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Researchers create two 100 terabit per second optical connections, dare us to torrent something
Even a woman with a 40 Gbps internet connection might feel a twinge of jealousy at this news -- Japan has successfully tested two separate 100 terabit per second data links that use a single optical fiber to carry their loads. New Scientist reports that NEC scholars stuffed the light from 370 lasers into 165 kilometers of fiber to achieve a speed of 101.7 Tbps, while NICT researchers set a new record of 109 Tbps using a special fiber with seven cores to manage the trick. We imagine that Alcatel-Lucent and NTT aren't sitting still. Not that we really care who has the fastest fiber... just so long as one end leads to our house.
First light wave quantum teleportation achieved, opens door to ultra fast data transmission
Mark this day, folks, because the brainiacs have finally made a breakthrough in quantum teleportation: a team of scientists from Australia and Japan have successfully transferred a complex set of quantum data in light form. You see, previously researchers had struggled with slow performance or loss of information, but with full transmission integrity achieved -- as in blocks of qubits being destroyed in one place but instantaneously resurrected in another, without affecting their superpositions -- we're now one huge step closer to secure, high-speed quantum communication. Needless to say, this will also be a big boost for the development of powerful quantum computing, and combine that with a more bedroom friendly version of the above teleporter, we'll eventually have ourselves the best LAN party ever.
University of Central Florida's miniature laser diode aims to speed up networking
The use of laser as a means of data transmission is hardly anything new, but the current crop of laser diodes can only handle so much stress, provided that they don't fail in the first place. Luckily, the geniuses over at the University of Central Florida are about to deliver a smaller yet more intense and more reliable diode, which will lead to many more potential applications even beyond the scope of networking -- think cheaper, more effective hair removal. Little is said about how Professor Dennis Deppe's team made this possible, but once they work out how to optimize the operating voltage for better efficiency, Deppe reckons we'll see diode-embedded high speed, high bandwidth cables in the shops in four or five years' time. Seriously, we'd do anything to keep our latency low for some HD gaming action.
Bigfoot brings Killer bandwidth management to laptops via Wireless N module
Good news for the Bigfoot faithful -- the bandwidth management technology that's been making your desktop gaming experience smoother for years is just about ready for the laptop sector. When we spoke with the company's leadership back at Computex, they hinted strongly that infiltrating the mobile gaming space was a top priority, and it seems as if the stars have finally aligned for that to happen. The company's new Killer Wireless-N 1103 and 1102 half-size mini-PCIe adapters are suited for use in pretty much any laptop on the market, with the primary difference between two being available streams: the former utilizes three-stream MIMO for data rates as high as 450Mbps, while the latter relies on a two-stream MIMO setup capable of pushing 300Mbps. Both units will have Advanced Stream Detect and Visual Bandwidth Control, which should make your wireless gaming and videocall sessions smoother, more reliable and more predictable, regardless of what the network situation is. We're still waiting in tense anticipation for who Bigfoot plans to partner with here, but we're guessing that the gaming mainstays will be all over this in no time flat. Keep it locked for more as we get it. Update: Looks like Bigfoot has come clean with its partner lineup. Killer Wireless-N adapters will be introduced this month inside gaming and media notebook PCs from leading vendors including AVA Direct, CyberPower, iBuyPower, Maingear, Origin PC, Sager, The V-Machine, Velocity Micro and others.
Indamixx 2 music tablet now on sale: $699 for beta hardware
So, there's good news and bad news. The good news is that $699 is $300 less than the purported $999 price tag we had originally heard would be affixed to the Indamixx 2 slate. The bad news? It's just a rebadged iiView M1 Touch, which can be had for around $500. That said, those who fork out the premium will get a copy of Transmission 5.0 running atop MeeGo, not to mention a 1.66GHz Atom N450 processor, 2GB of RAM, a mini HDMI output and a 250GB hard drive. Those who'd prefer to snag a model that dual boots into Windows 7 can do so if they're willing to part ways with $779, with both models including a mouse, free shipping and a gratis carrying case. Not exactly a bargain, but for those in desperate need of a music-centric tablet, it ain't like you've got a ton of options.
CSIRO's Ngara internet transmission project begins in Tasmania, shows hopes for rural broadband
Hard to say if you're aware, but Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (best known 'round these parts at CSIRO) was the first to develop the WiFi transmission technologies that are widely used on Planet Earth today, and they've got stacks of infringement lawsuits to prove it. Now, the organization is testing out a radical new approach to solve the rural broadband problem, and rather than relying on newly opened spectrum or other forms of black magic, they're simply tasking existing analog TV antennas to work a little overtime. Put simply, Ngara uses the broadcast towers that already exist in rural towns that receive television signals, and then with a new set-top box and a modified TV antenna, it's able to funnel broadband internet into faraway homes. Recent tests in Tasmania -- sections with higher populations of Devils than Earthlings -- have shown the uplink working just fine, but they're still a good ways out from getting data to download. Project manager David Robertson surmises that it'll be around four years before the technology is ready for the commercial market, and you can bet your bottom (Australian) dollar that we'll be counting down the days. And so will everyone else stuck in the Big Apple wondering why Jimmy McMillan didn't get elected for mayor. [Image courtesy of Geoff Ambler / CSIRO]
Samsung cooks up its own NFC module, destined for the Nexus S?
Curious timing, no? Just last month, Google's own Eric Schmidt revealed that the Nexus S (manufactured by none other than Samsung) would have "NFC features," and he even went on to proclaim that this kind of technology would eventually supplant the tried-and-true credit card. Today, Sammy itself has revealed a new near field communications (NFC) chip with embedded flash memory, and we're told that this guy remains active for mobile payment even without battery power. Of course, we're still waiting for a confirmed price and release date for the aforesaid smartphone, but could Samsung's NFC mass production date of Q1 2011 be the clue we've been yearning for? Fingers and toes crossed, okay everyone?
Super Talent USB 3.0 RAIDDrive nabs an extra 55MB/sec
How's this for post-purchase pleasantries? Super Talent has just revealed a new tidbit surrounding the world's first USB 3.0 thumb drive (that would be the RAIDDrive), and it's one that takes full advantage of second generation USB 3.0 controller technology -- presumably on the PC side and not via a firmware update. The end result? An extra 55MB/sec on the benchmarking front, pushing its proven maximum speed to 370MB/sec. Head on past the break and mash play if you don't believe us, and feel free to start pressing your own storage boutique of choice for something similar for all those other SuperSpeed products.
Indamixx 2 Atom-powered MeeGo tablet touts rockstar looks, $999 price tag
Indamixx -- get it?! -- may be a relative dark horse in the race to tablet supremacy, but those looking for something a touch outlandish can't possibly ignore the company's latest. The self-titled Indamixx 2 slate has just recently broke cover, with a prototype boasting Intel's single-core 1.66GHz Atom N450 (a dual-core chip is slated to hit the finalized version), 2GB of RAM, a trio of USB 2.0 ports, a VGA output, Ethernet socket and analog audio input / output jacks. There's no exact word on the screen size or resolution, but the kicker is the software -- this guy's loaded with Transmission 5.0, a music-centric OS that's actually built around MeeGo. The creators say that they chose MeeGo due to its fondness of multitouch inputs, and based on the videos we've seen of it running, it definitely looks like a wise choice. Moreover, those looking to use this for more traditional tasks will be thrilled to know that they still can, and considering that it's Linux underneath, the limits are near-endless when it comes to tweaking options. For those in no position to wait for the final build, you can hit the source link in order to snag "beta hardware" for $999; we're hoping that those who wait will be treated to far more sensible pricing, but there's no question that we're intrigued either way. Hop on past the break to see this bad boy get down.
Nokia Siemens Networks sees 825Mbps over traditional copper, Phantom DSL claims 'the future'
Look, it's not easy nor cheap to lay an entirely new network infrastructure -- just ask Verizon. Regardless of how badly we all want a fiber optic cable ran directly into our closet, it's probably in our best interest if companies like Nokia Siemens Networks continue to improve existing services. Since we're on the topic, it's probably prudent to point out a new discovery surrounding existing copper wires -- one that involves data transmissions at up to 825Mbps. As the story goes, NSN is testing new technology (let's call it Phantom DSL) that could dramatically increase capacity of conventional copper wires, with the aforesaid data point coming on a trial transfer across 400 meters of wire; when stretched to 500 meters, it still held steady at 750Mbps. We're told that Phantom DSL promises a bandwidth increase of 50 to 75 percent over existing bonded copper lines, but mum's the word on when ISPs will actually have access. Yesterday, please?
Wi-Fi Direct certification begins today, device-to-device transmission starting soon
So, Bluetooth -- last fall didn't end up being as frightful as you had probably imagined, but this fall is bound to be different. Or so the Wi-Fi Alliance says. If you'll recall, Wi-Fi Direct promised to do what Bluetooth had been doing for years, but with far less fuss and on a protocol that's much more widespread. A solid year has come and gone, and we've heard nary a word from any company who plans on implementing it. Thankfully for us all, that changes today. Starting in mere moments, Wi-Fi Direct devices will begin the certification process, and while we couldn't extract exact product details or a release time frame for future wares on a media call regarding the announcement, we did get the impression that at least a few partners were trying to get Wi-Fi Direct wares onto shelves before Christmas. As for functionality, the claims are fairly impressive. In order to make a direct device-to-device connection over WiFi, just one of the two need to be Wi-Fi Direct certified. In other words, a Wi-Fi Direct printer can recognize and interface with your Latitude D410 laptop from 1999, as all Wi-Fi Direct certified devices have to be able to control the one-to-one relationship. The goal here is pretty simple -- it's to create a protected connection between two devices over WiFi with as little hassle as possible. Think Bluetooth, but using WiFi. We also learned that "most" products certified will also support "one-to-many" connections, enabling a Wi-Fi Direct laptop to be in contact with a printer, connected HDTV and a tablet simultaneously, with no router in-between at any point. We should also point out that while 802.11a/g/n is supported over 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, there's no requirement for Wi-Fi Direct products to support 802.11b, so legacy users may want to pay attention to that quirk. There's also no new hardware requirements here, so in theory, any existing WiFi chipset could be upgraded via firmware to handle Wi-Fi Direct -- whether or not that'll happen on a large scale was a question the Wi-Fi Alliance couldn't answer for us. Finally, they noted that the app ecosystem is likely to make this whole rollout a lot more interesting, particularly considering that Direct is simply a pipe that software can dictate as it sees fit. We'll be keeping a close eye on the developments here; we've waited way too long for this to blossom, but we're pretty jazzed about the possibilities. Head on past the break for a video overview of how Wi-Fi Direct works.
Auto-tune nabs new lease on life, kills phase noise in long-haul fiber transmissions
(function() { var s = document.createElement('SCRIPT'), s1 = document.getElementsByTagName('SCRIPT')[0]; s.type = 'text/javascript'; s.async = true; s.src = 'http://widgets.digg.com/buttons.js'; s1.parentNode.insertBefore(s, s1); })(); Digg It's probably advisable to not mention this to T-Pain or anyone even closely related to him, but it looks as if auto-tune may have finally found a legitimate use. You know -- aside from crafting one of the most hilarious Bud Light commercials in the history of Bud Light commercials. An EU-funded team has crafted a prototype device that uses a technology similar to auto-tune in order to nix cross-talk on signals that travel down fiber optic cabling. Currently, the clean up process on phase noise ends up decimating the total capacity available to travel, so far less information actually gets through the end than what you started with. Now, this here device is claiming to spit shine the noisy signals and "re-transmit them with fuller capacity." Periklis Petropoulos, a researcher on the project from the University of Southampton's Optoelectronics Research Centre, summed it up as such: "With this demonstration we've shown that it is possible to use the capabilities of the optical fiber to the full without being restricted by the capabilities of the electronics; you could say that in its final functionality, it is like auto-tune." Obligatory video demonstration is after the break.
Chattanooga becomes home to 1Gbps internet service, just $350 per month
It pales in comparison to Sigbritt Löthberg's home internet connection, but it sure makes Comcast's Extreme 105Mbps broadband package look downright sluggish. EPB Fiber Optics (Chattanooga's municipally-owned fiber-to-the-premises network) and Alcatel-Lucent have teamed up to offer America's "fastest" home broadband service -- a service that brings 1Gbps (or 1000Mbps, if that strikes you better) directly to your PC. Best of all, the service is actually on sale starting today, and every single home and business within EPB's 600 square-mile, nine-county service area will be able to access the network. Oh, and in case you're wondering, this actually isn't affiliated in any way with Google's own proposed 1Gbps service, which likely means that this record will only sit in southeast Tennessee for a few months. Still, we hear this place is some kind of beautiful in the fall, but make sure you're cool with a $350 monthly charge before pulling the trigger on a relocation. Update: Tipster Jens notes that he can get a 1Gbps connection for 900 SEK per month in Stockholm, or around $126. Baby steps, we Americans are taking.
Amimon demos prototype wireless 3D HD transmission system
Amimon -- remember those guys? The company responsible for transmitting 1080p video over a 5GHz band went (nearly) radio silent after making a few announcements at CES this year, but now it's hitting back with a new prototype system designed to support the bandwagon that James Cameron and company are driving forward. The new setup is capable of wirelessly transmitting 3D HD video using WHDI (5GHz), with the demo showing that 1080p 3D video could be beamed with a frame rate of 24fps without any major hiccups. For now, the system consists of a board for transmitting the signals and a board for receiving, with the both of 'em equipped with Amimon's digital baseband chip and RF transceiver. We're told that a shipping product is just a logo away, but we've no clue whether or not the first devices will be kits for outfitting existing televisions or new HDTVs with wireless 3D HD support baked right in.
Open source BitTorrent application Transmission updated to 2.0
Transmission, the lightweight, open source, and free BitTorrent client we've written about in the past, recently released version 2.0. Transmission was already one of the leanest BitTorrent clients on OS X, and the new version makes it even faster, with improvements to startup time, local data handling, and optimization of how you connect to peers and download requests. Transmission 2.0 will also search for and discover peers on your local network to connect with for even faster speeds. While Transmission is a cross-platform, open source application, the developers continue to focus on making it feel like a native OS X app, and Transmission feels right at home with all of the other Mac-only applications I use every day. Mac users can now paste trackers into the Create window, magnet links will open the Add Transfer window, and the Compact View replaces the Minimal View to use less screen real estate. Thanks to both its lightweight nature and its adherence to OS X design conventions, Transmission is one of the easiest torrent clients I've used. It accomplishes this ease-of-use without sacrificing the power features like scheduled bandwidth limiting, a Web interface for remotely controlling torrent activity, and port configuration; all of these features can be found in the well-organized Preferences.
uTorrent goes 1.0 for Mac OS X
uTorrent has recently been updated to version 1.0 (Windows users are up to version 2.0.2), its first major point release since going beta on Mac OS X. After living most of its life in Windows, the popular BitTorrent client went beta on the Mac in late 2008, and has seen a host of updates since then. This might be a time to consider trying uTorrent. In my tests, the app launches faster than Transmission, and occupies a smaller footprint -- its DMG and the app are both smaller than Transmission. Whether or not you end up switching to uTorrent, however, is another matter, as Transmission is comparable in its feature set. This really boils down to personal preference. While BitTorrent apps live, and do whatever they want, freely on Mac OS X, the story is different on the iPhone. Apple has kept a tight lid on restricting BitTorrent-related apps (such as a BitTorrent client controller) on the iPhone, noting that "this category of applications is often used for the purpose of infringing third party rights." uTorrent 1.0 is available as a free download at the uTorrent site.
Former Transmission staffers open comms again as Trickstar Games
Members of the recently deceased Transmission Games, developer of Heroes Over Europe, have apparently started Trickstar Games. Develop reports that several former members of Transmission, including studio head Tony Parkes, have started the new studio in Prahran, Australia. The company's website claims it is currently working on "a number of exciting new games." It also says there are some it can talk about now ... but we don't see any titles. We're currently following up for more details.
Automatically open Bittorrent files using Dropbox and Hazel
Every year there is a torrent made to let listeners download most of the music for SXSW. This year's torrent has recently been posted (previous years' are also available at the same site). I don't usually use Bittorent, so I asked around for client suggestions; Transmission seems to be a favorite among several of my TUAW colleagues. I also remembered a tip from my friend Guillermo Esteves (who did the awesome Star Wars crawl using only HTML and CSS), about using Dropbox to start torrents remotely. Guillermo provides some detailed instructions for Transmission and µTorrent to set them up to "watch" a folder for new .torrent files, with an important caveat to make sure that you don't download the files to your Dropbox. One additional Transmission tip: be sure that you un-check the box next to "Display 'adding transfer' options window" so that files will automatically be added, and be sure to check the box next to the "Start transfers when added" option. Guillermo shows both of those settings in his screenshots, but it took me a few minutes to figure out that I had them set incorrectly. Then I asked myself: "How can I be even lazier?" and I remembered Hazel, a program for automatically moving files from one folder to another based on a set of predefined rules. So I added a Hazel rule for ~/Downloads/ which will move any file where "Kind is BitTorrent Document" to my ~/Dropbox/Torrents/ folder. I repeated this on both my iMac and my MacBook Pro. Now I can be on my MacBook Pro and download a torrent file to ~/Downloads/ and have it moved to my Torrents folder, and have the torrent automatically start downloading on my iMac. So when I'm done with my MacBook Pro I can just close it without having to worry about interrupting any of my downloads. You may have noticed that we're big Dropbox fans around here. We use it for syncing Things or instead of a USB sync cable or keeping our notes with us or sharing screenshots, along with any number of other uses. Do you know of any other unusual uses for Dropbox? Let us know in the comments. In the meantime, enjoy the free, legal music downloads from SXSW!
Transmission 1.8 released, now featuring support for magnet links
Transmission, the venerable BitTorrent client for Mac, has just received an overhaul in the form of a "huge listen-to-the-users release." From the release notes the following enhancements are included: Added support for magnet links Added support for trackerless torrents Redesigned tracker inspector tab Quick Look restored for Snow Leopard users According to the release notes there are over 100 changes that have been sourced from the users. Transmission is free and open source and can be downloaded here.
Siemens gurus hit 500Mbps with white LED lights, dare you to blink
You know what's better than wireless power? Nothing, frankly. You know what comes darn close? Wicked fast transmissions through thin air. Researchers from Siemens have just shattered their own record for wireless data transfer using white LED light, hitting a whopping 500Mbps while working in collaboration with the Heinrich Hertz Institute in Berlin. The old record sat at "just" 200Mbps, but the new speeds are helping to take Visible Light Communication from a hopeful technology to a serious contender in the space. These same researchers were also able to show that a system using up to five LEDs is capable of beaming out data over long distances at up to 100Mbps. We're told that the IEEE has been toiling tirelessly since 2007 to standardize activities in this field, and while a late 2010 completion date is currently being penciled in, we're not holding our breath. Anyone remember how long it took 802.11n to escape "draft?"[Thanks, Mademoiselle Y]