Gizmodo: progress

Intel Doubles Capacity of Phase-Change Memory, the Next Step After Flash

Adam Frucci — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 15:05:22 EST

Sure, its exciting to see flash memory drop in price and increase in capacity, but flash isn't the end-all-be-all. In fact, we already know what it'll be replaced by before it's even become the de facto standard: phase-change memory. And Intel just figured out how to double the capacity of phase-change memory, shortening flash's lifespan before it's even really taken off.

So what exactly is phase-change memory?

Phase-change memory differs from other solid-state memory technologies such as flash and random-access memory because it doesn't use electrons to store data. Instead, it relies on the material's own arrangement of atoms, known as its physical state. Previously, phase-change memory was designed to take advantage of only two states: one in which atoms are loosely organized (amorphous), and another where they are rigidly structured (crystalline).

Now, Intel has discovered that there are two more distinct states between amorphous and crystalline that can be used to store information, doubling the capacity of the memory.

Phase-change is superior to flash as it's much faster. It's as fast as the DRAM and SRAM that's used in conjunction with flash memory now. When phase-change becomes standard, it would be all that was necessary rather than a DRAM or SRAM module that reads and writes data quickly while the flash memory is just there to store data when the power is off.

Don't worry, though. Phase-change memory won't be hitting consumer devices for another few years, so your expensive flash-equipped devices won't be going obsolete… yet. [Technology Review via Slashdot]

35 Years of Tokyo Progress in 10 Seconds

Mark Wilson — Sat, 08 Sep 2007 12:45:01 EDT

Witness the progress of Tokyo's Shinjuku ward from 1969-2004 in miniature cereal box form. I feel for the guy who had to hold still with a camera for 35 years. He must have an iron bladder. [freshcreation]

Scientists Figure Out How to Grow Gas From Bacteria

Adam Frucci — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 13:50:42 EDT

In our current quest to stop giving the kings of Saudi Arabia billions of dollars to build yachts and bombs via our love affair with gasoline, some scientists at a company called LS9 claim to have figured out a way to grow petroleum from bacteria. The exciting prospect could shoot us to energy independence in a matter of years, as LS9 says their tech will be ready for the prime time in just a few years.

How does it work?

The company is employing tools from the field of synthetic biology to modify the genetic pathways that bacteria, plants and animals use to make fatty acids, one of the main ways that organisms store energy. Fatty acids are chains of carbon and hydrogen atoms strung together in a particular arrangement, with a carboxylic acid group made of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen attached at one end. Take away the acid, and you're left with a hydrocarbon that can be made into fuel.

What does that all mean? I don't know, I'm no doctor. I just know that if we could grow our own gas it would solve a lot of problems. [Technology Review via The Raw Feed]