U.S. No Longer Planet's Supercomputing Leader

According to this story from CNET, a supercomputer in China is now the fastest computer on the planet.  China has unveiled the Tianhe-1A, which runs at 2.67 petaflops per second.  Number two on the world's fastest supercomputers list is the U.S.' old Cray XT5 located at the University of Tennessee.

Not to worry, though.  The Tianhe-1A runs Unix and was build on Intel and Nvidia hardware.  Times do change, don't they?

Full article here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-31021_3-20022731-260.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

Second (third, fourth?) Big Bang and We’re Still Here

Those quirky scientists at CERN have successfully re-created a “mini Big Bang” at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) in Europe.  Needless to say, if you are reading this, then you already know that we were not obliterated by a large singularity as a by-product of the event (yes, people were really afraid that we would all die if they did this).

The LHC just started a new phase of experiments this weekend.  Since it went into operation in 2008, the LHC has been slamming protons into each other in hopes of discovering the Higgs-Bosun particle (“The God Particle”) – this is the magical little guy that holds the parts of atoms together.  It exists in quantum physics, it has just not been observed (i.e. proven) yet.

This past Sunday, the LHC started slamming iron ions into one another in hopes of recreating the same conditions experienced during the Big Bang.  This pic above is an actual shot of the collision.  They were successful and the experiment resulted in a collision which reached a temperature of over ten trillion degrees.  Yes, ten trillion.  Dr. David Evans, one of the researchers working on the project explains what happens at this temperature: “At these temperatures even protons and neutrons, which make up the nuclei of atoms, melt resulting in a hot dense soup of quarks and gluons known as a quark-gluon plasma.”  Now, that is pretty cool – melting atoms.

It will take some time to review the data from the experiment and more will be run before returning to proton-based runs.

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11711228

CERN Web site: http://public.web.cern.ch/public/Welcome.html

Major Revisions to the Metric System Proposed

Okay...the basics will stay the same: a kilometer will still equal 1,000 meters, but the definitions of the most basic units are under scrutiny and a new global initiative to revise these is underway.

The NIST has backed the movement to update the definitions of seven base units of measurment: the second (time), the meter (length), the kilogram (mass), the ampere (electric current), the kelvin (thermodynamic temperature), the mole (amount of substance) and the candela (luminous intensity).

The proposal aims to base the new unit definitions on modern definitions and scientific constants (i.e.: Planck and Boltzmann) discovered since the original definitions were created.

For example, the kilogram is based on the weight of a platinum-iridium cylinder kept in a vault at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in France (see pic above).  This cylinder was created 130 years ago, and, as we now know, materials break-down and degrade over time, so this cylinder weighs less than it initially did.  The proposal aims to base the kilogram on a formula based on Planck's constant, removing this variability.

Read the full article at the NIST Web site here: http://www.nist.gov/pml/wmd/20101026_si.cfm

New Gesture-based Input for Mobile Devices

The team over at the8pen.com have developed a new method to enter text on mobile devices that they hope will replace the virtual keyboard. 

The system divides the input area into four quadrants with letters and symbols in each quadrant.  The user starts his finger in the center, swipes toward the desired quadrant, then sweeps their finger around to select the letter.  8pen claims that once the user has mastered the location of letters and swiping method, text entry is faster than with the traditional virtual keyboard.

After watching the intro video, it works a bit differently than I expected.  I thought that once your finger entered a quadrant, that quadrant would zoom in to give you an enlarged target from which to select.  Instead, you have to sweep your finger (like the hands of a clock) the number of quadrants equal to the distance of the desired letter from the center (the video explains it better).

Regardless, it is a really neat system (patent pending) and to see totally new innovation like this make me really happy that thinking outside of the box is not dead.

See the 8pen Web site and video here:  http://www.the8pen.com/

Prehistoric Diets More than Just Meat and Berries

This post is less tech and more paleontology science, but cool nonetheless. 

Scientists have found proof that 30,000 years ago, prehistoric man was grinding roots down to a flour-like substance and making bread to go along with the Kill of the Day dishes.

According to this story from Wired, archeologists have found primitive grinding tools and "cooking stones" used to create the flatbread like treats.  They were probably not very tasty, but their ability to do this is pretty amazing.  Plus, they have found that this practice was fairly widespread, with evidence found in Russia, Italy, and the Czech Republic.

Read the entire article here.

(http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/10/revised-paleolithic-diet/)

Toshiba Unveils World's First 3-D Display (With No Glasses Required)

Announced at today's CEATEC in Tokyo, Toshiba unveiled the "world's first" 3-D display that does not require viewers to wear any special glasses. 

The technology is based on multiple images being displayed through a lenticular lense layer which shows different angles of the image depending on the angle of the viewer.

This is a huge step in 3-D display technologies, but without seeing one first-hand, I am hesitant to sing high praises yet.  The human brain does a great job of "filling-in the blanks" to accommodate some visual "tricks", but if not done properly, the whole effect is ruined.

Maybe we will get a closer look at it at the 2011 CES in Las Vegas this January.

Links:

• ZD-Net article here.
• Toshiba Press Relase here.
• CEATEC Japan 2010 Web site here.

The best ideas on the planet...

I want to share with you an awesome web site for anyone in the tech, entertainment, or design fields: TED.  TED (for Tech, Entertainment, Design) is a non-profit organization started in 1984 with the purpose of culling and spreading the best ideas.

The web site consists mainly of videos of prominent speakers giving talks on various tech, entertainment, or design topics.  Some of their more recognizable speakers include: Al Gore, Jane Goodall, Steve Jobs, Richard Dawkins, and Barry Schwartz.

Some of the more interesting videos are by people whose name you may not recognize.  One I particularly like is from an MIT researcher who has developed a very unique way to integrate tech with the physical world.  His name is Pranav Mistry.  He is the lead developer of the SixthSense system.  His video can be seen here; be sure to watch through to the end when he demos his system.

The TED web site can be found at http://www.ted.com/.

Pravna Mistry's talk on tech/physical interface is here:
http://www.ted.com/talks/pranav_mistry_the_thrilling_potential_of_sixthsense_technology.html

Evolution of Classroom Tech - A Visual Tour

The NY Times has put together a really neat visual tour of classroom teaching aids dating from the 1600s to today.  The "Magic Lantern" from the 1870s is my fav. 

It's funny how the Scantron from the early 1970s is referenced in the past-tense, but seems to be still alive and well at LSU.

Check them out here:
(http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/09/19/magazine/classroom-technology.html)

Microsoft Glasnost Fail

Russian police forces are cracking down on vocal, anti-government groups and organizations, often using legally questionable tactics.  Nothing new here, right?  But, what is interesting is who is involved in these raids – Microsoft.

This article in The New York Times, outlines the questionable tactics police are using to seize computers from environmental and other dissident groups.  Police are claiming they are searching for illegal Microsoft software and charging copyright infringement violations.  Even if they groups are in full compliance, it still takes months to get their equipment back and by that time, the legal fees are ruinous.   

Microsoft lawyers in Russia are reported to have initiated the claims on the urging of the various police forces.  Microsoft representatives in Redmond deny any illegal or wrongful activities in Russia.

Read the full article here.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/12/world/europe/12raids.html?_r=2

MIT brings supercomputing processing power to cell phones

Researchers at MIT have developed an app that performs complex engineering calculations (fluid dynamics, stress analysis, etc.) on regular smart phones.

Their approach is unique in that they run numerous calculations on a supercomputer, load the results into their app, and the app then calculates the best approximation based on user input.

I think that this is one of the first of many software applications to come in which a computer makes a “best guess” instead of performing time-consuming, precise calculations.

Read the full article here:
(http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2010/supercomputer-smart-phones-0901.html)

Online!

Welcome to Tachyon Flash, my personal blog of tech-related infomation and opinions.  I finally relented and decided to share myself with the world.  Admittedly, it was for a couple of classes at school, but I have always felt that I should share my thoughts and opinions with whomever wants to hear them. 

I also plan to use this as my online portfolio. I will have to upload some of my old work soon to get it started.

I will update the look and feel as soon as I get some free time; I have this neat logo I designed that I would like to use, but it is not quite finished yet.

Please send me any comments, questions, and/or suggestions.  I enjoy discussing tech with others - noobs or professionals alike.