fast
Latest
US Department of Homeland Security developing system to predict criminal intent
We're not exactly lacking in opportunities for Minority Report references these days, but sometimes they're just unavoidable. According to a new report from CNET based on documents obtained by the Electronic Privacy Information Center, the US Department of Homeland security is now working on a system dubbed FAST (or Future Attribute Screening Technology) that's designed to identify individuals who are most likely to commit a crime. That's not done with something as simple as facial recognition and background checks, however, but rather algorithms and an array of sensors and cameras that can detect both physiological and behavioral cues that are said to be "indicative of mal-intent." What's more, while the DHS says that it has no plans to actually deploy the system in public just yet, it has apparently already conducted a limited trial using DHS employees -- though no word on the results of how well it actually works, of course. Hit the source link below for the complete (albeit somewhat redacted) documents.
OCZ Z-Drive R4 review roundup: this is what 2,800MB/s looks like
Assuming your local laws give you permission to drool, you might want to smack your lips and read on for some expert verdicts of OCZ's enterprise-level 2.8GB/s Z-Drive R4 PCIe SSD. If your statutory position is trickier, then maybe just do it quietly? Storage Review: the R4 "blew away the competition in nearly every test by a significant margin," even though it costs just $7/GB -- up to 40 percent less than its rivals. Hot Hardware: benchmarks support the ridiculous speed claims, but thermal sensitivity means the card must be constantly bathed in cool air. AnandTech: it's hard to compare the Z-Drive R4 because no other SSD comes close, but this type of technology has no track record for reliability and may therefore be a hard sell.
SanDisk outs Extreme Pro SDXC, Mobile Ultra microSDXC, new Cruzer USB sticks
Okay, they're not depicted to scale -- but don't they look sweet? In addition to the Memory Vault, SanDisk also chose today to freshen up its SDXC and USB flash products, which should start appearing in candy stores from October. Top billing goes to the Extreme Pro SDXC with 95MB/s reads and purportedly world-beating 90MB/s writes, starting at $110 for 8GB and topping out at 64GB for untold dollars. The Mobile Ultra range for microSDXC-equipped phones and tablets also goes up to 64GB, with 30MB/s transfer rates and a starting price of $25 for 4GB. Then there's the tiny Cruzer Fit and pocket-friendly Cruzer Switch USB sticks starting at the $20 mark, plus a dime for good luck. Click the PR after the break for more sugary details.
Angelbird's PCIe-based SSD: it's real, it's shipping, it's 800MB/s
Remember that 1GB/s PCIe SSD system from Angelbird we covered a year ago? Well, the company just let us know it's finally available. The performance claims are more modest than we saw in the beta phase, but we're not distraught: the new benchmark is 800MB/s reads and 750MB/s writes, achieved with a $3000 setup including four 240GB SSD modules mounted on a Wings PCI-e card with a 32GB SSD built-in. Need to hold something back for groceries? You can't reduce the number of SSDs without slowing everything down, but four 60GB drives on the cheapest Wings Lite PCIe card ought to satisfy most thrill seekers for just under a grand. We hope Smart Modular is paying attention.
Optical 'diode' lends hope to photonic computing, rayguns
The trouble with pesky Photon, at least as far as ultra-fast optical computing is concerned, is that he keeps coming back. If a data-carrying beam of light collides with reflections bouncing around between the components of a chip, it can suffer enough interference to make people yearn for the good old days of electrons. What's needed is the optical equivalent of a diode, which only allows light to pass one way, and that's exactly what researchers at Caltech and the University of California claim to have developed. As you'll see in the photo after the break, their metallic-silicon optical waveguide allows light to travel smoothly from left to right, but it breaks up and dissipates any photons traveling in the opposite direction. This is all good, because there's no point having futuristic 50Gbps optical interconnects if our CPUs lag behind. Light up the source link for a fuller explanation.
Smart Modular's 1.6TB Optimus SSD reads up to 1GB/s, claims to be the largest and fastest
We love us a good speed record and today's comes paired with another superlative: biggest and baddest. Smart Modular Technologies just announced the Optimus SSD, a drive with up to a record 1.6TB in storage that can also read up to a gigabyte of data per second. The 2.5-inch drive also promises write speeds of 500MB/s and will be available in smaller 200GB, 400GB, and 800GB capacities, in addition to that 1.6TB monster. No word on pricing except that Smart Modular insists they'll be "cost-effective." Then again, the company expects IT departments will snap these up for corporate use, so your guess is as good as ours as to how accessible these will be for run-of-the-mill hobbyists.
Super Talent USB 3.0 Express RC8 looks like a thumb drive, acts like an SSD
It seems too much to hope for, but Super Talent insists it has the benchmarks to prove it: a USB 3.0 stick that achieves 270MB/s reads and 240MB/s writes under optimal conditions. Unlike your average joe flash drive, the RC8 boasts a fully-fledged (albeit previous-generation) SandForce SSD controller that permits the simultaneous use of eight channels of NAND memory. In other words, this zippy little thing actually is an SSD, enclosed in an aluminum case that measures 1-inch wide, 4-inches long and 0.3-inches thick. No definitive word on pricing yet, but it was reported at Computex that a 50GB variant would go for around $110, while 25GB and 100GB capacities will also be available. Now, could someone please hurry up and build a Thunderbolt version?
Micron RealSSD P320h can read 3GBps, write 2GBps, impress millions of geeks per second
Speed may be a relative thing, but whatever you choose to compare Micron's new RealSSD P320h series to, you'll probably find them pretty competitive. Coming in 350GB and 700GB capacities, these PCI Express solid state drives can process data at a rate of 3GB per second and write it at a no less impressive 2GBps. If you're more interested in input / output operations per second, the P320h clocks in at 750,000 IOPS when running Linux or 650,000 with Windows Server as the OS. You don't need us to tell you that both numbers represent screaming-fast performance. Such mighty feats are achieved with the use of 34nm SLC NAND flash memory and Micron's own controller chip. Samples of the P320h are trickling out now and mass production is coming in the third quarter of 2011, and while no pricing info has been offered yet, it's safe to say you'll be needing your company CFO's blessing before making any P320h purchases. Video and full PR after the break.
Battery-powered 'Black Current' VW Beetle flaunts itself in drag (video)
Electric supercars have been hitting some crazy speeds recently, but this is on another level. The Black Current is a Volkswagen Beetle reborn as an electric drag racer. It hits 135mph and demolishes the quarter-mile straight in 9.51 seconds. What's more, it does it quietly -- all you can hear is the delicious screech of sticky rubber. Plug into the video after the break for a taste of what it's like behind the wheel. And can someone please explain why that other car on the left even bothered to turn up?
Samsung Galaxy S II overclocked to 1.5GHz, used to obliterate benchmarks (video)
What do you do after you've bought the most powerful smartphone to yet grace the Android universe? Some timid folks would urge you to just enjoy it, but if you're like us, you'll probably want to know just how high that dual-core Exynos 4210 birdie could fly. The processor inside the Galaxy S II started off life at 1GHz, then got sped up by Samsung to 1.2GHz just before release, and has now been taken all the way to 1.5GHz thanks to coolbho3000 over on the xda-developers forum. He's been nice enough to provide the source code and instructions necessary to reproduce this stable overclock on your Galaxy S II, but don't rush off just yet -- there's video of the GSII romping through Quadrant and Linpack after the break. [Thanks, Mike and Sam]
SOFT Rockers combine solar panels and moving furniture to charge your gadgets
Wander through MIT's Killian Court and you'll spot something distinctly modern nestled amongst its classical buildings -- a set of solar-powered lounge chairs called SOFT Rockers. These curved, solar-panel-covered seats rotate on an axis to keep them facing the sun, generating additional energy from the rocking motion created when people climb inside. All that harvested electricity can be used to recharge gadgets plugged into the three USB ports and to illuminate a light strip on the inside of the loop. The teardrop-shaped charging stations were created by professor Sheila Kennedy and a team of students for the Festival of Art+Science+Technology (FAST) as an antidote to "conventional 'hard' urban infrastructure." Plus, they seem like a great place to charge your phone while evading Dean Wormer and riding out double secret probation. Check out the gallery below for more images. %Gallery-122873%
Intel touts 50Gbps interconnect by 2015, will make it work with tablets and smartphones too
Woah there, Mr. Speedy. We've barely caught up with the 10Gbps Thunderbolt interconnect, debuted in the new Macbook Pro, and now Intel's hyperactive researchers are already chattering away about something five times faster. They're promising a new interconnect, ready in four years, that will combine silicon and optical components (a technology called silicon photonics) to pump 50Gbps over distances of up to 100m. That's the sort of speed Intel predicts will be necessary to handle, say, ultra-HD 4k video being streamed between smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes and TVs. Intel insists that poor old Mr. Thunderbolt won't be forced into early retirement, but if we were him we'd be speaking to an employment lawyer right about now.
Google's gigabit fiber network to be built in Kansas City, Kansas; people of Topeka reportedly crestfallen
We were just wondering what Google was doing with that super-fast gigabit network it promised to set up in one lucky city and here's finally a fresh development. The winner has been chosen and it's Kansas City, Kansas. Having the winning community in its own state will be quite the bitter pill for the people of Topeka to swallow, as they actually renamed their town to Google, Kansas, just to try and appease the Mountain View overlords. Hey, we're sure Google knows best! An agreement has now been signed to roll out the fiber goodness in Kansas City, which should result in gigabit service becoming available to locals in 2012. A press event is scheduled for 1PM ET, which will be livestreamed at the YouTube link below, and you can check out the announcement video after the break while you wait. Update: That livestream is rolling, folks! Google's reps just said "this is the beginning and not the end." Kansas City, Kansas, will be just the first market where this 1Gbps goodness will be installed. Guess there's hope for the rest of us yet.
ST-Ericsson's PM2300 will charge smartphones and tablets twice as fast, speeding to market this fall
We can't say the methods for charging mobile devices have been top of our agenda lately, but when you're talking about speeding anything up by 100 percent, our interest is inevitably piqued. ST-Ericsson has come up with a new charger, tailored specifically for servicing tablets and mobile phones, that can juice them up at the brisk rate of 3 Amps. Efficiency is touted all over the place with this accessory, from the 60 percent improvement in PCB utilization to the 92 percent maximum power throughput rating, bringing the drably titled PM2300 dangerously close to a state of desirability. Best of all, tablets featuring its promised double-speed refilling capabilities are expected in the fall of this year, so the wait won't be long, however you look at it. [Thanks, Ola]
AMD launches Radeon HD 6990 powerhouse for $699, maintains 'world's fastest' title
If you're scoring at home, NVIDIA currently holds the lead in single-GPU graphics cards with its GeForce GTX 580, but ATI's dual-chip Radeon HD 5970 has been holding down the absolute speed crown for a good long while. Now, bearing the name of AMD Radeon HD 6990, its successor sidles up to the throne and demands attention as the fastest single expansion board you can plug into your shiny new motherboard. The 6990 boasts a massive 4GB of GDDR5, 3,072 Stream Processors, 64 ROPs, and an 830MHz core clock speed. A dual-BIOS switch will let you crank that clock up to 880MHz with a corresponding increase in voltage, but don't expect to see much overclocking headroom above that. Reviewers note, alongside their fawning assessment of the world's best performance, that the HD 6990 is a massively power-hungry card (375W TDP) and one that makes quite a bit of noise while going through its herculean tasks. That's in spite of a new vapor chamber cooling system that allegedly supports up to 450W of thermal output. If all this strikes you as a somewhat flawed execution, maybe you'll join us in hoping NVIDIA's imminently upcoming response, dubbed the GTX 590, will be able to offer a neater, more efficient assault on the extreme peaks of graphical performance. Read - HardOCP Read - AnandTech Read - Tech Report Read - PC Perspective Read - techPowerUp! Read - Hot Hardware Read - Hexus
OCZ Vertex 3 Pro hits the test bench, sets the new single-drive speed benchmark at 550MBps
We're becoming somewhat repetitive in our writing about SSDs -- every next one is that extra little bit faster or better and the crown just keeps exchanging hands -- but we couldn't be happier for it. Solid state storage is still one of the most exciting and rapidly developing areas of modern technology, a fact evidenced perfectly by the recent introduction of OCZ's Vertex 3 Pro drive. It touts a mad 550MBps maximum read and 500MBps maximum write speeds, mostly thanks to the brand spanking new SandForce SF-2500 controller chip it has onboard. It's been put through the benchmarking wringer by a number of sites today and the resulting conclusion has been lucid and unequivocal: the Vertex 3 Pro is the new champion among standalone 2.5-inch SSDs. AnandTech goes so far as to say it's "the first drive that really needs a 6Gbps interface." The V3Pro isn't yet on sale and the hardware looked at it in these previews was not final, but the next generation of SSDs looks to be keeping the breakneck pace of development that's characterized the storage medium so far. Lovely!
Chinese passenger train reaches 302mph, claims speed record for unmodified trains
Did you find the 262mph record that China scooped up only two months ago impressive? Well, add another 40mph to that number as today Xinhua News has revealed China's claim to the new speed record for unmodified commercial trains. The new line presently being tested between Beijing and Shanghai has delivered a mind-warping 302mph (486kph) top speed, which is projected to help cut down travel times between the two cities in half, down to a mere five hours. As with the Shanghai-Hangzhou connection that held the record previously, speeds with actual passengers on board will probably be limited to more moderate levels when this connections opens up in 2012, but the Chinese government's goal is still that magical 312mph (500kph) mark -- at this pace, they should be there by Tuesday.
Megaframe Imager takes its one million frames-per-second capabilities to the medical world
The iconic Megaframe Imager has been kicking for a good while now, but gurus have been scratching their heads in an effort to figure out how to best take advantage of a sensor that can capture one million frames per second. A European consortium made up of the NPL, ST Microelectronics, the University of Edinburgh, and TU Delft have something in mind, and not surprisingly, it's in the medical realm. Researchers are currently looking to use this here device in "cellular / sub-cellular imaging; neural imaging; biochemical sensors; DNA / protein microarray scanning; automotive collision studies; and high-sensitivity astronomical observations," and for the first time, tests are proving that it could be a vital tool in the future of biosensing. Tangled in technobabble? Here's the long and short of it: a crew has demonstrated "detection of viral DNA binding events using fluorescence lifetime imaging at the very low target concentrations relevant in biosensing applications with acquisition times of less than 30 seconds," something that should be useful in disease screening, mutation and forensic analysis. So much for escaping the jargon, huh?
Huawei breaks DSL speed barrier with 700Mbps prototype
DSL cables might not really be the sexiest thing in networking anymore, but what they are is ubiquitous, so let's not begrudge Huawei its feat here. The Chinese telecoms facilitator has shown off a new prototype that can pump 700Mbps of data across a 400-meter expanse. This is done by bundling four twisted pairs of copper wire together and sprinkling in some fairy dust to make them communicate at 175Mbps each. The clever bit here is in how crosstalk and interference are minimized, and Huawei claims a 75 percent improvement in bandwidth as a result. An immediate opportunity for these new cables will be, ironically, with fiber rollouts, as they could serve as the last connection between fiber hubs and your home. Then again, with Google and Chattanooga already looking at 1Gbps lanes, maybe the day of the copper wire has already passed?
BT offering British broadband users free fiber upgrade -- when the rollout reaches them
Well now, isn't this nice? British Telecom has come out with a sweet and loving promise to subscribers who partake in its current broadband and landline telephony bundles -- stick with us, says BT, and we'll upgrade you to our fiber (or fibre, as the Brits call it) optic network free of charge. Of course, this wouldn't be BT if there weren't some gnarly details to the bargain, which include 40GB a month usage limits and £25 setup fees for users on the cheapest monthly bundles. Still, at least the upgrade to 40Mbit is something to look forward to and BT's saying you won't have to pay any additional levies for it on a monthly basis. See its press release after the break or check out the map below to see when the rollout might be hitting your particular corner of the Queen's home isles.
