:Microcomputers and Applications Fall 2007

The Japanese hardware company Hitachi has made a nanotechnological breakthrough.  By 2011, the firm believes that they will be able to supply desktop PCs with 4TB harddrives and laptops with 1TB of storage.  This amazing feat has been accomplished by shrinking the size of the read-write head of the hard drive.  Hitachi now uses a head that is 2000 times smaller than a human hair!  This allows for information to be packed closer and closer together, which in turn allows for maximized efficiency in memory space.  Currently, hard disks can store up to 200GB per square inch– Hitachi believes that with its new technology it can have up to 1TB per inch.  For further information visit the article located at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7044606.stm

John Goldner

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A concept has recently come out to have cell phones have projectors on them in the future. As you can see on the link provided there is a cell phone projecting a desktop similar to a windows desktop. If this idea becomes available laptops will not be necessary for business meetings anymore since your entire presentation will be on you cell phone. http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/concepts/cellphone-projector-concept-allows-impromptu-sales-meetings-311590.php

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There was a special on NBC Nightly yesterday evening regarding the dangers of text messaging while driving.  It’s important to remember that this can be a major distraction and should never be done while you are behind the wheel.

The video below was on Dr. Phil on CBS a few weeks ago.

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Apple confirmed Tuesday what rumor sites have been speculating on for days: Mac OS X 10.5 “Leopard” will hit store shelves at 6 p.m. on Oct. 26. The Leopard Server operating system will be released at the same time. The much-anticipated 64-bit operating system will sell for $129 for individual users and as a $199 “family pack” for up to five users. Apple will also allow anyone who has purchased a Macintosh since Oct. 1 to buy the operating system for $9.99, which covers the shipping and handling costs of the installation DVD.

http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/10/16/Apple-to-release-Leopard-Oct-26_1.html

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I read an article titled Ubuntu Plans Eye Candy for Desktop Computers and Beyond by John Markoff, written on October 16,2007. In this article, it talks about the new ideas of Linux, which are targeting to appear better than those of Windows.  Dell Computer is now offering two things, a desktop and a portable computer with Ubuntu already installed instead of Microsoft’s operating systems.  Ubuntu is offering 3D effects for the desktop.  This article can be found at http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/10/16/ubuntu-plans-eye-candy-for-desktop-computers-and-beyond/

Brenna Handzo

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In an effort to begin educating the public about the February 2009 shift away from analog TV, the National Associate of Broadcasters has begun a public service campaign to educate Americans about what this changes means for the average television viewer.  For more information check out the coverage in the CNN technology section today.

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This article talks about how improvements to the Internet2 will be beneficial. The Internet2 had a theoretical limit of 10 gigabits per second, which is thousands of times faster than standard home broadband connections. It is a lot faster than the broadband connections we have at home. The Internet2 network parallels the regular Internet to let universities, corporations, and researchers share large amounts of information in real time. I think it would be really cool if our college got a network improvement like this. The article talks about that it can send movies in seconds. The old network would send it in a minute or so and broadband connections would send it in hours. It just shows how powerful this new network is. Read more about it here.

Izhak Shahdin

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This new antipiracy tool is going to stop pirated movies from staying on YouTube. While it still may be possible to upload them, they’ll be removed after only a few minutes. This seems like a great deal for the movie companies, because nine have already signed up, but for users looking for free movies it’ll be a little bit of a problem, however, for people who frequently watch movies for free online they know there are still many other alternatives to YouTube. Seems like there’s going to be a whole lot less material on YouTube soon.

-Chelsea Speer

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Starting in 2009, GM’s Onstar service will be able to slowly halt a car that is reported stolen and the radio may even speak up and tell the thief to pull over because the police are watching! Onstar already finds 700-800 cars per month using the GPS. With the new technology, Onstar would call police and tell them the stolen car’s whereabouts. When the police see the car in motion and judge the car can be stopped safely, they tell the Onstar operators who will send a signal via cell phone to slow it to a halt. This signal will take away the horsepower of the car, the steering and the brakes will still work. Besides getting back a stolen car, GM feels it will cut down on high speed chases where innocent people can get hurt or killed. GM is willing to sell this technology to other automakers. Onstar costs about $200.00 a year.

Louise Tillstrom

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Motorola is trying to revive itself and is putting 9 new cells out this quarter. One is a luxury version of the Razr2 that will cost $250-$300. There are also 4 new cells that have FM radio accessibility and ChrystalTalk technology which automatically adjusts audio for clear calls in noisy environments. These cells are for first time buyers or the buyers looking for an easy-to-use cell. The company thinks that these new cells are going to help pull them out of their slump but honestly I don’t think these new cells will make any difference.

W hat seems to sell big are the cells that have some gimmick that make them seem so superior than other cells. The Razr was the leading cell which Motorola had a piece of that share but now they are left out with the new iphone which is the new “it” cell. It will be interesting to see if this helps out Motorola.

Lauren Guida
http://customwire.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MOTOROLA_NEW_HANDSETS?SITE=NJCAM&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2007-10-11-17-16-52

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