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Stavance newsflash of 10/09/04 (issue: 135).
The newsletter archive is at
http://www.stavance.com/WhiteTemplate.aspx?menuitemid=60
Reactions and/or hints will be appreciated (
astuifbergen@stavance.com
).
Another birthday is coming up.
September 11 will always be a memorable day, since 2001. It changed the world, for sure.
I red a small fact regarding 9/11 2001: Just after the World Trade attack almost all airplanes stayed on the ground. The result was that for a short moment the climate changed: the average day temperature rised with 1 degree Celcius and the average night temperature was 1 degree Celcius colder.
I am off for a holiday (
http://www.gomera-island.com
); next newsletter will be later than usual.
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Quotes of the week
:
"The world is getting to be such a dangerous place, a man is lucky to get out of it alive." - W.C. Fields
---------------Most interesting sites this time
http://www.interactivepublishing.net/september
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Shortcuts/Hints of the week
:
WORD / POWERPOINT
To select a word double-click the word. To select a paragraph triple-click a paragraph. To select a sentence Control + Click the sentence.
---------------Regular news
BBC News
'DNA ANALYSES' SPOTS E-MAIL SPAM
"Few would have thought that when Crick and Watson unraveled DNA, it would help in making a tool to fight spam. But computational biologists at IBM's TJ Watson Research Center have devised an anti-spam filter based on the way scientists analyse genetic sequences. Called after Feng Shui character Chung-Kwei, the formula automatically learns patterns of spam vocabulary and has proved to be 96.5% efficient. In tests, the filter only misidentified one message in 6,000 as spam...Instead of looking at strings of protein, Chung-Kwei uses Teiresias to identify strings of character sequences which appear in spam, but never in non-spam mail." Researchers are drawing on an algorithm originally used to analyze DNA to combat spam.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/3584534.stm
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Harbor Research
ZIGBEE: THE WIRELESS DEVICE NETWORKING ENABLER ARRIVES
The wireless sensor networking phenomenon has been poised to explode, waiting for a communications standard with built-in security, scaleability, and low power consumption. Now that the ZigBee specification is almost finished, the vendor landscape is filling up fast. That means many new opportunities for suppliers and adopters -- but new challenges, too.
http://www.harborresearch.com/currents/issues/20040909/currents_20040909.html
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PhysOrg newsletter
NANOTECHNOLOGY LEADS TO DISCOVERY OF SUPER SUPERCONDUCTORS
University of California scientists working at Los Alamos National Laboratory with a researcher from the University of Cambridge have demonstrated a simple and industrially scaleable method for improving the current densities of superconducting coated conductors in magnetic field environments. The discovery has the potential to increase the already impressive carrying capacity of superconducting wires and tapes by as much as 200 to 500 percent in certain uses, like motors and generators, where high magnetic fields diminish current densities.
http://www.physorg.com/news1110.html
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SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS UNVEILS THE FIRST MOBILE PHONE WITH HARD DRIVE
- A tiny 1.5GB hard drive in the phone greatly expands memory capacity.
- The phone is also equipped with a 2.2" QVGA LCD and mega-pixel camera.
Samsung Electronics unveiled the first-ever mobile phone (model: SPH-V5400) with an internal hard disc drive. The company's latest innovation, which also comes with a mega-pixel camera, is currently being exhibited at the ITU Telecom Asia 2004 from September 6 to 11 at the Busan Exhibition and Conference Center (BEXCO).
http://www.samsung.com/PressCenter/PressRelease/PressRelease.asp?seq=20040907_0000069353
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eWeek
THE WIRELESS OFFICE: GETTING IT RIGHT
PC Magazine recently took a look at enterprise-class wireless products. In this article, they cover all the necessary steps to set up a wireless network--from pre- purchase planning to ongoing WLAN management--and review four capable business-class access points. Take a look.
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1759,1643519,00.asp
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Klinkmann
FREE "M2M GSM/GPRS AUTOMATION" ELEARNING WEB SITE WITH FREE ACCESS
Klinkmann is the promoter in European Union financed project, which created a free eLearning web site for M2M GSM/GPRS based automation basics and technologies. The web site introduces the mobile phone network services and various M2M automation concept.
You are welcome to register and start to use the web site to learn and see how mobile phone network can enhance your automation, link from here:
http://www.m2m-elearning.com
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Kurzweil
HYDROGEN FUEL CLOSER TO FRUITION
A new "solar hydrogen" method could produce cheap hydrogen from water in seven years, using a commercial solar...
http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,64797,00.html
---------------Automation news
Arc News
GE FANUC INTRODUCES PROFICY REAL-TIME INFORMATION PORTAL
GE Fanuc released Proficy Real-Time Information Portal Version 2.1 which, according to the company, is a major new version of the software and part of their flagship family of software, Proficy Intelligent Production Solutions.
Using trending and reporting capabilities with a historian archive, Proficy Real-Time Information Portal calculates, analyzes, and presents an overall view of key performance indicators (KPIs) and other process metrics. Version 2.1 includes connectivity with Proficy HMI/SCADA iFIX® and Proficy Historian. For security, Proficy Real-Time Information Portal uses standard Windows® 2000 security and provides each company with the ability to have total control over user rights and roles, including who can access the system and who can create or modify displays.
Arc News
SIEMENS' CONTROLLERS GAIN NEW FEATURES & PERFORMANCE
Siemens AG announced a number of significant new features and performance enhancements to PLC products. New CPUs have been added to the SIMATIC S7-400 line of large PLCs. These new processors claim instruction execution times that are 3 to 70 times faster than previous models, according to company sources. Arithmetic instructions for data processing and closed-loop control tasks in particular have been accelerated. These can now be solved without the need for additional function modules.
In addition, the new CPUs' data throughput rate has been doubled. In conjunction with the new CP 443-1 advanced communications processor with integral 4-port switch, the higher data throughput supports vertical integration and high-speed PLC-PLC communication via PROFInet/Industrial Ethernet. Memory has been increased to a maximum of 20 megabytes and the number of times and counters to 2048 to accommodate the needs of high-end applications
Siemens has also enhances its WinAC line of PC-based control systems. WinAC V4.1 provides features with a focus on open integration capabilities for PC-based control applications. These include integration with the SIMATIC NET OPC server, performance improvements, improvements for the Open Development Kit (ODK) interfaces, WinAC PN option for Component-based Automation, multi-PLC support (Parallel operation to WinAC Slot PLCs), additional support for motion applications using FM353 and FM354, and operation with basic PC user privileges.
According to Siemens, these improvements allow control of high-end applications by minimizing the load of the control task to allow sufficient PC resources for the integration of other tasks such as HMI or data processing. Also, WinAC's code execution has been doubled, allowing for faster scan times, increased machine throughput, allowing room for more applications and a more compact and cost-effective automation solution.
---------------DEVELOPER's CORNER--------------
RUNNING LINUX ON AN IPAQ
Need to take your penguin for a walk? If you own an iPAQ handheld -- even an older model -- you can install Linux on it to get the benefits of the latest OS advances and applications. IBM software developer and PDA fan Martyn Honeyford walks you through the basics of the installation process, gets you started with networking, and describes some of the issues involved with building applications for this popular device.
http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/library/l-ipaq.html?ca=dnt-536
It management
Author: Insiders Top High-Tech Crime Threat Steve Branigan, author of the new book High-Tech Crimes Revealed, talks to eSecurityPlanet about the biggest threats to corporate networks, the dangers of hype and his best rule for combatting digital crime.
http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/secu/article.php/3406031
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Jim Pinto news
(
www.jimpinto.com
)
ROBOT SERVANTS
All kinds of robots are now becoming available, from mechanical dogs that can learn new tricks to automated vacuum cleaners that avoid furniture. But the real robot boom, with real applications that will create a demand beyond techy-toys, is still coming.
The Japanese are already showing how elderly patients enjoy being served by robots - apparently their faces light up when they see robot servants approach. These robots are not just helpers (carrying out simple chores and reminding patients to take medications) but also serve as companions, carrying on a real dialogue and providing entertainment.
There are robot-therapy sessions at Japanese hospitals and senior citizens' homes, providing a real answer to caring for the elderly. In other countries too, a BIG need will arise when the surges of baby-boomers advance to old age. Robotic nurses will be common, reducing the burden on families and caretakers, providing better health for old and sick people, offering huge savings in medical costs.
There are other robot applications too, which will soon become practical. Robot soldiers could help determine the outcome of wars, without waste of human life. Office buildings too could use lots of robots to control access, test heating, cooling and security systems, do menial jobs for workers.
Stay tuned. Or better yet - dispatch your web-robot to keep track of these developments as they emerge.
Robots offer devotion, no strings attached
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20040423b4.htm
We robots
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/9134621.htm?1c
The coming robot revolution
http://www.computerworld.com/softwaretopics/software/apps/story/0,10801,94386,00.html
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Stavance cooporates with the Harrow Group.
Next items are excerpts from "The Harrow Technology Report," a free multimedia technology journal written by Jeffrey Harrow, Principal of The Harrow Group.
A more extensive version of this discussion, as well as others around the innovations and trends of computing and technology, are available at
www.TheHarrowGroup.com
The Harrow Technology Report is Copyright 2004, Jeffrey R. Harrow, all rights reserved.
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STORAGE UPDATE - CHANGING ALL THE RULES?
"In a keynote speech to the [recent World Wide Web conference in New York], Microsoft's head of research Rick Rashid described what consumers might do with a terabyte of data storage that costs around $1,000, and is capable of holding more than 1 trillion bytes of computer data. 'You can store every conversation you have ever had, from the time you are born to the time you die,' Rashid said. A person could have a snap picture with a 180-degree fish-eye view of one's surroundings for every minute of every day for the rest of one's life.
Microsoft researchers in the United Kingdom have built prototypes of such a life-recording device called SenseCam. They are gearing up for a second generation of photo capture systems no bigger than a necklace pendant, Rashid said.
'Obviously this raises a whole lot of issues about privacy and the control of one's personal information,' Rashid said. 'But this is where we are going. It's already the case that kids are walking around with cameraphones taking a lot of pictures. This is just an extension of that,' he said." Forbes.com - May 20, 2004 -
http://www.forbes.com/technology/networks/newswire/2004/05/20/rtr1379284.html
(brought to our attention by reader David Schachter)
What's fascinating to note is that we can, just three months later, ALREADY purchase Rashid's terabyte of storage for LESS than his "$1,000." As we recently found out a terabyte of storage can already be yours for $840 or less!
So Rashid's exploration of the potentials, and of course of the very significant security and privacy implications of such "24x7" life recordings, are already becoming relevant, and that should soon offer both fascinating and scary results. It also strikes me that current laws that define where and when it is (and is not) legal to record conversations or other interactions with people are going to have to change; these new technologies and capabilities were never envisioned when the laws were written.
BUT THIS MAY SOON BE 'SMALL POTATOES!'
Because if patents owned by the president of Colossal Storage Corporation, Michael E. Thomas, pan out, we may have not one, but 100 terabytes (that's 100 TERAbytes!, or ten-thousand gigabytes!) on a $45 removable 3.5-inch disk! The drive will cost about $650. In five years.
If this happens, blow me away.
Thomas' technique is, unsurprisingly, just one of the first fruits of nanotechnology - an orchard of which are just waiting to bloom. Specifically, from an Aug. 11, 2004 article in PhysOrg.com (
http://www.physorg.com/news785.html
), "Michael invented and patented the world's first and only concept for non-contact UV photon induced electric field poling of ferroelectric non-linear photonic bandgap crystals, which offers the possibility of controlling and manipulating light within a UV/Deep Blue frequency of 1 nm to 400 nm."
The technique is called "3D Volume Holographic Optical Storage Nanotechnology," and uses a series of "programmable molecular lenses" that can manipulate light - not at the 700 nanometer wavelength of the red lasers used by current CD and DVD drives, and not even at the 450 nanometer wavelength of the new blue lasers that will enable somewhat greater DVD storage (such as BluRay's 50 gigabytes) -- but at the 50 nanometer wavelength of ultraviolet light whose photons, along with an appropriate electric field, can turn "molecular particles of an atomic size" into the basic one-or-zero switches of digital storage. At 100 terabytes to the 3.5-inch disk.
On top of that incredible density, the data is stored holographically (in three dimensions) on the optical media, which enables:
"...reading and writing billions of bits [ten terabits/second] at one time in Volume (x,y,z)."
You can find additional detail at the first links in this section, plus at Colossal Storage's site at
http://colossalstorage.net
.
BUT EVEN THIS IS JUST THE BEGINNING!
Because we will ALWAYS want and need more storage, driven by the incredible amounts of data that we're now generating. Taking just one example of this trend, from the April 15, 2004 Corante Tech News (
http://www.corante.com/brainwaves/archives/005568.html
),
"Up to now the biggest numbers game in biology had been run by the publicly financed Human Genome Project, which sequenced each of the three billion letters in the DNA code for a human being. "I know a neuroscientist who downloaded the Human Genome Project onto an Apple iPod," says Mark Boguski, an M.D. and Ph.D. who is a veteran of that project and who now directs the Brain Atlas Project at Allen Institute for Brain Science.
"But that was [only] 3 gigabytes. And we will be producing petabytes (3 million gigabytes!)"
Yes, your brain is very complex and this is why neuroinformatics will keep information technology vendors busy for many years to come."
EXERCISE APPROPRIATE CAUTION, OF COURSE.
As exciting as such improved storage will be, especially considering the vast number of totally new applications that will arise from such fast and dense storage, we should remember that there's often a very wide gap between the laboratory and the marketplace.
Even though Thomas has been granted (and has licensed) an impressive list of patents in this area, and even though an international 'who's who' set of labs are "...continuing to verify and prove Colossal Storage's Patented nanoTechnology" (
http://colossalstorage.net/mainFrame1.htm
), there's never a guarantee of commercial success until it happens.
On the other hand, sometimes it does work out, "changing all the rules" of how we live, work, and play.
Don't Blink!
Hyperlinks:
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