self-service provisioning -- hence the need for orchestration.Open source project OpenStack has gained considerable momentum offering a core set of cloud orchestration services. Eucalyptus is another alternative, offering essentially a private cloud implementation of Amazon Web Services.

It may be easy to be cynical about any technology attached to the term "cloud," but no one questions the benefits of pooling resources for greater economies of scale. Paradigm changes demand new ways of working -- and the emerging collection of cloud orchestration software supplies the means.

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software-define network

2012-07-22T11:59:00.002-07:00

Data center networks have grown calcified over time. While servers and storage have benefited from software abstractions, networks have remained hardware-bound and static, making them a major roadblock to cloud computing. Enter SDN (software-defined networking), which drapes a software layer over switch and router hardware to serve as both a centrally managed control plane and a platform for innovation.

SDN isn't network virtualization; rather it is a way to "program the network" -- that is, it allows cloud providers and ISVs to build new networking capabilities the rest of us can draw on. The leading example of SDN today is OpenFlow, the brainchild of university researchers who wanted to experiment with new network protocols on large production networks.

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advanced synchhonization

2012-07-22T11:57:00.005-07:00

Apple and Microsoft agree: It's time to say good-bye to single-user environments, where each device is a separate island from the rest of the user's computing world. Apple paved the way with iOS and iCloud, introducing a cloud-based syncing service across devices. Microsoft's Windows 8 takes the concept further, keeping not just data but application state in sync.

This shift will drastically change how people work on computers, giving applications dramatic new utility. Automatic data syncing coupled with context, such as location, available input methods, connectivity, and sensor-driven data, will give rise to truly user-centric computing, profoundly altering how IT approaches applications, security models, and other tech policies and strategies centered on user productivity.

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apache hadoop

2012-07-22T11:56:00.003-07:00

Hadoop breaks new ground by enabling businesses to deploy clusters of commodity servers to crunch through many terabytes of unstructured data -- simply to discover interesting patterns to explore, rather than to start with formal business intelligence objectives. Tools like Apache Hive and Apache Pig have made exploiting Hadoop easier for developers, and the evolution of the Hadoop ecosystem points to further ease and deeper insights in the years to come.

As Hadoop solutions proliferate, businesses will better be able to predict the behavior of Web customers, optimize workflows, and discover patterns in everything from medical histories to common search terms. The best thing about the new wave of Hadoop analytics is that we're only beginning to discover where it may lead.

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java script replacement

2012-07-22T11:54:00.003-07:00

JavaScript may be the most commonly executed code on the planet, but for all its success, everyone is moving on to the next thing. Some want to build entirely new languages that fix all of the troubles with JavaScript; others just want to translate their code into JavaScript, so they can pretend they don't use it.

Translated code is all the rage. Google's Web Toolkitcross-compiles Java into JavaScript so the developer types only properly typed Java code. Some translations are cosmetic: Programmers who write in CoffeeScript don't need to worry about much of JavaScript's punctuation because the cross-compiler inserts it before it runs. Other translations, such as Google's Dart, are more ambitious, pointing to a future of ever more options.

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trust on a chip

2012-07-22T11:53:00.002-07:00

Assuring security at the highest application level requires verification at every layer, including the physical construction of the computing device. Enter trust on a chip.The TPM (Trusted Platform Module) from the TCG (Trusted Computing Group) was the first popularly adopted hardware chip to assure trusted hardware and boot sequences. Last year, Intel combined the TPM chip and a hardware hypervisor layer to protect boot sequences, memory, and other components. Any software vendor can take advantage of it. Hardware trust solutions aren't perfectly secure, as the Princeton memory freeze and electron microscope attacks showed, but they beat software-only protection solutions. The hardware protection schemes will only get better. Soon enough, every computer device you can use will have a hardware/software protection solution running.

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continuous build tools

2012-07-22T11:51:00.004-07:00

The more collaboratively minded developers among us like the way continuous build tools like Jenkins, Hudson, and other "continuous integration" servers help us work together for the betterment of the whole. These tools put all code through a continuous stream of tests, alerting developers about problems with code they checked in some 10 seconds ago, keeping everybody moving toward the same goal.

Tools like Hudson or Jenkins aren't new -- there have been a number of slick proprietary continuous integration tools for some time, but the emergence of open source solutions encourages the kind of experimentation and innovation that comes when programmers are given the chance to make their tools better.

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client-side hypervisors

2012-07-22T11:46:00.002-07:00

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Desktop virtualization faltered for two reasons: It requires continuous connection between client and server, as well as a beefy server to run desktop VMs. Client hypervisors solve both problems. Install one on an ordinary machine and leverage the processing power of the client. Laptop users can take a "business VM" with them containing the OS, apps, and personal configuration settings. That VM is secure and separate from whatever else may be running on that machine -- including malware accidentally downloaded -- and you get all the virtualization management advantages, such as VM snapshots, portability, and easy recovery. Client hypervisors point to a future where we bring our own computers to work and download or sync our business VMs to start the day.

html 5

2012-07-22T11:44:00.001-07:00

Naysayers point out that we've been putting tags together to form Web pages since the beginning of the World Wide Web. HTML5 has simply added new ones. But while HTML5 looks similar to old-fashioned HTML, the tasks it accomplishes are dramatically different. Local data storage, `<canvas>`, and `<video>` make it possible to do much more than pour words and images into a rectangle. Plus, the new HTML5 WebSockets spec defines a new way to conduct full-duplex communication for event-driven Web apps. And with Adobe's decision to end development of mobile Flash, an entire sector of the Web development industry is going to retool as we move to HTML5 from Flash -- a tectonic shift for Web developers.

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10 emerging technologies that will shape IT's future

2012-07-22T11:37:00.004-07:00

Everyone is a trend watcher. But taking a hard look at the technologies that gave life to the latest buzz phrases is the only way to determine which trends will actually weave their way into the fabric of business computing.Here at InfoWorld, we're every bit as excited about big changes in the direction of enterprise IT, from the consumerization of IT to infrastructure convergence. But what vapor-free technologies have actually emerged to enable these IT strategies to take shape, and more importantly, which will cement these changes in your IT department in the years to come?Among the technologies shipping but not yet widely adopted, we see the following 10 having the greatest impact over the long haul. Get to know them.

The real story behind Microsoft's latest earnings report

2012-07-22T11:34:00.000-07:00

Depending on which news reports you read,Microsoft's latest earning report was either the best in the company's history (revenue for April through June hit $18.6 billion, its top quarter ever) or the worst in the company's history (writing off the 2007 purchase of aQuantive led to a first-ever quarterly loss of $492 million). Neither number generated much buzz or traction in the stock market, primarily because the write-down of a Quantive had been announced weeks ago.

Even a year-over-year decline of 14 percent in Windows quarterly sales didn't stir much interest. Microsoft set aside $540 million in revenue deferral, anticipating the launch of Windows 8 (Microsoft won't put the money on the books until it delivers the promised upgrades to Windows 8). Microsoft made similar deferrals for Vista and Windows 7, and it expects to defer more than $1 billion in revenue for Windows 8 during the current quarter. If you add the deferred revenue back in, Windows quarterly sales were basically flat, year over year, and Windows sales for the entire fiscal year were down about 2 percent.

There were two numbers, though, that really struck me.

First, the Online division (primarily Bing) continues to bleed. Ignoring the aQuantive write-down, Online lost $472 million during the quarter. Microsoft justifies the expense by referring to an increase in Bing market share, but that argument's specious. Depending on whose statistics you trust, Google's share of the U.S. search market actually increased during the quarter. Bing's increased too, but at the expense of Microsoft advertising partner Yahoo.

Tracking ComScore's U.S. Explicit Core Search numbers, Google sites had 11.4 billion hits in April, 11.7 billion in May, and 11.4 billion in June. Adding the Bing and Yahoo sites together, their numbers are 2.6 + 2.3 billion in April, 2.7 + 2.3 billion in May, and 2.7 + 2.2 billion in June; the totals come in at 4.9 billion, 5.0 billion, and 4.9 billion, respectively. If you only look at Bing's numbers, Microsoft spent $472 million to rack up 100 million more searches over the course of the quarter -- almost five bucks per search. And all that money didn't put a dent in Google.

Second, the Entertainment and Devices division took an almost unbelievable $263 million hit for the quarter, ending the fiscal year with a squeaky $364 million profit. Xbox sales were down 39 percent in the quarter, compared to last year. But the number that must really hurt -- the number the company won't divulge -- is how much Microsoft is paying for Windows Phone. In addition to internal development and support expenses, Microsoft is said to be paying third-party developers to write apps for the Windows Phone platform.

Microsoft is also paying Nokia "platform support payments." Nokia's latest financial report states: "In the second quarter 2012, we received a quarterly platform support payment of $250 million (approximately €196 million). Under the terms of the agreement governing the platform support payments, the amount of each quarterly platform support payment is $250 million."

It's also hard to estimate how much Microsoft has spent on advertising the Windows Phone. Back in January, Paul Thurrott (author of "Windows Phone 7 Secrets") divulged that "according to the internal Microsoft documentation I've viewed,the total cost of this [Windows Phone] marketing tsunami is in the neighborhood of $200 million ... that's just for the United States."

How many Windows Phones has Nokia actually sold? Nokia isn't saying. But there's some evidence that, as of May, Nokia had sold perhaps 330,000 units in the United States, a numberconfirmed last week by Horace Dediu of Asymco. Add to that the number of Samsung Focus S and HTC Windows Phones sold, and you might hit a million total Windows Phones sold in the second quarter. Maybe. With a good tailwind.

Of course, all of this involves dead reckoning. It isn't clear precisely how much Microsoft paid for Windows Phone advertising -- other companies no doubt kicked in. But if payments are in the general ballpark of $450 million, Microsoft just spent about $450 per phone to get those shiny new Windows Phones out the door. That's just the price for keeping Nokia afloat and advertising -- it doesn't even include manufacturing costs.

5 Reasons You Should Download Ringback Tones

2012-07-22T04:55:00.002-07:00

Ringback tones are the perfect way to personalize your cellphone for this holiday season. Since I have a bunch of ringback tones on my cell and I just love them, I thought I would take some time and write down my top five reasons why you would download ringback tones.

First of all, if you are not quite sure what ringback tones are, let me tell you a bit about them. Most of us have heard about ringtones – the fancy little songs or audio clips that play when your phone rings. Everyone around you knows that the cute ringtone is your girlfriend calling you, and the rap song is your buddy calling you. Ringback tones are a little different. Rather than ringing out loud on your phone when someone is calling you, ringback tones will ring in the earpiece of the person who is calling you. So instead of you hearing their call, they hear your ringback tone when they call you. It is a cute way to make your friends smile when they are waiting for you to pickup.

Ok, now for the list of reasons that might make you decide to try out ringback tones on your cellphone.

You can customize ringback tones to pretty much any audio style you want – whether that is the latest pop hit, or a classic comedy monologue from the 50’s, and the best thing is you can choose individual tones for specific people.
You can set up your ringback tones to play at certain times, and have more than one time designated for different ringback tones to play. You can even choose specific ringback tones to play for a particular group, and choose different tones for different groups (for example, friends, family, bowling team, work)
There is a cool feature (available from most mobile companies) called ‘Jukebox’ which lets you specify that your ringback tones should be shuffled for each call you receive. So your callers will hear random songs or audio clips each time they call.
This probably won’t apply to everyone, but businesses have the option to customize their ringback tone which can be used to advertise their services, or provide information about specials they might be running.
Finally, the most important part – ringback tones are cheap. You will need to pay a monthly fee to enable the service (usually about $5), and then on top of that you can get each ringback tone for between .99 cents and $3.

So that’s my top five list for reasons you should download ringback tones. Most cellphone companies will let you download and manage ringbacks. Personally I’m most familiar with Verizon ringback tones, but my top five applies whether you use T-Mobile, AT&T or any of the other big cell companies.

Selecting A Mobile – Pink Cell Phones

2012-07-22T04:54:00.002-07:00

The matter with you prefer sleek black smart phones, or stylish flip pink cell phones, there is no shortage of mobile phones available to consumers looking to buy. So how should a buyer go about deciding what type of phone to purchase?

First thing to consider is your current phone carrier. If you are emotionally attached, or contractually tied, to your existing service provider (the people that provide you with phone coverage andportable internet) then you will be forced to choose one of the phones that they offer in their range. This can be a severe limiting factor – especially if you seek a certain style of pink mobile phone, of which there are not many.

If you are willing to switch providers – or even convert to pre-paid or pay-as-you-go phone service – then you open up the maximum possible choice for you the customer in the phone marketplace. There are many great phones that come unlocked, which makes it suitable for use with any carrier under the sun.

While these may cost a little more, they do provide the ultimate in flexibility. This makes unlocked phones very popular with those willing to pay a little more up for them upfront.

Styles of phone are also very important. It is worth trying some phones out in person to see whether or not you can live without a physical QWERTY keyboard. Many of the latest new phones come only with a touchscreen interface. While these are very high tech and all, some people simply prefer the tactile feel of typing on a physical keyboard.

Phone functionality is another important factor. If you are a heavy consumer of data and Internet services, you will want a large screen that is capable of displaying webpages in an easily readable manner.

Whatever phone you choose, if you have shopped with these considerations in mind, you should end up with a phone that you’re very happy with.

Try Reverse Phone Lookup

2012-07-22T04:53:00.002-07:00

There is a situation through which everybody went at a certain time in their lives and that is facing a phone stalker. Such people will call you and just listen to you without saying anything. This situation can get a little uncomfortable; just hearing the breath of a stranger at your phone for several occasions is not something to be taken lightly.

It is pretty much useless to try and ignore all those annoying calls because they won’t go away just like that. You must know that the person that is constantly calling you might have some cerebral problems which mean that he might be a compulsive person that will never stop annoying you with endless calls.

You should know that these people feel untouchable because of the simple fact that they are calling you from their personal cell phones. You can prove them wrong by using the services from areverse phone lookup company. This way you can even find out where these people live and with who they live in just a few minutes taken from your time.

If you want to find out who’s been bothering you then you should know that such lookup services don’t cost much. You should also look for more than one lookup services to use because each service has its own advantages and disadvantages and you should pick the ones that is best for you.

Some of the best cell phone lookup services that you will find will even give you your money back if you won’t be able to find the stalker that’s been annoying you. You can ask for your money back but before they will give it to you, the ones running the lookup service will search for that person themselves. They just might come with a lot of results because they always have some tricks up their sleeves when it comes to finding people through their cell phones.

Learn How To Locate A Cell Phone With Google

2012-07-22T04:51:00.003-07:00

Few people know how to locate a cell phone but today they will learn that their phone has a cell phone tracker called GPS tracking tool. Google Latitude is a free cell phone tracker from Google that was launched back in 2009. The locator works as a social networking website that uses GPS to enable family and friends know each other’s whereabouts. It is a great invention if you think about it. Social networking websites like MySpace or Facebook have enjoyed huge success over the last couple of years; Twitter for instance, is the most outstanding in this case. No one ever thought people would want to know what others were doing all day. It is until later that it was discovered people were interested in frequently checking those “status updates” to find out what their friends and family members were doing.

Google however took a different approach in the quest for making a social networking website; they decided to create one that would show a cell phone location. This not only proved to be of interest to many but also gained huge popularity. When you install Google Latitude on your mobile phone, and have your family and friends also do it and add each other to the Google Latitude list of friends, you will be able to see the exact location of people on your cell phone on the map that come with the application. Google latitude is compatible with most latest mobile phones.

You can also utilize this application as a surveillance tool to friends, family especially children, business partners and even employees. The other advantage of Google Latitude is that it is free thus making a great free cell phone tracker. All you have to do is get a suitable mobile phone that supports it and portable internet technology. There are several phones that work well with this cell phone locator application that are listed on the Google Latitude website. You should give it a try.

Latest Mobile Phones and Their Features

2012-07-22T04:49:00.001-07:00

photo credit: William Hook

New models of mobile phones are coming out every day. Every single one of these phones will have at least one new feature that we have not seen before. Whether that be a high quality camera or a new application built in. The latest mobile phones are always evolving with new and improved aspects. This article will discuss three things, inbuilt features, touch screen technology and mobile phone features.

Mobile phones have many different inbuilt functions. They are no longer just a device where you ring someone from. You can now do many things with them such as, check your email and facebook, surf the internet, play games, play music and videos, keep your calandar in there, and much, much more. As you can see from the previous example, latest mobile phones have evolved greatly with the progress of technology. Usually now if you want a new feature on your phone, such as a specific game, you can download it from an app store or the manufacturers website. This means that you can personalise you phone so that it has all of the things that you need and can easily access them. You are able to find out all of these features of specific models in latest mobile phones review.

One of the very new aspects of latest mobile phones, is the touch screen. The touch screen is a amazing invention. It means that insstead of selecting options with arrow buttons, you can just touch the optoin you want. The touch screen makes mobile phone use quicker and easier for users. It also opens up a new scope for games. There have never before been games with no buttons or josticks. All you have to do with these games is touch. You literally have you entire mobile phone at your finger tips.

There have been new advances in latest mobile phones features lately. Many new phones now have an inbuilt camera. These cameras can be used for many things such as taking photos and instantly uploading them to facebook or twitter, taking a photo of you and your friends on your day out, taking photos of a book so that you remember what the cover looks like. Another new feature that many new phones have portable internet capabilities. This means that they can connect to Wi-Fi networks. When they do this, they can do nearly every thing that you can do on your computer. They can check their email, surf the web, go onto their facebook, playl multiplayer games. Portable internet opens up a world of new possibilities for mobile phones.

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Latest mobile phones are constantly advancing in technology. The latest mobile phone capabilities are advancing at tremendous speeds. When you compare latest mobile phones, you should remember that all phones are different and that you should choose the one that best fits your needs and wants. Always check the inbuilt fuctions, if it has atouch screen and if it has any other features that you want ..