What? No comments on this? I’m throwing down. Hey, readers – Which tools do you all like better for hobby-like applications? Don’t limit yourselves to Xilinx and Altera.
… Read More → "What? No comments on this? I’m"Buried amid a collection of warehouses and manufacturing facilities in southeast Las Vegas is the SuperNAP, Switch Communications’ massive data center. You might have heard of it before because of its military-grade security, its huge footprint, and roots as Enron’s attempt to build a bandwidth exchange. But the cutting-edge facility is also home to some very interesting customers. via GigaOM
Big Mess o’ Wires compared Xilinx and Altera’s FPGA tools:
I used to believe that Altera’s FPGA tools were much more hobbyist-friendly than the comparable Xilinx tools, and I frequently bashed the Xilinx tools whenever the topic came up. But after giving them a head-to-head comparison recently, I think I may have to eat my words. The truth … Read More → "Xilinx vs. Altera tools for hobbyists"
With a tiny-enough GPS sensor, it’s possible to track the location of anything from your lost keys to a runaway pet. That’s because the world’s smallest GPS receiver is now smaller than a penny and weighs only 0.3 grams. But that’s just the chip — what about all the electronics required to make it truly useful, like a system for remotely downloading the data it has logged? via Read More → "GPS receivers now small enough to attach to almost anything"
Layout of FeTRAM, which combines silicon nanowires with a ‘ferroelectric’ polymer to create a new type of ferroelectric transistor (Image: Birck Nanotechnology Center, Purdue University)
Researchers at Purdue University are developing a new type of computer memory that they claim could be faster than SRAM and use 99 percent less energy than flash memory. Called FeTRAM, for ferroelectric transistor random access memory, the new technology fulfills the three basic functions of computer memory; … Read More → "FeTRAM memory could be faster than SRAM and more energy efficient than flash"
The online audio nerd community can be enthusiastic, but they’re going bananas for these DIY headphones. Thunderpants are made in Seattle by forum regular Smeggy, who turns a $75 pair of cans into some of the finest in the world. via Gizmodo
… Read More → "The DIY headphone kit that all the audio nerds are freaking out about"
Researchers at the Universidad Carlos III in Madrid (UC3M, for short) have developed an intelligent shirt that can monitor a patient’s temperature, heart rate, and other vital signs; it can also locate a patient within a two-meter margin of error, like an eagle-eyed GPS, and it can tell nurses or doctors whether the patient is sitting, lying down, or moving about. And it’s all wireless. via Read More → "Wearable technology: how a smart T-shirt could replace that dreaded hospital gown"
Ordinary black paint absorbs about 85 per cent of the light that hits it. So making something look black simply means ensuring that it absorbs at least as much as this.
Now Evgenii Narimanov at Purdue University and a few colleagues have worked out that they can do much better using a substance called a hyperbolic metamaterial, which absorbs … Read More → "‘Darker than black’ metamaterial promises better solar cells"
An elite team of tech specialists have taken one of the world’s most precious historic relics and given it to people for free. Sound like the latest Hollywood heist film? Or maybe a retelling of Robin Hood? No, it’s just Google’s way of bringing the world’s cultural treasures into the digital age. In collaboration with the Israel Musuem, Jerusalem, Google has made ultra high resolution … Read More → "Google digitizes the Dead Sea Scrolls"
