Computers

IBM replaces signals that communicate via copper wires with pulses of light - creating the world's fastest transfer

IBM scientists unveiled a significant step towards replacing electrical signals that communicate via copper wires between computer chips with tiny silicon circuits that communicate using pulses of light. As reported in the recent issue of the scientific journal Nature, this is an important advancement in changing the way computer chips talk to each other.Read More

Dubbed the PropEtcher, this Etch-a-Sketch is powered by a Parallax Propeller chip with dual stepper motors controlling the Etch-a-Sketch knobs.Read More

A list of some of the most innovative, intriguing, and inspiring integrated circuits

In microchip design, as in life, small things sometimes add up to big things. Dream up a clever microcircuit, get it sculpted in a sliver of silicon, and your little creation may unleash a technological revolution. It happened with the Intel 8088 microprocessor. And the Mostek MK4096 4-kilobit DRAM. And the Texas Instruments TMS32010 digital signal processor.Read More

Studios are using virtual backgrounds from around the world

Founded in 1989 by distinguished cinematographer Sam Nicholson, Stargate Studios was conceived as a high tech production company offering visual effects and production services to the film and television industries. They have created some amazing chroma key greenscreen digital compositing, where studio sets can be used with virtual backgrounds from all over the world.Read More

New printer design uses rewritable film that can be used up to 1,000 times and doesn't require ink or paper

Sanwa Newtec has introduced a new printer that prints standard A4-sized sheets on PET film which can be reused up to 1,000 times. The PrePeat RP-3100 (a play on "repeat"), uses heat transfer technology rather than ink, and requires no consumables.Read More

Many of us recall HBO's 1983 "Starship" intro before their movies, but few have seen the old-school effects used

A look behind-the-scenes at the insanely complex model city built by New York-based Liberty Studios for HBO's 1983 on-air look. 6 model makers worked for 3 months casting nearly 100 unique buildings, all with working light bulbs and meticulous exterior detailing. The model was made in 3 sections, a city, the suburbs and county side, with a 16ft high airbrushed skyline as the backdrop.Read More

A 48-core prototype processor is part of Intel's move from supercomputer-on-a-chip to data-center-on-a-chip

Chips that can simulate a supernova or predict a hurricane are yesterday’s goal if Intel’s recently unveiled 48-core research chip is any indication. Today’s goal is squeezing all the simple but extensive work of a data center onto a single 1.3-billion-transistor chip.Read More

This case is inspired by the Art Deco stylings of 1920s and 1930s Zenith radios, but despite looking back so far in time for inspiration, it still has modern features such as integrated watercooling. Gary has hand cut, sanded and altogether modded a complete build using inspiration of the classic Zenith. Without a bit of clever handy work (and without looking around the back) you probably couldn't tell this was a post-Millennium product.Read More

Hitachi's G1TOWER is the World’s Tallest Elevator Research Tower Scheduled for Completion in April

Hitachi will conduct verification tests on its world's fastest elevator, with a rated speed of 58 feet per second, as well as product development targeting the world's largest high-speed, high-capacity elevator, which will be capable of carrying a five-ton load with a rated speed of 32 feet/sec.Read More

Apple iPad Photos

Apple’s most anticipated launch since the iPhone just kicked off in San Francisco. A small army of journalists and bloggers are following the event live, and Apple's iPad photos are being released.

It's so much more intimate than a laptop and so much more capable than a smart phone," Jobs said.Read More