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Everspin throws first ST-MRAM chips down, launches commercial spin-torque memory era
Who says scientific breakthroughs never amount to anything? Everspin has followed up on research developed by IBM, TDK and German researchers years back and released the first commercial spin-torque magnotoresistive RAM (ST-MRAM) onto the market. The technology works by taking advantage of electron "spin" to store data in a magnetic, rather than electronic state, providing non-volatile memory that doesn't wear out. The company said the first chips were about 50 times the cost of flash memory by size, but where a typical NAND module can perform about 800 iOPS, ST-MRAM is capable of 400,000 -- making it ideal for SSD caching and other demanding applications. Everspin has started shipping working samples of the 64Mb DIMMS in a DDR3 form factor, saying that future versions will scale to gigabyte capacities and faster speeds -- keeping Moore's Law hurtling inexorably forward. Check the PR after the break for the company's spin on it.
Permanent quartz glass data storage announced by Hitachi, could hit market by 2015
Sure, we can store huge quantities of bits in a tiny space, but how long will that data last? Current optical, magnetic and flash storage media have limited shelf lives, so Hitachi has announced a new way of locking up ones and zeros in quartz glass for hundreds of millions of years. The data can be etched with a laser in three layers on the crystals at a density slightly higher than a CD, then read out with an optical microscope, meaning that future generations could restore the info without needing a proprietary drive. The technology could come to market in three years, according to the research lab -- but would likely be targeted at companies first, who would need to send in their data to be encoded. Hitachi said the media withstood two hours of 3500 degree Fahrenheit temperatures in testing without data loss, meaning that archaeologists from the future may one day uncover your questionable taste.
Poll: What's your most anticipated HD technology for 2008?
Believe it or not, it's that time of year again. You know, the time when it ends. But thankfully, it's also time to look ahead to the next 12 months and dream big about the technologies you hope hit the mainstream. So as 2007 comes to a close and 2008 sneaks up on you, we're interested to know what HD technologies you're most excited about. So go on, take a peek at the options below and toss in your vote, but don't be scared to drop in any we forgot in comments below. %Poll-7686%
Xyanide Resurrection features new video-streaming technology
A new benchmark in PSP development is on the horizon. Playlogic, who just recently became a licensed PSP developer, plans to use a new video-streaming technology in their upcoming Xyanide Resurrection title that's never been used on the PSP or any handheld game before.Playlogic does this by integrating "high-quality interactive video backdrop with real-time game sceneries to deliver high-quality graphics and effects on the PSP," according to their press release. "Xyanide Resurrection has been specifically designed for the PSP platform and will certainly attract many fans of the shoot-'m-up genre around the globe," said Stefan Layer, VP/ Chief Marketing and Sales Officer. Xyanide is set to launch in the first quarter of 2007.
Sanyo Epson's "Photo Fine Vistarich" enables extreme-viewing-angle LCDs
Researchers at Japan's Sanyo Epson Imaging Devices Corporation have just developed a series of small LCDs that, unlike most traditional displays, are almost perfectly viewable even at extreme 90-degree angles. Available in sizes ranging from 2.4-inches to 10.1-inches, the displays will be employed in any number of portable devices, from cellphones to PDAs to PMPs, although the best use we can think of is to put them on cameras, which should make it a lot easier to see what you're shooting when you need to take pictures over a crowd. As for the use of this so-called "Photo Fine Vistarich" technology in devices that we're viewing personal/secure information on, well, we're not necessarily sure we want to make it easier for everyone on the subway to peep our Treo screen. Sanyo Epson says production of these displays will begin this fall, which mean we should probably see corresponding products on the market before the end of the year.
