data storage
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'Unprecedented' 3D magnetic interactions could change computing
The field of spintronics, or spin electronics, uses an electron's spin and its magnetic movement to encode instructions and other data. It's sometimes seen as an alternative to electronics, which relies on the electron's charge to encode data. While spintronics has the potential to increase data processing speeds, boost storage capacity and offer increased data resilience, it's been limited because physicists could only move the electrons -- or tiny magnetic particles -- around a single atomic layer. Now, researchers have found a way to move information from magnets in one layer to magnets in another. They hope the discovery will lead to new possibilities for data storage and computing.
Microsoft device stores digital info as DNA
Microsoft is on its way to replacing data centers with DNA. The company and researchers from the University of Washington have successfully automated the process to translate digital information into DNA and back to bits. They now have the first, full end-to-end automated DNA storage device. And while there's room for improvement, Microsoft hopes this proof-of-concept will advance DNA storage technology.
Google Takeout introduces transfer tool for Google+ circles, merges your work and personal life
Those who extol the virtues of keeping one's personal and professional life separate probably never had to juggle two Google+ accounts. Folks saddled with a Google+ profile for both their personal Gmail account and their organization's Google Apps account can now migrate circles, blocks and other information from one account to another using Google Takeout. The new tool won't eliminate your double digital life completely, however -- content such as posts, profile information and comments don't migrate. The process takes time, too, kicking off with a seven day waiting period before restricting the user's Google+ access for 48 hours while Takeout boxes up the data. Still, this should make managing Circles across multiple accounts a little simpler. Check out the official Google help page at the source link below.
Supercomputer gets a memory boost with 380 petabytes of magnetic tape
Remember the Cray XK6 at the University of Illinois that drives the National Science Foundation's Blue Waters project? Well, it looks like it's getting a little memory upgrade, sorta. We're not talking a slick new SSD here, or even a sweet NAS, all that computational power requires nothing less than... tape. Okay, so it's actually a full storage infrastructure, and some of it -- 25 petabytes no less -- will be disk-based. The rest -- a not insignificant 380 petabytes -- will be the good old magnetic stuff. The idea is that the disk part will be used for instant access, with the tape section serving as "nearline" storage -- something between an archive and online solution. Spectra Logic is providing the tape, and says it'll take a couple of years to implement the whole lot. Once complete, the system will support the supercomputer's lofty tasks, such as understanding how the cosmos evolved after the Big Bang and, y'know designing new materials at the atomic level. And we thought we were excited about out next desktop.
Western Digital unveils new My Passport portable hard drives, upgrades visa to 2TB
Sure, six terabytes of storage might seem like hot stuff, but Western Digital's stackable MyBook Thunderbolt Duo drives aren't exactly portable. Lucky for you and your massive photo, music and film collections, WD's My Passport drive just crossed the 2TB border. At $250, this USB 3.0 storage sanctum claims to be the first -- and so far, only -- portable hard drive to break the two terabyte mark. "It's the perfect blend of monstrous capacity, reliability and user-friendly technology in a sleek form factor," said WD executive vice president and general manager Jim Welsh, "now in five colors." Count 'em, five. You didn't think the lizards were after your data, did you? Read on for WD's official press release.
Facebook's Open Compute takes on data storage, designs a better home for your photos
Facebook wasn't kidding when it said it wanted to build better backends for the digital world -- after sharing the plans for its customized data center, it's looking to do the same with storage hardware. "We're taking the same approach we took with servers," Frank Frankovsky, Facebook's director of Hardware Design, told Wired. "Eliminate anything that's not directly adding value." Frankovsky says they are working on a completely tool-less design, eliminating the need for mounting screws and plastic handles on hot-plug driver carriers. The goal is to get the outfit's new storage digs to run as efficiently as its previous efforts, streamlining hardware to be more serviceable, cost less and use less energy. The new storage designs are set to debut at the Open Compute Summit in early May, and hopes that sharing the designs will help redefine how storage hardware is made. Check out the source link below for Wired's in-depth look at the project.[Photo credit: Jon Snyder/Wired.com]
That's hot: Heat-based recording could boost magnetic drive speed, performance
Magnetic fields are pretty nifty for levitating stuff, carving sponge-like thingamajigs and, of course, data storage. But an international team led by the University of York in the UK has figured out a way to replace magnetic fields for the latter by using ultra-short heat pulses instead. Conventional thinking typically dictates that an external magnetic field is required to store data on a magnetic medium. By using heat, however, researchers were able to record terabytes of information per second in a way that is also more energy-efficient compared to current hard drive technology. As for the time it'll take for the tech to make it to market, well, we have a feeling it won't be as fast.
Google Takeout comes to Voice, get your SMS and voicemail to go (video)
Those militant leftists at the Data Liberation Front are at it again, bringing their tool for fomenting revolution, Google Takeout, to Google Voice. With the information emancipating service, users will be able to download their call history, voicemail and text messages, recorded calls, and even greetings. All audio is delivered in MP3 format, while SMS is spit out as an HTML file. Check out the video below for a brief, if not entirely informative, announcement from the guerrilla data warriors.
Google Takeout promises radical left wing-themed data extraction for Circles, more (video)
A team of khaki-clad Google engineers, calling itself the Data Liberation Front, has taken up the cause of freeing your data from the restrictive confines of El Goog's servers. Google Takeout, as the program has been billed, rips your various stashes of data from Buzz, Circles, Picasa, Contacts, and your Google Profile, and quickly bundles them in a zip file for download. The resulting booty is yours to do with as you choose. Takeout was announced the same day Google's latest social initiative sprung to life, offering an alternative to the notoriously hard to transfer data of its obvious competitor. But we're sure that was just a coincidence. Right? A hilariously nerdy promo video awaits you after the break.
Carry more iPad data with you, using HyperDrive
No matter what size iPad or other portable device you get, many times it seems that you're going to hit that storage limit and find yourself aching for more space. The HyperDrive may not fix that problem for you, but it may be handy in certain circumstances. Using the portable HyperDrive and the iPad Camera Connection Kit, one can transfer movies and photos onto the iPad from either the HyperDrive's internal storage or via memory cards attached to it. Since the iPad only allows attached storage of 32GB or less, the HyperDrive sections off its on-board storage into 32GB "folders," each of which is viewable using the iPad Photos application. It's definitely a hacky way to go about transferring data to your iPad while on the go, but at least it doesn't require jailbreaking to use (if that's a concern of yours). The usefulness of the HyperDrive seems rather limited, though, as it's not able to transfer data off of your iPad, only onto it. The HyperDrive comes in 120GB up to 750GB models, starting at US$299. [via Macworld UK]
Researchers set new record for ferroelectric data storage
Ferroelectric isn't just a ridiculously fun word to say, it might just also be the future of computing. While that possibility is still a ways off, researchers have been making considerable progress in recent years, and a team from Japan's Tohoku University has now set a new record for ferroelectric data storage. That was accomplished with the aid of a scanning nonlinear dielectric microscope, which allowed the researchers to hit a data density of 4 trillion bits per square inch. As you might expect, the exact process is a bit complicated -- involving a pulse generator that's used to alter the electrical state of tiny dots on the ferroelectric medium -- but the researchers say that the technology is a leading candidate to replace magnetic hard drives and flash memory, or "at least in applications for which extremely high data density and small physical volume is required." Unfortunately, they aren't going so far as to speculate when that might happen.
HP opens wind-cooled, rain-collecting data center
You know, as much as we love our complex high-minded gadgets, we've always had a soft spot for simple, low-tech solutions to the problems posed by modernity. To wit, check out HP's latest data center, which is strategically located in a blustery part of northeast England and avoids costly and energy-sapping cooling systems in favor of good old wind cooling. Equipped with eight 2.1-meter (just under seven feet) intake fans and a bank of contaminant filters, the Wynyard facility is purpose-built for the circulation of cold external air through and around the servers within. It's said to be HP's most efficient data center yet, and its natural cooling solution is estimated to save a healthy £2.6 million ($4.07 million) in annual energy bills. A couple other optimizations bear mentioning too -- such as the rainwater collection which is used to humidify the air if it's too dry, and the choice of lighter-colored servers racks, which saves on lighting costs inside. Hit the source link to learn more.
IBM and Fujifilm develop 35TB magnetic tape cartridges, unveil it in black and white
SSDs may be what's "next," but seriously -- magnetic tape storage is the real heat. This darn near antediluvian storage medium is amazingly still around and kicking, and what's even more incredible is that real advancements are taking place. Just under four years ago, IBM and Fujifilm were doing the Cha Cha Slide Tango as they introduced 8TB cartridges; today, the two are rolling out (quite literally, actually) a 35TB version into the wild, wild world that we call home. Nah, you won't find these on any Best Buy shelves, but your great grandchild's medical records may one day end up on something built in the year 2010. Just think about that. Think about it.
Border security guards kill -- literally kill -- a MacBook (update: video!)
Young American woman travels over to Jerusalem to meet some friends, see the sights, live the life. Overzealous border security officers ask her a bunch of questions, take issue with her answers, and a few well-placed bullets later she is allowed entry into the country with a somewhat altered MacBook in tow. So what can we all learn from this incident? Firstly, back up all the data you consider important; B, Israeli policemen don't mess about; and 3, distressed laptops look gorgeous no matter how they got there -- just look at the way the glass trackpad has wrinkled up from the force of the bullet penetrating near it, it's a borderline work of art. The young lady in question has been promised compensation, but lest you think this is a one one-off you can see pictures of an equally dead Dell at the Flickr link below. We've got a couple more close-ups of the ravaged MacBook after the break. [Thanks, Itai N.] Update - We've tracked down a video interview with Lily herself, which shows off a few more angles of the former MacBook and current article of modern art -- check it after the break. P.S. - As always, we encourage a discussion. A sensitive, intellectual, worldly discussion. If you can't infer what it is we're asking of our dear readers tempted to intone on this matter, then please skip commenting on this thread, mkay?
Baryonyx to build largest offshore wind farms in the US, power massive data centers
Uh oh Mr. Pickens -- looks like you've got some competition down in Texas. With the aforesaid energy baron scraping plans to plant 687 massive wind turbines in Texas' panhandle, Baryonyx has stepped in to do the honors via a slightly different project. Just this past week, Baryonyx won a bid to create a pair of sizable offshore wind farms that Jerry Patterson -- Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office -- says "could be the biggest offshore wind farms in the nation." Additionally, another lease was granted for a prospective wind energy development in the panhandle, and now the company is eager to get going on the green energy gigs. The best part of this whole plan involves that actual purpose of the turbines; aside from providing juice for grids, they'll also be used to energize forthcoming Tier 4 server farms, with a minimum of 750 megawatts of power being pumped to two coastal areas all the while. Ma Earth would be proud.[Via CNET]Read - Baryonyx announcement [PDF]Read - Patterson announcement [PDF]
Self-assembling nanoscale discovery could catapult data storage capacity
Ready to have your mind blown? What if 250 DVDs could fit onto a storage module no larger than a quarter? According to research conducted by brilliant geeks at the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Massachusetts Amherst, it's all within the realm of feasibility. Reportedly, an easily implemented technique "in which nanoscale elements precisely assemble themselves over large surfaces" could soon blow open the doors to significant improvements in data storage capacity. Without getting too Ph.D on you, the process essentially works by taking advantage of just how precise molecules can self-assemble. The end result has researchers achieving "defect-free arrays of nanoscopic elements with feature sizes as small as 3 nanometers, translating into densities of 10 terabits per square inch." Per square inch, son.[Via TheStandard, thanks Apoc]
Pioneer finds 20-layer 500GB Blu-ray Disc "feasible"
Now here's a rate of progress we could get used to. Nary a month after Pioneer trumpeted a 400GB Blu-ray Disc, out pops another press release from the firm boasting about a 500 gigger with a score of layers. Based on research at its Tokyo headquarters, specifications have been drafted for an incredibly capacious 500GB BD. Granted, this very company already had plans for a 500GB optical disc nearly four years ago, but there's no time like the present to make this stuff a reality, right?[Via TrustedReviews, thanks xdragon]
Pioneer develops 16-layer, 400GB Blu-ray disc
Dual-layer Blu-ray discs are so 2006. The new hotness is Pioneer's just-developed, 16-layer Blu-ray disc (pictured above) with a whopping 400GB of writable storage space. For reference, that disc could hold roughly eight copies of Metal Gear Solid 4, 187 copies of Final Fantasy VII, or 1.25 million copies of the original Super Mario Bros.The new discs require a special "wide-range spherical aberration compensator and light-receiving element" to detect the weaker laser signal, so don't plan on sticking one of these data-bloated monstrosities into your existing PS3. That said, the next generation of game consoles could support this new disc system, which is fully backward-compatible with existing Blu-ray discs. Of course, by the next generation, game systems might not be using optical discs at all, so who knows what the future will hold.
South Park moving to Xserve SAN arrays for storage
No South Park episodes in the iTMS yet, but TV Squad points out that South Park is switching over to Apple Xserve SAN arrays for keeping track of all the animation craziness that is the show. This ComputerWorld article details the move: "Franzen said he chose Apple hardware based on a 'gut' feeling that its technology would be good, and so far, he has not been disappointed. Franzen said he now expects to add two more Xserve arrays for a total of 15TB of storage and place his disk storage behind a couple of switches from Cisco Systems Inc. in order to make managing his storage easier." That's the kind of gut feeling I like to hear about.
