Electronics’ ‘missing link’ found

Details of an entirely new kind of electronic device, which could make chips smaller and far more efficient, have been outlined by scientists.

The new components, described by scientists at Hewlett-Packard, are known as “memristors”.

The devices were proposed 40 years ago but have only recently been fabricated, the team wrote in the journal Nature.

They have already been used to build novel transistors - tiny switches that are the building blocks of all chips.

“Now we have this type of device we have a broader palette with which to paint our circuits,” Professor Stan Williams, one of the team, told the BBC last year.

Total recall

Memristors were first proposed in 1971 by Professor Leon Chua, a scientist at the University of California, Berkeley.

They are the “fourth” basic building block of circuits, after capacitors, resistors and inductors.

Getting more from Moore’s Law Future computing

“I never thought I’d live long enough to see this happen,” Professor Chua told the Associated Press.

“I’m thrilled because it’s almost like vindication. Something I did is not just in my imagination, it’s fundamental.”

The memristors are so called because they have the ability to “remember” the amount of charge that has flowed through them after the power has been switched off.

This could allow researchers to build new kinds of computer memory that would would not require powering up.

Today, most PCs use dynamic random access memory (DRAM) which loses data when the power is turned off.

But a computer built with memristors could allow PCs that start up instantly, laptops that retain sessions after the battery dies, or mobile phones that can last for weeks without needing a charge.

“If you turn on your computer it will come up instantly where it was when you turned it off,” Professor Williams told Reuters.

“That is a very interesting potential application, and one that is very realistic.”

‘Industry anathema’

Professor Williams and his team have already shown that by putting two memristors together - a configuration called a crossbar latch - it could do the job of a transistor.

The team has built hybrid circuits using memristors and transistors

“A crossbar latch has the type of functionality you want from a transistor but it’s working with very different physics,” he explained.

Intriguingly, these devices can also be made much smaller than a conventional transistor.

“And as they get smaller they get better,” he said.

As a result, the new devices could play a key part in the future of the electronics industry, as it relentlessly pursues Moore’s Law.

This industry axiom, first stated by Gordon Moore, co-founder of chip-maker Intel, states that the number of transistors it is possible to squeeze in to a chip for a fixed cost doubles every two years.

However, according to some, it may be some time before the device is widely used.

“Even to consider an alternative to the transistor is anathema to many device engineers, and the memristor concept will have a steep slope to climb towards acceptance,” wrote Drs James Tour and Tao Heare of Rice University, Houston, in an accompanying article in Nature.

They said that some in the electronics industry would only accept the use of memristors “after the demonstration of a well-functioning, large-scale array of these densely packed devices”.

“When that happens, the race towards smaller devices will proceed at full steam.”

Keyboards ‘dirtier than a toilet’

Many people eat their lunch at their computers, leaving crumbs

 

Some computer keyboards harbour more harmful bacteria than a toilet seat, research has suggested.

 

Consumer group Which? said tests at its London offices found equipment carrying bugs that could cause food poisoning.

Out of 33 keyboards swabbed, four were regarded as a potential health hazard and one harboured five times more germs than one of the office’s toilet seats.

Microbiologist Dr Peter Wilson said a keyboard was often “a reflection of what is in your nose and in your gut”.

During the Which? tests in January this year, a microbiologist deemed one of the office’s keyboards to be so dirty he ordered it to be removed, quarantined and cleaned.

It had 150 times the recommended limit for bacteria - five times as filthy as a lavatory seat tested at the same time, the research found.

Should somebody have a cold in your office, or even have gastroenteritis, you’re very likely to pick it up from a keyboard Dr Peter Wilson Consultant microbiologist

The equipment was swabbed for bugs, such as those that can cause food poisoning like E.coli and staphylococcus aureus.

Dr Wilson, a consultant microbiologist at University College London Hospital, told BBC Radio 5 Live sharing a keyboard could be passing on illnesses among office workers.

“If you look at what grows on computer keyboards, and hospitals are worse, believe it or not, it’s more or less a reflection of what’s in your nose and in your gut,” he said.

“Should somebody have a cold in your office, or even have gastroenteritis, you’re very likely to pick it up from a keyboard.”

Which? said one of the causes of dirty keyboards was users eating lunch at their desk, with crumbs encouraging the growth of bacteria.

Poor personal hygiene, such as not washing hands after going to the toilet, could also be to blame, it said.

Cleaning techniques

Which? computing editor Sarah Kidner advised users to give their computer “a spring clean”.

“It’s quite simple to do and could prevent your computer from becoming a health hazard,” she said.

She said dust and food crumbs should be shaken out of keyboards and they should be wiped with a soft, lightly dampened, lint-free cloth. They should also be disinfected with alcohol wipes.

Research by the University of Arizona last year found the average office desktop harboured 400 times more bacteria than the average office toilet seat.

They also found that, compared to men, on average women have three to four times the amount of germs in, on and around their work area.

Daredevils beat Royal Challengers

The lady luck again lacked the Vijay Malliya owned Bangalore Royal Challengers(RC) as they had to face defeat in the hands of the Delhi Daredevils(DD) diminishing their chances of going into the semifinals. They are now placed at the bottom of the table.

After winning the toss the RC put DD to bat and it seemed that they had grasped the invitation with both hands. The DD dominates the RC bowlers as the openers Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhr thrashed the ball all around the field.

Ross Taylor gave RC a joy of relief as he knocked off Sehwag for a mere 24 runs, but the jolly making was not for long as the no.3 batsman Shikhar Dhawan whipped RC with a string of boundaries.

After posting 192 as the target for the RC the DD were fearsome with the ball too. The maximum damage of the RC was done by the pace Aussi bolwer Glenn McGrath who picked up four curtail wickets and was also adjourned Man of the Match. The RC’s were 3 down in the very first over when their skipper Rahul Dravid and Jaques Kallis came for their rescue. In the second spell McGrath send home dravid but kallis managed to add another half century to his account.

Sorry for the In-Convinence…

Sorry folks for the delay of few month’s for no news being updated. But from the 29^th April 2008 all news reports will be uploaded on time. Thank You for your Co-Operation and we apologize for the inconvinence.

Indian hit on Internet Access

Internet connectivity in India and the $11-billion business process outsourcing (BPO) industry faced a major disruption on Thursday after damage to two undersea cables in the Mediterranean Sea.

“Some 60 per cent of the bandwidth has been affected after the damage,” Internet Service Providers Association of India (ISPAI) President Rajesh Chharia said, as Internet surfers in the country struggled with slow speeds and repeated breakdowns.

“The load is being borne by the remaining 40 per cent,” Chharia told IANS, adding that large IT companies like Wipro and Infosys Technologies were not affected as much since they had backups to reroute their traffic through the Pacific.

But smaller and medium-sized outsourcing companies were facing an acute shortage of bandwidth. “The majority of IT companies and call centres using the Atlantic route to connect with the US have been badly affected,” he added.

The National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom) estimates the size of India’s outsourcing industry at $11 billion, with more than 700,000 employees. The industry caters to 25 countries with a 40 per cent market share.

The extent of financial damage to BPO companies was still being ascertained.

According to reports from Cairo, two undersea cables were cut near Alexandria on Egypt’s north coast and one of them belonged to FLAG Telecom, which is a part of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group.

Chharia said firms that are serving the US east coast and some parts of Britain are the worst affected.

“They have to arrange for backups soon. Otherwise, they have to accept the poor quality for some time until the fibre is restored.”

Quoting Egyptian agencies, reports said the damage was caused during anchoring of a ship there. Apart from India, the breakdown affected Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Bahrain.

Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, among India’s neighbours, also reported disruptions.

“Slow connectivity, choking and other problems have been caused across India due the cable damage,” Chharia said, adding it may take 10-15 days for normalcy to be restored.

Reports from Egypt also suggested some delays in restoration work due to bad weather.

According to a spokesperson for the state-run Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, India’s largest communications carrier, only 10-15 per cent of international connectivity faced problems.

Meghalaya Governor offers talks with rebels groups

D

r. S Sidhu the Governer of Meghalaya expressed his hopes for a peaceful settlement with the rebel outfits stating that peace and stability were the pre-requisite for development for the state.

While the government was confident about a peaceful settlement with the Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC), currently under ceasefire, it was hopeful that a similar process will start soon for redressing the grievances of groups like Hynnietre National Liberation Council (HNLC), Sidhu said in course of his Republic day address here.

Advocating the need for peace and stability to achieve the level of economic growth and development the state was aspiring, Sidhu, also the Governor of Manipur, claimed that the law and order situation remained stable in Meghalaya.

On the development activities, the Governor said stregthening of infrastructure is vital for economic growth and power is a key element in this regard. Pointing out that though Meghalaya has hydroelectric potential of around 3000 mw only 185 mw has been tapped so far, he said the state has decided to accord top priority to generation of additional power and augmentation of the power transmission system. He said the state was already in the air map of country with the airport at Umroi while a proposal is in consideration for upgrading the airport for operation of Boeing class of aircraft. The Beljek airport near Tura is also being upgraded for making it operational for ATR 42-type aircraft, he said.

It’s minus 30, at world’s second coldest inhabited place

The temperature fell to an unbelievable low on the 24th of January 2007, at the Drass town in Ladakh region of Jammu and Kashmir. Also known to be the second inhabited place in the world next to Siberia recorded a temperature of minus 30 degrees. The regional capital was not better off warm as it recorded a temperature of minus 20 degrees. Even in the Kashmir valley people woke up to a freezing day wich the mercury showing its reading at 5.8 degrees Celsius at the states summer capital.

TK Jotshi, assistant director of the meteorological department in Srinagar, told IANS: “The minimum temperature recorded today was minus 5.8 degrees Celsius. A cold wave is continuing to sweep across north India. But we expect the night temperatures to rise, bringing some relief to the residents.”

ISRO launches Israeli Satellite

On Monday evening the Indian Space Agency ISRO Successfully launched the Israeli satellite Polaris from its launch center in southern Andra Pradesh, India. It was launched at 0915 hours using the respective launch vehicle called Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle(PSLV) as per informaed over phone from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, about 80 km north of the Tamil Nadu capital Chennai.

“It was a perfect launch in fine weather,” the official added.

The satellite has a payload of 340 kg.

The PSLV has a “core alone” configuration, only the second time such a configuration has been tried by the ISRO. The first time was with the Italian Agile satellite in April 2007, with PSLV C-8.

 

The core-alone PSLV weighs 230 tonnes, and can put satellites up to 600 kg into orbit.

 

The Polaris is considered a spy satellite by many countries in the Gulf and Pakistan, which were opposed to India carrying out the launch. It was scheduled to go up in September 2007 but had been put off to October. It was then rescheduled again for January 2008.

Indian Airports on high Alert

Indian Airport has been put on high alert after warnings given to the Indian government by the intelligence report of ULFA trying to hijack aircraft. It is also come to the picture that they are planning to do so just to free their colleague from jail.

“As the Ulfa has not acted so far, they could well do it even now. They haven’t given up. They may be looking for a suitable moment to strike,” said a senior BCAS official.

Official sources confirmed that a red alert has been sounded in airports across the country. Paramilitary forces have been deployed at all airports, especially in the north east, and army units near the airports asked to stand by.

Reviews by airline authorities and intelligence agencies have revealed major security lapses at airports, which are generally guarded by state police. About 25 airports are manned by the Central Industrial Security Force personnel.

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