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Online Apple Store adds one-click "popular configurations" option
Just in time for those holiday orders, there's been a small change in the online Apple Store's build-to-order pages for the MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air. Dave "Eagle-Eye" Caolo spotted the addition of new one-click BTO configurations, which include free express shipping. The new one-click buttons let you prefill the most popular options for your custom config, including such favorites as "more RAM," "faster hard drive," the matte screen for the 15" MBP and pre-installed versions of iWork or Microsoft Office. Of course, you can still custom-configure from all the available options if you prefer. You'll see the new options in the US store after clicking Select on the laptop product page of your choice.
Caltech research could lead to quantum hard drives, networks, parallel universes
Quantum anything has typically fallen into our oft-used category of 'awesome things that'll never happen,' but if a crew of researchers at the California Institute of Technology have anything to say about it, they'll soon be changing the fortunes of that segment. The team has recently demonstrated quantum entanglement for a quantum state stored in four spatially distinct atomic memories, and while that probably just blew your mind a little bit, the breakdown is fairly interesting. Essentially, they've uncovered a quantum interface between the atomic memories, which is said to "represent something akin to a computer hard drive for entanglement." If extended, it could pave the way toward quantum networks, and in turn, massive webs of quantum computers. We're obviously decades out from understanding what this all means for the common computer user, but just remember this: "for an entangled quantum system, there exists no objective physical reality for the system's properties." And you thought The Matrix was deep.
Elpida and Sharp team up for ReRAM in 2013: 10,000x the speed of current NAND flash chips
Want to know where the next breakthrough in mobile technology will come from? Well, if Elpida and Sharp have their way, the answer will be the usual suspect of Japan, where they're working away on new memory chips said to be capable of four orders of magnitude faster performance than the ordinary NAND flash storage of today. Dubbed ReRAM, or Resistive Random Access Memory, this project targets a 2013 date for commercialization and counts the University of Tokyo and Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology among its development team. Details on how such blinding speeds will be reached aren't readily available, but the Nikkei reports power consumption will be down to "virtually zero" when the memory's not in use. So with ReRAM and HP's memristors both set for three years from now, can we schedule NAND's funeral for 2014 or what?
Breakfast Topic: Dude, where's my ram?
It's morning. You wake up in a groggy haze, your mouth tasting like coal and cheap beer. Staggering outside your hut, you rub your eyes in disbelief as you notice something missing. Something large, furry, covered in pieces of barrel and horned. Wait -- Dude, where's my ram? Another Brewfest has come and gone. Sadly, we'll all have to wait another year for endless rivers of cheap beer, luscious beer meats and hilarious hallucinations. Holidays are always a great chance to mix up your usual routine, so we ask: Were you lucky enough to pull a mount from the cold, dead clutches of Coren Direbrew? Did you get your Brewmaster title? Did you even care?
iFixit: Apple TV has 8GB of onboard flash storage
One of the big questions concerning whether or not the new Apple TV will be able to run apps of some sort is "how much onboard RAM does it have?" That question has been answered by the guys at iFixit, who as usual, have been the first to tear apart and document the internal workings of the Apple TV. The answer: 8GB of NAND flash RAM made by Samsung. The iFixit team speculates that the RAM is most likely going to be used to cache incoming video streams, but it might also be used to temporarily hold apps that could run under iOS on the device. More interesting news about the Apple TV is bound to come out in the next couple of days; stay tuned to TUAW for all of your Apple TV coverage. Correction to original post: that's 8GB of onboard flash storage, 256MB of actual RAM. We apologize for the error.
Kingston dives headfirst into water-cooling with HyperX H2O memory
Even in the niche world of PC overclocking, liquid-cooled memory never achieved popularity, but don't tell Kingston that -- the vendor's now selling premium sticks of DDR3 where water is a prerequisite. Unlike OCZ's fin-tastic Flex series, the new Kingston Hyper H20 modules keep their cool via tube alone, which admittedly means more space in your case as you carefully bump their clocks up from the stock 2,000MHz (or 2,133MHz) and CL9-11-9-27 timings at 1.65 volts. While you can't (yet) get them in a lovely shade of 2.4GHz blue, the modules do come in both dual-channel (4GB) and triple-channel (6GB) kits starting at $157 and $235 respectively, and we imagine if the above cooling design is marginally successful, you'll soon see it for sale on its own. PR after the break, memory available to purchase at our source link.
Elpida and Spansion move from 'it's complicated' to 'engaged,' look to conquer NAND universe
The more the merrier, right? Cutesy sayings aside, the world is gearing up to say "hello" to yet another player in the NAND flash memory market, as Japan's own Elpida Memory (which currently specializes in DRAM) will be joining the fray in the coming months. Said outfit stated this week that it has entered into an alliance with Spansion (the former flash memory joint venture between Fujitsu and AMD), with Spansion licensing its NAND flash intellectual property to Elpida as part of the deal. If all goes to plan, Elpida will begin producing flash chips at its western Japan plant "as early as next year," with some of the output being funneled directly to Spansion. 'Course, with the explosion in smartphone popularity, it's not shocking to see a DRAM stalwart looking for ways to dip its toes in that high-demand NAND stuff, and as consumers, you certainly won't find us kvetching about the competition.
Dell ships Precision M6500 laptop with 32GB of RAM: drill, baby, drill
Nah, that's not us yelling to dig deeper into oceanic unknowns -- it's a megaphone originating from Dell's campus in Round Rock. As the story goes, Dell's "oil and gas" consumers have been clamoring for more system memory on their mobile workstations, with the revamped Precision M6500 -- which allows them to "review larger slices of the earth to find oil, enabling faster and more accurate drilling to find oil and gas reserves." We say all that to mention the 32GB of system RAM that's now shipping on fully loaded M6500s, but with four RAM slots, that's not as difficult to accomplish as you might expect. Still, having 32GB in a single laptop is a rare sight these days, and if you aren't into coughing up a fistful of Benjamins for that, Dell's Precision M4500 is now available with 16GB of memory. You know, for running Maya with less lag... or something.
iPhone 4 to have 512MB of RAM, double the 3GS and iPad?
Apple has traditionally been -- how shall we put it -- cagey with revealing memory and CPU specifics of its mobile devices, but MacRumors is today reporting its discovery that the fourth-gen iPhone's RAM apportionment will be a very healthy 512MB. We've heard similar rumblings from reliable sources of our own. What it means is that iPhone 4 users can look forward to not only the same processor (though potentially at a lower speed) as their iPad compatriots, but also double the memory allowance. Of course, this will hardly be the first handset to offer half a gig for the OS to dance inside, but at least Apple's keeping up with the times. Wouldn't wanna disappoint all those pre-orderers now, would we?
Motorola boosts Milestone XT720 spec with 720MHz CPU and 512MB RAM
Some of you weren't too pleased to see Motorola's new Milestone hitting Europe with just 256MB of memory and a 550MHz processor, and it seems like Moto has listened. We're sure the XT720 would've done just fine running Android 2.1 with its previous spec, but we're hardly going to begrudge a free upgrade. The TI OMAP3440 is now running at 720MHz -- something Motorola had told us the phone was always capable of, though the company had initially opted to downclock away from it, presumably in an effort to extend battery life. RAM gets a healthy doubling to 512MB, bringing the Milestone XT720 more in line with its "premium multimedia" boast, while the launch date seems to remain unaltered: later this month for Europe and a big fat question mark for the USA. [Thanks, Thomas F]
Apple making RAM affordable? Really?
When people ask if they should add RAM to their computers to improve performance, fellow blogger Erica Sadun says she typically replies, "YES! Just don't buy it from Apple!" Apple's RAM upgrades have typically run about double what I actually ended up paying for them elsewhere. However, as noted by astute observers over at MacRumors, Apple has covertly changed their pricing on build-to-order RAM configurations for 27-inch iMacs, bringing the price of an 8GB upgrade down to only about $25US more than competitors like Other World Computing. Here are the old specs, courtesy of MacRumors: And the new specs: A price drop of $200 for the 8GB upgrade is surprising, but certainly welcome. I've always thought that Apple was running a scam targeted at the technically inept, charging them an extra 100% for not knowing better. Is this part of a trend toward more affordable, Apple-approved upgrades?
Toshiba preps for sub-25nm flash memory production, archivists rejoice
Ever wondered how that 16GB microSDHC card that you were swooning over now looks paltry beside a 32GB version of the same thing? It's all about the densities within, and with process technologies shrinking by the month, it's not hard to envision 128GB, 256GB and 1TB cards that are smaller than your thumbnail here in just a few years. It's bruited that Toshiba is fixing to drop a whopping $160 million during 2010 in order to construct a test production line for next generation flash memory chips, presumably with circuitry widths of under 25nm. As of now, Tosh produces NAND flash memory chips with widths of 32nm and 43nm, but cutting that down to 20nm or so would enable loads more memory to be shoved into the same form factors that we use today. If all goes to plan, those sub-25nm chips could hit the line as early as 2012, so we fully expect 10TB SDXC cards to go up for pre-order next month.
Kingston's 2,400MHz HyperX memory kit offers the world's fastest Intel-certified RAM
For those among us finding it hard to decide what blisteringly fast DDR3 sticks to pair with their Core i7, Intel has decided to do its own compatibility certification list (see link below). And since the happiest memory maker is usually the one atop the pile, we have to imagine Kingston is feeling pretty sunny right now, as its 2.4GHz HyperX memory kit has scooped the top spot away from Corsair's 2.33GHz offering. Running at 1.65 volts and offering 9-11-9-27-2 timings, this is now officially the RAM to own if you're after headline-grabbing stock speeds. We also love the fact Kingston acknowledges "benchmarkers" as a distinct group alongside gamers and enthusiasts -- finally some appreciation for those misunderstood souls. Whatever you describe yourself as, you'll be able to get on the latest speed bandwagon in the second quarter of this year. Full PR after the break.
PlayStation Move requires only 2MB of RAM, developers breathe sigh of relief
While it's a crying shame that Sony's PlayStation Move won't have full four-player support, at least the technology is efficient; our buddies at Joystiq are reporting that the camera-and-wand based motion control game system will only minimally impact game performance. Quizzing Sony's David Coombes, they found out that the advanced image processing required to make sense of your wild, flailing movements will take only 1-2 MB of RAM. Of course, when you consider that the PS3 has only 256MB of fast XDR memory to begin with, that 2MB isn't as "insignificant" as Sony would have you believe, but coupled with the company's claim that the whole shebang takes "under a frame" of the Cell CPU's processing time, we're inclined to think it won't be much of an issue for the end user. Assuming they fix that nasty lag, of course. Check out our full PlayStation Move guide for more details.
Kingston trumpets ultra-low voltage HyperX DDR3 memory
It may not mean much to your grandmother, but performance hounds are sure to jump all over this one. Kingston has just rolled out a few new slices of DIMM deliciousness, and it's claiming that the new HyperX DDR3 modules are the world's fastest low-voltage memory sticks. The dual-channel kit ships with two XMP-ready profiles already baked in, with the 1.35 volts at 1866MHz being hailed as "a world's first for speed matching higher frequency with a lower voltage." All told, the company is debuting a trio of products in the LoVo line -- the dual-profile kit, a mainstream low voltage 1600MHz, 1.35 volt kit and an ultra-low voltage 1333MHz, 1.25 volt kit. -- and you can pick 'em up soon in 4GB bundles for between $154 to $203. These guys did, and they're stoked.
Samsung's 4Gb DDR3 RAM modules could put 8GB in your next netbook
Rhett and Link (and one Bill Gates, too) may assume that 64KB of memory is "plenty," but let's be realistic here -- it's not. Samsung's fully in agreement, and it's looking to make your next DIMM or SODIMM a lot more capacious with a new 40nm-class process technology. As the story goes, volume production has begun on a new 4Gb DDR3 module, which could be squeezed onto existing sticks in order to produce 16GB / 32GB DIMMs (for desktops) and 8GB SODIMMs (for laptops). There's no clear indication of when this whole "mass production" thing will lead to "on sale right now," but we're guessing it'll make the transition between "now" and "really soon." Bonus video after the break.
70MB of additional RAM unlocked for PS3 developers
It's rare for a console to get a spec upgrade in the middle of its life. However, Sony has stealthily upgraded the PS3 over the past few months to unlock additional usable RAM for developers. Much like the PSP received a boost in clock speed, the latest firmware updates provide developers an additional 70MB of RAM to work with. The change was initially discovered by PlayStation University, noting the reduction in the system OS's memory footprint, from 120MB to 50MB. As the OS continues to slim down, developers are allowed access to even more usable system memory. SCEA's Patrick Seybold recently confirmed the change to Joystiq. "Since the launch of the PS3, we have been continuously making efforts to reinforce our support system to game developers, allowing them to express their creativity freely on the PS3. As part of this support for game development, the size of the PS3 OS memory footprint has been reduced through network update for the game developers." While 70MB of additional memory is not insignificant, don't expect drastic changes to future PS3 games. A PS3 developer told us that "any bit of RAM helps. Generally it probably won't change design, but might allow extra effects resolution or dynamic lights or something. Probably more beneficial from the systems and art side then from design/gameplay." In tandem with increasingly efficient code, the added RAM will undoubtedly make for even better looking games. Certainly, that's not something we'd complain about.
Samsung's 30nm DDR3 DRAM set to lower costs and power consumption later this year
It seems like we've been talking about Samsung and its 30nm promise for an eternity, but ever so slowly real products are starting to head out into real consumers' hands. After recently announcing its forthcoming NAND memory cards, the company is back with word of 2Gb DDR3 DRAM modules that consume 30 percent less power than their 50nm counterparts, yet are also more cost-effective to manufacture. Operating at either 1.5 or 1.35 volts, the 30nm parts are set for mass production in the second half of 2010, so they won't be here quite as soon as we'd like, but at least we'll know what to put down in our next Holiday Gift Guide. Just imagine your laptop purring along with a paired set of ultra-efficient RAM sticks and one of those newfangled 25nm-based SSDs from Intel -- you could probably power it on the sheer strength of your geek lust alone.
HTC's HD2 carrying a secret stash of hidden RAM
Will this phone ever stop surprising us? Rumblings that all HD2 devices have 576MB of RAM inside them started developing in China a little while before T-Mobile unveiled its upgraded US-bound handset with, funnily enough, the same amount of memory. Now, those trusty souls over at XDA-developers have concocted custom ROMs for everyone else to free up the extra 128MB of operational headroom, and user feedback appears to corroborate the theory. We can hardly begin to fathom the reasons for HTC disabling part of its available hardware, other than to guess that a WinMo 7 upgrade was in the company's plans for this phone all along and it just wanted to keep its ability to handle the new OS under wraps. Video and pictorial evidence of cracking past the 448MB barrier after the break. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
HTC HD2 gets a spec boost for the US
Looks like the HTC HD2 is getting a little spec bump on its way to our fair shores: the official spec page lists the version bound for T-Mobile US with 1GB of ROM and 576 of RAM, a boost over the international edition's 512 and 448MB. What's more, it looks like a bigger 16GB microSD card will come in the box, a big jump over the 2GB stick currently bundled overseas. Not a bad little upgrade -- dare we hope that it presages a much bigger bump to Windows Mobile 7 before the scheduled spring launch? [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
