randomnumbergenerator
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Researchers build the fastest laser-based random number generator
A new random number generator that uses a micro laser developed by researchers at NTU Singapore is a hundred times faster than computer-based systems.
USB Hourglass flips itself, generating random numbers in the process
This is such a bizarre combination of the old and the new that at least a few of our geekiest readers are sure to get a kick out of it. The USB Hourglass is essentially an egg timer equipped with an optical beam for keeping an eye on sand levels and a rotating mechanism for flipping the thing when all the sand has landed at the bottom. But that ain't all! The observed light levels are sent to a host PC (via USB, which also supplies power) where any of your favorite open source tools can use it to generate random numbers. The rest of this -- "entropy," "random" versus "pseudorandom" number generators, etc. -- is simply a little beyond us this morning, although we're sure that this will produce a lively and intelligent discussion in the comments (where many a lively and intelligent discussion has taken place over the years). Just make sure you peep the video after the break first -- it's a blast.
Toshiba creates fastest random number generator
The über crypto-geeks in the house just raised all kinds of eyebrows with the announcement of Toshiba's new physical random-number generator, which can pump out 2 megabits per second of random output in a 1,200 square micron circuit size. You're a unique kind of person if this stuff gets your motor running -- or if you actually need 2Mbps of random data on the go. May we suggest Kabbalah, or perhaps a game of Go?
Berlin's Tesla gallery hosts ghostly techno-art
Do you like art? Do you like mystery? Do you like technology? We get the impression that at least some of you are either nodding in agreement, or mouthing the words, "Yes I do," over and over. If you're one of those lucky few, here's some information you might enjoy. Two artists at the Tesla gallery in Berlin have created fairly interesting works which also happen to have connections with technology and our perception of technology. The first is called Digit, wherein a writer sits at a table and runs his hand over a blank piece of paper; as his hand moves down the page, words appears as if by magic, though no mechanism for writing is visible to an observer. In the second piece, artist Martin Riches has created a random number generator, a complex system of wood and string which allows a steel ball to propel through the machine, eventually playing one of three instruments when its journey comes to an end. Interesting stuff, surely... but can it play Doom?
