It doesn't take a genius to catch on to the fact that in IT, innovation is a mandate. Push the envelope of what's possible, or find yourself relegated to wayside. But, to borrow a favored David St. Hubbins Spinal Tap aphorism, there's a fine line between clever and crackpot when it comes to making good on technological breakthroughs in the enterprise.
It is in that spirit that we revisit last year's level-headed look at crackpot technologies that could transform the enterprise, putting the screws to a new rack of could-be enterprise contenders. But before you write off nanotech or direct brain interfaces as the next big enterprise thing, consider this:
[ For an in-depth look at last year's crackpot tech assessments, see: 12 crackpot tech ideas that could transform the enterprise ]
Of the dozen technologies we examined last year, several made significant enterprise-minded strides since we first assessed their IT prospects. Desktop Web apps, for one, lent credence to the conjecture that fat productivity suites might just have a shorter future than previously thought; solid-state drives popped up everywhere, from ultramobile laptops to the datacenter; and Sun's datacenter-in-a-box proved compelling enough for Google to move first to patent it. Even quantum cryptography received a vote of confidence, with Switzerland tapping the technology to protect parliamentary election transmissions.
Sure, some of this year's out-there technologies may prove fruit for future high-profile tech flops lists, but without forward-thinking, there would be no worthwhile enterprise advancement. So raise your eyebrows or your suspicions as you deem fit, and join us in assessing the potential each of the following technologies has to earn IT's respect or derision.
• Nanotechnology• Optical computing• Pervasive computing• Wireless power• The $100 laptop• Direct brain interfaces• Enterprise supercomputing• Virtual worlds
Thanks
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Is a free global WiFi network possible?
WeFi is hoping to do for WiFi connectivity what Facebook has done for social networking.WeFi creates software that can be downloaded for free onto laptops or mobile devices that the company says will enhance WiFi connectivity and provide mobile devices with more powerful connection tools.
Once the software is installed, it begins searching for WiFi hot spots in a user's area and allows them to map all the hot spots in their vicinity through the Google Maps application. The eventual goal, WeFi says, is to create a global map of wireless hot spots that can be used as a reference for members of the WeFi community who want to find internet access in new locations.
In this Q&A with WeFi CEO Zur Feldman, we discuss how WeFi works, how it enables WiFi connectivity, and how the company plans to make money from creating a virtual global WiFi network.
What is WeFi's end goal?
Feldman: Feldman: We basically want to provide and create a virtual global network which is free to allow everyone to get on whenever they choose and to have a service of broadband through WiFi all over world. We want people to be able to use that platform to communicate with friends, and to use applications such as voice to connect with people all over the place without needing to pay any kinds of fees. In short, the end goal is to create a global virtual network based on WiFi.
And how does WeFi plan on creating that network?
Feldman: We're providing a technological platform that allows people to take advantage of hot spots around world. We have mapped close to 300,000 hot spots around the world, and we're adding more every single day. We also have a platform for mobile devices that have ability to connect to WiFi, including the iPhone and the Nokia E65. Our software allows them to use the hot spots as their network.
I want to get a better idea of how this technology works. Essentially, people download software from your site that increases their computers' or wireless devices' ability to find and connect to WiFi hot spots in the area, correct?
Feldman: Yes, that's part of it. We also have algorithms written into the software that automatically connect your device to the best available hot spot. If, for example, you had a mobile device and you wanted to download an application and there are several hot spots in your area, you could literally walk from one area to another and not lose your connection. We have the ability to connect one WiFi area to the next seamlessly, as long as they have an overlapping range. You can basically have an experience like a mobile phone experience, because we check and test the hot spots automatically, and we are able to connect you without even noticing.
Additionally, every time someone connects to a hot spot and maps it, we get information from them that gives us all the information about that hot spot and its connectivity. We'll be able to connect you without all the different handshakes: it's like you've been connected before even if you've never been there before. The nice thing about this is that people are actually doing this work for us by mapping all the hot spots in their area.
How do you get around the fact that so many WiFi hot spots are password protected?
Feldman: What we have found is that more than 50 per cent of the hot spots that people are mapping are wide open. A lot of businesses have open WiFi hot spots in order to entice customers to spend time there. A lot of times, people are willing to share their password for devices that are encrypted. More and more, we're seeing more trends for WiFi networks to open up. We believe it's a social phenomenon where people can share and enjoy WiFi, and share pictures and videos with each other. Once people map these areas more and more in their area, the more they'll be able to take advantage of them.
How do you handle security issues? Does WeFi have a way of making unsecured WiFi hot spots more secure?
Feldman: Whenever you use an open Wi-Fi hot spot, it's open. And when you use an open platform, there's no way to secure it. However, it's also possible for users to share the security codes with each other for password-protected wireless networks, so wherever you go you'll have the ability to log into the secure network with the code you've gotten.
How are you making money with this company?
Feldman: It's analogous to what Google is doing by providing a search free of charge. But while the search engine is free, in essence it's a platform that Google has that allows them to sell advertising, and they can monetize it in many different ways. We create a platform that people can enjoy and utilize in many different ways. And because we have data on so many hot spots, we can have very specific location-based advertising that we can target at different areas. The ads will generally appear onscreen as banners for handheld devices and laptops, much as Google ads do.
Thanks
Monday, February 25, 2008
Putting terabytes of memory into servers, the cheap way
Disk drives have only recently begun to be measured in terabytes. MetaRam CEO Fred Weber is talking about putting terabytes of memory into servers.
The San Jose, Calif.-based company, which is just coming out of stealth mode and has received money from three of the four founders of Sun Microsystems, has devised a chipset that effectively lets computer makers or owners double or quadruple the amount of memory in their systems fairly cheaply. A standard two-processor server on the market right now might have a ceiling of 64GB (gigabytes) of memory. By inserting DIMMs (dual inline memory modules) equipped with MetaRam's chips into the same server, the capacity can go to 128GB or 256GB.
Eight-processor servers normally capped at 256GB of memory thus can hit 512GB or 1 terabyte of memory. As memory density increases, so does the capacity allowed by MetaRam. Thus, if the limit for an eight-processor server climbs to 512MB because memory chips can hold more data, a MetaRam-enabled computer could conceivable hold 2 terabytes.
The company's chipsets are largely aimed at ameliorating the growing gap between processor capabilities and memory capacity, said Weber, who used to be the CTO at Advanced Micro Devices. Chipmakers are now coming out with chips with four and more cores. (Sun's Niagara has eight cores with eight processing threads per core.)
Performance continues to double about every 18 months or so. Memory capacity on servers, however, doubles only about every three years, Weber said. As a result, the performance of certain computers (depending on the application) is limited by memory more than processor power.
Credit: MetaRam MetaRam's chips on a DIMM.
To make up the difference, server makers have to add more memory to their boxes. But in existing situations that means adding more slots for DIMMs on a motherboard, which is expensive and requires a redesign. MetaRam's chips let server makers do the same thing without adding slots. The chipset--which is shipping now--costs $200 in 1,000-unit quantities.
A conventional four-processor 256GB server can run into the hundreds of thousands; the same server with MetaRam-enabled DIMMs might cost $50,000, Weber said.
"I like it. It solves the basic problem of how to get a lot of memory into a finite number of slots," said Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight 64.
Potential customers include financial institutions, which run rapid, data-intense simulations, scientific researchers, and the people rendering 3D and animated movies--about 10 percent to 20 percent of the server market.
Smart Modular Technologies and South Korea's Hynix have already agreed to produce DIMMs with MetaRam's chips. Servers and workstations from Rackable Systems, Colfax International, and other manufacturers focused on high-end computing have also said they will put these DIMMs into products in the first quarter of 2008.
MetaRam's chipset serves as a conduit between the memory chips located on the DIMM and the computer's memory controller, known as the Northbridge. Typically, memory chips speak straight to the Northbridge. In MetaRam's system, signals to and from memory go through its chips first.
"You might call it (MetaRam's chipset) an intermediate memory controller," Weber said. "Instead of talking to four 1-gigabit DRAMs, we make it think it is talking to one 4-gigabit DRAM." (Chips are measured in gigabits, while DIMMS which hold chips get measured in gigabytes.)
The company also has tailored its business plans to avoid antagonizing the incumbents, he added. Memory makers like it because they can design a new DIMM to accommodate the chip, and voila, start selling a new, higher-margin product. In the past, Rambus came up with a way to improve memory performance, but it required designing a whole new memory chip. Big mistake, Weber said.
Server makers like it because it lets them add more memory to their boxes without tinkering with a new motherboard. (Because the chip comes on a prepackaged DIMM from one of their usual suppliers, server makers also don't have to deal directly with a start-up, something they are rarely fond of.)
Intel and Advanced Micro Devices likely won't try to develop this type of chip, Weber argued. The type of functionality that comes from MetaRam's chips isn't easy to integrate into conventional chipsets. As a result, the interest of the processor and chipset giants is likely greatly diminished.
"This is something that has to go onto the memory module to be useful," Insight 64's Brookwood concurred.
MetaRam comes with a fairly deep pedigree in servers. While at AMD, Weber oversaw the design and development of Opteron, the server chip that pulled AMD out of the doldrums and gave the company a rare, temporary lead over Intel in performance.
Investors in MetaRam include Andreas Bechtolsheim, chief architect at Sun Microsystems; Khosla Ventures; Intel Capital; and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Weber pointed out that Bill Joy is the Kleiner partner participating in the deal. Thus, three of Sun's four founders--Vinod Khosla, Bechtolsheim, and Joy--are investors.
MetaRam's basic technology was devised by Surest Rajan. The company received its initial funding in January 2006, which is a fast turnaround in the semiconductor world.
"We took on a fairly simple job and we wanted to do it in a year," Weber said. "I picked a problem we could do with 20 guys."
Link
The San Jose, Calif.-based company, which is just coming out of stealth mode and has received money from three of the four founders of Sun Microsystems, has devised a chipset that effectively lets computer makers or owners double or quadruple the amount of memory in their systems fairly cheaply. A standard two-processor server on the market right now might have a ceiling of 64GB (gigabytes) of memory. By inserting DIMMs (dual inline memory modules) equipped with MetaRam's chips into the same server, the capacity can go to 128GB or 256GB.
Eight-processor servers normally capped at 256GB of memory thus can hit 512GB or 1 terabyte of memory. As memory density increases, so does the capacity allowed by MetaRam. Thus, if the limit for an eight-processor server climbs to 512MB because memory chips can hold more data, a MetaRam-enabled computer could conceivable hold 2 terabytes.
The company's chipsets are largely aimed at ameliorating the growing gap between processor capabilities and memory capacity, said Weber, who used to be the CTO at Advanced Micro Devices. Chipmakers are now coming out with chips with four and more cores. (Sun's Niagara has eight cores with eight processing threads per core.)
Performance continues to double about every 18 months or so. Memory capacity on servers, however, doubles only about every three years, Weber said. As a result, the performance of certain computers (depending on the application) is limited by memory more than processor power.
Credit: MetaRam MetaRam's chips on a DIMM.
To make up the difference, server makers have to add more memory to their boxes. But in existing situations that means adding more slots for DIMMs on a motherboard, which is expensive and requires a redesign. MetaRam's chips let server makers do the same thing without adding slots. The chipset--which is shipping now--costs $200 in 1,000-unit quantities.
A conventional four-processor 256GB server can run into the hundreds of thousands; the same server with MetaRam-enabled DIMMs might cost $50,000, Weber said.
"I like it. It solves the basic problem of how to get a lot of memory into a finite number of slots," said Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst at Insight 64.
Potential customers include financial institutions, which run rapid, data-intense simulations, scientific researchers, and the people rendering 3D and animated movies--about 10 percent to 20 percent of the server market.
Smart Modular Technologies and South Korea's Hynix have already agreed to produce DIMMs with MetaRam's chips. Servers and workstations from Rackable Systems, Colfax International, and other manufacturers focused on high-end computing have also said they will put these DIMMs into products in the first quarter of 2008.
MetaRam's chipset serves as a conduit between the memory chips located on the DIMM and the computer's memory controller, known as the Northbridge. Typically, memory chips speak straight to the Northbridge. In MetaRam's system, signals to and from memory go through its chips first.
"You might call it (MetaRam's chipset) an intermediate memory controller," Weber said. "Instead of talking to four 1-gigabit DRAMs, we make it think it is talking to one 4-gigabit DRAM." (Chips are measured in gigabits, while DIMMS which hold chips get measured in gigabytes.)
The company also has tailored its business plans to avoid antagonizing the incumbents, he added. Memory makers like it because they can design a new DIMM to accommodate the chip, and voila, start selling a new, higher-margin product. In the past, Rambus came up with a way to improve memory performance, but it required designing a whole new memory chip. Big mistake, Weber said.
Server makers like it because it lets them add more memory to their boxes without tinkering with a new motherboard. (Because the chip comes on a prepackaged DIMM from one of their usual suppliers, server makers also don't have to deal directly with a start-up, something they are rarely fond of.)
Intel and Advanced Micro Devices likely won't try to develop this type of chip, Weber argued. The type of functionality that comes from MetaRam's chips isn't easy to integrate into conventional chipsets. As a result, the interest of the processor and chipset giants is likely greatly diminished.
"This is something that has to go onto the memory module to be useful," Insight 64's Brookwood concurred.
MetaRam comes with a fairly deep pedigree in servers. While at AMD, Weber oversaw the design and development of Opteron, the server chip that pulled AMD out of the doldrums and gave the company a rare, temporary lead over Intel in performance.
Investors in MetaRam include Andreas Bechtolsheim, chief architect at Sun Microsystems; Khosla Ventures; Intel Capital; and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Weber pointed out that Bill Joy is the Kleiner partner participating in the deal. Thus, three of Sun's four founders--Vinod Khosla, Bechtolsheim, and Joy--are investors.
MetaRam's basic technology was devised by Surest Rajan. The company received its initial funding in January 2006, which is a fast turnaround in the semiconductor world.
"We took on a fairly simple job and we wanted to do it in a year," Weber said. "I picked a problem we could do with 20 guys."
Link
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Panasonic claims memory first
This April Panasonic will launch what it claims is the world's first 32Gbyte SDHC memory card. This Class 6 specification mobile storage release will, the firm says, be capable of storing up to 12 hours worth of High-Definition (HD) video.The new memory card, which has the model name RP-SDV32GG1K, is described as perfect for those wanting to move HD content from PC to PC, as well as for users looking to store content from AVCHD High Definition video recording.
The 32Gbyte card can record approximately 12 hours of 1440 x 1080i High Definition video in HE mode and approximately four hours of 1920 x 1080i full High Definition video in HA mode.
"This memory card redefines the concept of electronic data storage devices, as the amount of data it can store is just enormous; something that people would not have imagined a few years back," said Mr. Yasuo Kimoto, Panasonic Marketing Middle East's product manager.
The arrival of Panasonic's 32Gbyte memory card, which is expected to cost around $700, boosts the company's line-up to six models.
SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity, or SD 2.0) is an extension of the SD storage standard that allows capacities in excess of 2Gbytes. While SDHC products utilize exactly the same form factor as SD, the SD 2.0 standard in SDHC uses a different memory addressing method (sector addressing rather than byte addressing), thus taking the maximum storage possible, in theory at least, up to 2048Gbytes. SDHC cards work only in SDHC compatible devices.
SDHC (Secure Digital High Capacity, or SD 2.0) is an extension of the SD storage standard that allows capacities in excess of 2Gbytes. While SDHC products utilize exactly the same form factor as SD, the SD 2.0 standard in SDHC uses a different memory addressing method (sector addressing rather than byte addressing), thus taking the maximum storage possible, in theory at least, up to 2048Gbytes. SDHC cards work only in SDHC compatible devices.
Netscape Navigator laid to rest
AOL has released the final update to its 14-year old Netscape Navigator browser.Netscape Navigator was first launched in 1994 under the name ‘Mosiac Netscape 0.9' and just one year later secured more than 80% of the online browser market. However, Internet Explorer, which was launched by Microsoft in the same year, overtook Netscape in three years. Today, Netscape is said to account for less than 1% of the browser market.
In the firm's official blog, Tom Drapeau, director of AOL's Netscape brand stated: "Users will see the following major upgrade notice, released as Netscape 9.0.0.6. When the upgrade is accepted and run, the following notice will appear, denoting the end of support date and the recommendations of Flock and Firefox."
UAE users however will have to opt for Firefox or another alternative as access to Flock.com was blocked in the country earlier this month.
Drapeau added that Netscape 9.0.0.6 is patch-equivalent with Firefox 2.0.0.12, the browser version Mozilla released earlier this month to fix a number of vulnerabilities.
Meanwhile, faithful Netscape 9 users can continue to use the browser by hitting the ‘Remind me Later' button, followed by the ‘Stay with Netscape' button.
Meanwhile, faithful Netscape 9 users can continue to use the browser by hitting the ‘Remind me Later' button, followed by the ‘Stay with Netscape' button.
At the end of 2007, AOL announced it would stop supporting Netscape on February 1, but decided to give the browser a one-month extension to ensure smooth migration to Firefox and Flock.
Microsoft 's net storage service takes off
Microsoft's storage service, Windows Live SkyDrive has graduated from beta status and is now offering users up to 5Gbytes of free online space.SkyDrive - which initially offered 1Gbyte of space - provides users with three options for storing and sharing files. Users can choose to have sole access to their files, to share them with people they select, or to make them available to anyone on the web.
Windows Live users can set permissions for each person they share with, either allowing them to add and modify files, or only to view them. Microsoft revealed users must be signed into the firm's online network with their own Windows Live login and password to view and edit files."
Starting today, you will be able to access all your personal files wherever you are and share them effortlessly with family, friends and colleagues," stated Jonathan Hulse, group director of Windows Live.
According to Microsoft, 5Gbytes equates to approximately 1,000 songs, 30,000 Microsoft Office documents of average size, or 30,000 digital photos at a resolution of 1200x1200. The firm has imposed a 50Mbyte limit on each file uploaded.
Apart from offering 4Gbytes of additional storage, Microsoft officials claim that the new release fixes a numbers of beta bugs, and offers users a "faster and more reliable" service.
Apart from offering 4Gbytes of additional storage, Microsoft officials claim that the new release fixes a numbers of beta bugs, and offers users a "faster and more reliable" service.
SkyDrive supports Windows and Mac PCs, and can be used with Internet Explorer 6 and above and Firefox 1.5 and higher.
A number of industry analysts believe this is part of Microsoft's bid to effectively compete with Google and acquisition target Yahoo in the internet services arena. Yahoo has its own online storage service called Briefcase, which offers users up to 25Mbytes of space.
Meanwhile, there are rumours that Google will soon launch its own online storage service, which netizens have christened 'Gdrive'. Google however is yet to confirm or deny this rumour.
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