Watching
full motion video on a display that you can
roll up and stuff in your pocket is a tantalizing
prospect. An electronic ink that changes about
70 times a second brings this vision closer
to reality. The technology is all about combining
oil and water. Full
story
Magnetic
memory makes logic
Magnetic memory will soon put an end to the daily
annoyance of waiting while your computer boots up
from its hard disk. These chips that hold data when
the power is off might also be capable of a lot
more. Adding a few extra wires to each memory cell
could turn the chips into efficient computer processors.
Old
idea retooled for security
Computers have become quite powerful over the years,
but they remain less than reliable. A concept widely
used in mainframe computing in the '70s and '80s
-- the virtual machine -- could keep computers safe
and sound in the age of hackers and viruses.
Crystal
slows and speeds light
Playing tricks with light -- speeding, slowing and
storing it -- is becoming a popular pastime among
physicists. The effects could eventually be used
to improve communications and data storage and help
bring about quantum computing and quantum communications.
A crystal that slows and speeds light broadens the
possibilities.
