Electronics article

The Importance of Remapping Your Keyboard

2008-09-29T12:12:55Z

Though it makes one of the most useful hardware, a keyboard can create problems at many occasions if not paid enough attention while being used, especially while typing. Many times it happens that you you keep typing your contents in a flow, then suddenly you realize that you have ended up typing everything in CAPS. This is the time you start feeling a tinge of frustration as now you need to retype all the things again. This frustration ignites you to hate your keyboard, or its CAPS LOCK, if we say in particular.

Probably, you may start thinking to buy a keyboard of some different layouts. But, be sure enough, whatever layout you prefer, the problem will remain same.

Actually, the problem doesn't belong to the layouts, whether it is Dvorak, Azerty or the most popular Qwerty, but it relates to the CAPS KEY. So what if you come to know that there is a way to get rid of this problem. Yes, there is a solution. The solution remains in getting your keyboard remapped.

Naturally, the remapping of your keyboard will ensure a sort of minimized error regarding CAPS and many other functions. The remapping gets the CAPS LOCKS and many other unwanted keys disabled. Hence, you will be able to work free with no fear of pressing them by mistake.

Interestingly, this remapping is not only capable of disabling certain keys, but it can give you certain new keys, which you think may help you in the better accomplishment of your works.

So how easy or tough it is to get your keyboard remapped as you think? Very simple, this could be the answer. You need to follow certain steps to complete this job. The only thing you have to do is to use the right and the proper software.

The software like Microsoft Keyboard Creator and Sharpkeys are most proper ones in this sense.

First of all you need to retrieve the layout information of your keyboard. This information is found in the register key. Once retrieved, the information can be altered or edited according to your needs. More technically, in order to get the desired changing in your keyboard functions, you need to explore the scan code by using the destination HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet.

As told earlier, the remapping of keyboards is not a work of demon as it can be done easily without using any software. But what the experts believe that despite doing it manually, it should be done with the help of some software. Unlike manual editing of layout, the editing by a software is error free. That is why, for this purpose, software like Microsoft Keyboard Creator and Sharpkeys are highly recommended remapping tools.

If you use a Qwerty layout then using Sharpkeys will prove more feasible. Because it helps you change the functions of all the keys on a keyboard. Moreover, it helps you to disable any keyboard you feel unwanted and problematic.

The editing of keyboard functions using software needs simple efforts. When you end up performing the desired editing on those selected keys, you need to save it. Thus your editing is complete. Also you can add some other keys suitable for your specific operations.

However, the Microsoft Keyboard Creator too is no less useful. To install this software, the use of .NET 2.0 is sufficient. As the name implies, being a product of Microsoft it is highly useful and well equipped. Microsoft Keyboard Creator is highly helpful. Not only that it can help you to improve your keyboard layout or allow you to disable certain keys, it may also help you to make completely new keyboard layouts.

Switch Over to The world of Electrical Switches

2008-09-22T10:03:28Z

Electrical switch is a device used to complete or deactivate an electric circuit. Its main function is to regulate the flow of electricity in any circuit. It works as per two modes; “on” and “off”.

When the switch remains in the “off” mode, it brings a halt to the functioning of circuit while it voluntarily activates a circuit, the moment it goes to “on” mode. An electrical switch has two most important parts; an actuator and two contacts. An actuator is the moving part of a switch. It is the movement of the actuator that controls the circuit providing force to the contacts. It can be found in many types. The most prominent ones are ; pushbutton, rocker, toggle, dial etc.

The toggle is called as dolly also. These actuators share, by their movement, the same common goal to ensure electric supply to the related circuits to run various electrical mechanism.

Contacts are made of any two pieces of corrosion free metals. In order to complete the flow of power to activate a circuit, they touch while their detachment causes the disconnection in the circuit. It results in the inaction of the electrical device it is attached to.

There are many types of switches. However, only four types; single pole, double pole, three way and four way are very prominent and used extensively. The defining features which differentiate these four types from each other are many. They can be such as; whether the switch has “on” and ”off” mark it, the number of locations it can be operated from, the number of terminals used etc.

Single Pole Switches: These switches, unlike three or four way switches, have always “on” and ”off” written or engraved on them. They can be operated from a single location to run any electrical device. Any single pole switch has two terminals. One is used to bring the electricity “into” the switch while the other one is used to send back the same electricity to any appliance or a light bulb etc.

Double Pole Switches: Unlike single pole switches, the double pole switches use four terminals in number. However, they too have the markings denoting “on” and “off” written on them. These four terminals enable a double pole switch to run 240 volts circuits. Also, they can be operated from a single location.

Three Way Switches: These three way switches, unlike first two types, have no markings of “on” and “off” pasted on them. Interestingly, these switches can be operated from two different locations. Hence, they are always used in pairs. These are basically used in three way applications. These switches have three terminal screws. The first one is called “common” while the last two's are called “travelers”.

Four Way Switches: These switches borrow some attributes with double pole switches and three way switches both. Unlike the double pole switches, they don't posses “on” and “off” markings, but they look almost like them.

These switches are used to control electrical devices from as many as three different locations. They always work as connectors between two three way switches. These switches have four terminals with no terminal being termed as “common” one.

Apart from these four major types, there are many other types of switches also. According to their function and mechanism, they have been given various interesting names, such as; hall-effect switch, membrane switch, time switch, centrifugal switch etc.

All About Database Management System

2008-09-15T05:03:15Z

The Database Management System, in short DBMS, is a very advanced, comprehensive and user-friendly computer software. Basically, it used to manage databases. The management of databases, using DBMS, includes numerous complex sets of tasks. It helps to organize a range of given data in a sequenced order. Further, it stores a plethora of data and information in a coherent manner. Not only that, it can also help to retrieve the desired data at an electric speed.

Moreover, the well-written database programs are sophisticated tools to update the pre-existing data and information. A Database Management System is based on certain features like; its modeling language, data structures, database query language and a transaction mechanism.

What are the Types?

Hierarchical, object, relational and network are the four types of models on which a DBMS works to process data. However, there are other models available also. The operational capability of a Database Management System defines the type and number of models it can use.

Data structures lead a user to the innumerable data. These data are found on a permanent data storage device. Additionally, the data can be accessed through volatile main memory also.

How Does it Update and Analyze Data?

As far as the analysis and updating of data are concerned, the database query language helps the user to perform these jobs. It makes the DBMS more interactive and user-friendly. Adding to it, this query language works as the security provider to the data also.

The important factors like the integration of available data, ensuring the access of user to the data and minimizing the faults in data related operations are dealt by a sophisticated transaction mechanism. The data can remain integrated successfully by this mechanism. It prevents an authorized user to update information. Also it enables two different users to deal with the data, simultaneously, at a single point of time.

What are its Exclusive Usages?

The usage of database management system is not confined to the highly organized companies and institutions only, but it has crept in the lifestyle of a common man also.

Ticket Booking: While buying tickets online, either for a train or air travel, we do transactions using database management system.

Online Libraries: While searching for the right books online available in a library, we use the same.

ATM Machines: These are the most popular example of the common use of database management system and almost everyone seems to use it.

A Boon for Organizations:

The Database Management System is a boon for any organization to store and deal with its comprehensive data. It can allow, though being a single system in the whole organization, multiple users to share data. The data sharing process is based on two concepts. The physical view or concept of data storage is related to a database specialist, and not for a general user. He uses it for the various operations related to data and information.

The Physical view is not for everyone as the general users are not concerned with how the data is stored, replaced or updated. Rather, they come to deduce the exact data related information based on their queries. For them, the second concept of logical view is helpful.

Though complex in nature, it makes the data sharing, in an organization, efficient and much faster. The use of DBMS makes the data processing simple, and minimizes drastically the mistakes. The operations come up with exactly desired data and the misinformation are not consistent. The information system becomes more flexible, user-helping and stores large amount of data based information. It is financially affordable too.

Navigational Database Management System:

Based on Codasyl approach,the navigational DBMS, mostly popular before '70s, navigates a data set which is linked to a comparatively larger network manually. This DBMS provides specific pointers to different chunks of data. To reach a definite set of data a user has to use these pointers as gateways. After exploring all these pointers a user comes to find the pointer related to the exact data he/she is searching for. Its pioneer was Charles Bachman.

Relational Database Management System:

Unhappy with the linked-based data retrieval system of navigational DBMS, Edgar Codd came up with a new and more efficient database management system laden with a “search” facility. This feature was absent in the earlier DBMS. This was called as relational DBMS. This system, instead of using linked list of data, uses a table of the stored data. Using this DBMS, a user can get the required data instantly without hovering through the unwanted data, unlike navigational DBMS.

Object Oriented Database Management System:

In short, it is called OODBMS It is a byproduct of the combination of object oriented programming principles(encapsulation, polymorphism and inheritance) and database management principles of ACID (Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation and Durability). When these principles are combined, they successfully integrate a system which becomes efficient enough to store huge bulks of data. They are capable of storing data found, many times, almost indistinguishable. The data processing is done in a very transparent manner.

Tips to Catch the Best Burglar Alarm

2008-09-08T11:25:46Z

Come summer vacations and there starts the preparation to go out to some distant locations. Necessarily, you are heading for a wonderful and adventurous outing. And everybody wants to enjoy the holidays to the fullest. But what happens the moment you start thinking about the security of your home when you are not there.

Definitely, you feel worried. You start imagining a burglar trespassing your home in your absence. And also you see that the burglar is making the most of this golden opportunity. He had done two things together. The first that he has robbed your home entirely and the second that he has robbed you of your happiness.

But it won't be feasible to cancel the summer trip for this mediocre reason. It is far practical that you make a quick round of the market and look for a suitable burglar alarm. Here, the word “suitable” should be given special attention.

A suitable alarm means one which not only scares away the burglars but also should be thoroughly technologically equipped to cater to a range of needs. There are many points to be considered before you buy a full set of home security system.

A monitored alarm must come with a back-up: The monitored alarm is connected to a call center via wires. In case of any illegal entry, the related workers are alerted automatically. However, if the wire connection is disconnected by an expert burglar, they will go clueless. That's why always buy a monitored alarm with radio back-up. This back up works sending special signals even if the hard-wire connection is hampered.

The wireless alarms are vulnerable: These type of alarms are too to easy install as the installer don't need any specific expertise. These hi-tech alarms, though, can be vulnerable. There sophisticated mechanism, mostly based on sensors and cameras, can be disrupted if they come in contact of any device making an electromagnetic field.

Hard-wired alarms can be expensive: Not only that they need an expert for installation, they also don't come without spending much. However, they are more reliable as they, unlike wireless alarms, don't loose their efficiency near a magnetic field. Meanwhile, they look beautiful but can't be relocated.

Dialer alarms are cheaper but not popular: They are very safe and cheaper too. These alarms have pre-recorded numbers which are automatically dialed in case of urgency and the local police station is informed. It is sad that they are not very popular.

Motion detectors misguide: No doubt, they are successful devices to notice any intruder. They trace any movement using the certain radio waves transmitted by the in-built devices. The entrance of an unwanted disturbs the flow of the rays, so the alarm is raised. However, suppose if a cat or your German Shepherd comes in between!

Noisy sirens are not best for summers: Though these crying alarms produce terrific noise to frighten an intruder, they can't be the best option to use during summers. Why? These alarms need people to listen to their blaring. Chances are that everybody may be out of home like you in the summers. Hence, the police might not be informed. As a result, the burglar might take the maximum advantage.

Applications of Nanotechnology in Consumer Electronics

2008-08-20T10:04:10Z

We keep hearing about nanotechnology and its vastly increasing applications areas. The areas of nanotechnology applications are vast and interdisciplinary, from medicine and health care to construction and consumer electronics.

For the viability of nanotechnology, commercialization of products and applications using nanotechnology is essential. Electronics industry is the strongest driver of nanotech commercialization. The future of the semiconductor industry is dependent upon innovation in nanoscale in many ways. The data storage density and processor speed are being constantly improved by their further miniaturization. Researchers are exploring the options beyond silicon, exploring the use of individual single-walled carbon nanotubes as transistors. In coming time, the use of quantum computing may solve complex problems, which can't be solved even by using the most powerful supercomputers. Apart from the data storage and processor speed another areas for applications of nanotechnology are display, networking, sensors, RFID, and consumer electronics.

Now it is extensively being used in consumer appliances, especially in consumer electronics. The use of nanotechnology in consumer products can directly affect and benefit people. Its advantages and drawbacks will be recognized by the majority of people in the world and thus can be more viable and useful. Here we are going to discuss a few among the numerous products available on the market that are the result of nanotechnology.

MP3 Players

The advancement of technologies has helped increasing the size of memory. Now we can have tens of gigabytes of space in a very small storage device. The MP3 players we use today use either a flash memory or a mini hard disk for storing data. Flash memory is a large non-volatile storage device like an EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read-only memory) based on the common CMOS manufacturing technique. This storage technology is rapidly replacing its magnetic predecessor by rising in capacity while diminishing the dimensions of its transistors.

LEDs

LED is another area where in the application of nanotechnology has improved its utilization and efficiency. LED has replaced the incandescent bulbs completely from a number of application areas, such as flash lights. White LEDs are efficient compared to others as they tend to generate light in well defined regions. These regions are called quantum wells. They are manufactured with “atomic” precision and with thicknesses of about 10 nm.

Cooling Systems

The cooling equipment like refrigerators and air conditioning have also been benefited by the nanotechnology revolutions. Silver has been used for antimicrobial purposes in several products. It has helped check the growth of microbes and ensure a healthy and hygienic environment. Now silver is also used in filters for washing machines.

Hard Disks

The hard disks have been able to store such gigantic amount of data due to the use of Giant Magneto Resistance (GMR) effect. It is a quantum mechanical effect. The use of this technology enabled to store well above 100 gigabits per square inch. In current hard disks, the magnetic domains are oriented in-plane, while those of the next generation will stand upright. For reading densely stored data, more sensitive and efficient read-and-write heads are required. It can be achieved through the even more sophisticated Tunneling Magneto Resistance (TMR) effect.

Nanotechnology has got excellent promise in electronic applications. The consumer electronic products have just started exploiting the potential of nanotechnology. The main focus is to find a way to make nano-electronics feasible for consumer electronics. Most of the companies have already introduced nanotechnology in other consumer products as well such as cosmetics, food and clothing.

An Overview of Global Industrial Robotics Market

2008-08-11T06:22:36Z

The demand of industrial robots is growing at a rapid pace. The industrial robots are being used for a wide variety of applications in different industries, such as automotive, food industry, pharmaceutical industry, packaging industry, etc. They are specially useful for the applications where high precision and accuracy is required. In the following sections we will see the various application areas, an overview of market in Asia, America and Europe, and the forecast of industrial robots market.

Application Areas of Industrial Robots

The primary application areas of industrial robots are as following:

Welding: According to IFR, one-fourth of all the industrial robots are used in different welding applications. Robot welding enhances safety. Robots never miss a spot and work with same efficiency and accuracy all day.
Assembling: Almost 33% of all industrial robots are engaged in varieties of assembly applications. A major chunk of these robots can be found in the automotive and electronics industries.
Packaging /Palletizing: The number of industrial robots involved in packaging applications is still in nascent stage but it is expected to grow as robots become easier to handle.
Food Industry: Robots are expected to play a major role in the food industry.

As per the data provided by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR), currently the worldwide market for industrial robots is 4B Euro and it is forecast to grow by 4.2 per cent per year till 2010. The worldwide stock of operational industrial robots are estimated to approach 1,173,300 units at the end of 2010. From now on the industrial robot market will grow with an average annual growth rate of 5.5%. China saw a 29% surge in the demand of industrial robots.

Market Overview

Asia: Among Asian countries Japan continues to dominate other countries in terms of use and purchase of industrial robots. At second and third spots are the republican of Korea and China. Robot investment in Asia stagnated at about 60,900 units in 2007.

Japan remain the largest robot market in the world, selling 38,100 units in 2007. The sales increased slightly by 2%.
The Robot supplies to Republic of Korea fell by 4% in 2007, to 10,300 units. Almost all the industries reduced their orders, especially motor vehicle suppliers.
6,600 units of industrial robots were sold in China, an increment of 14%.
India's consumption of industrial robot reached 830 units. In spite of the modernization of production sites in most of the industries, the stagnating number of robot sales is astonishing.

Supplies to Taiwan (Province of China) were reduced by 34%.
Total supplies to all other Asian markets, including Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, surged by 21%.

Supply of industrial robots to motor vehicle industry was dipped in Asian market but it was compensated by the increasing supplies to the other industries like metal products industry, the electrical/electronics industry, the rubber and plastics industry and the pharmaceutical and medical devices industry.

America: In 2007 around 21,000 industrial robots were supplied to the American countries, 17% more than in 2006. It was primarily due to the surge in the demand of the motor vehicle industry in the United States and in Canada.

Supplies to United States grew by 12% to 16,600 units, Canada by 67% to 2,900 units, Brazil by 62% with 700 units, as compared to 2006.
Demand in Argentina grew remarkably but Mexico was down by 33%.

The supplies of welding industrial robots were increased by 42%.
Assembly industrial robots supply declined sharply by 42 %.
52% growth is recorded in motor vehicle supplies of robots.

However the total number of 6,200 units still did not reach the record number achieved in 2005 (8,200

units). The electrical/electronics industry especially the semiconductor industry was prominent in purchasing robot purchases. The pharmaceutical industry and the food and beverage industry ordered more number of industrial robots. A slight decrement is noticed in sales to the metal and engineering industries, the rubber and plastics industry.

Europe: One-third of the world's industrial robots are produced in Europe. The European Commission have already announced to invest 400 million Euro ( about $620 million) in European robotics research. This investment between 2007 and 2010 will be twice as much of the previous four-year investment. This program is aimed at forging stronger links between academia and industry, and planned to fund a widespread experimentation by academic researchers and industry.

The sales of industrial robots were reported to show a 10% increase during 2007. 34,600 units, the highest number of robots ever recorded in one year, were sold in 2007. It was due to surging investments in the non-automotive sector as well as in the motor vehicle industry.

Germany:The largest market for industrial robots in Europe, showed 29% increase to about 14,800 units in its supply of industrial robots. All the industries especially of the motor vehicle industry, the medical devices industry, the electrical/electronics industry, the metal and engineering industry and the food and beverage industry were reported to have surging investments.
Italy: The second largest European market was however low by 10% to about 5,600 units. The automotive industry, the metal industry and the food and beverage industry invested heavily but the rubber and plastics industries cut their robot investment sharply in 2007.
France: The supply of industrial robots in France decreased by 10% to about 2,800 units. All industries cut down their robot investment. This has been due to the largely stagnant investment climate in France.
Supplies to Central/Eastern European countries surged by 56%. Sales to Spain and the United Kingdom were down.

Market Forecast in 2008

As per the reports collected yet the robot market continues to grow in the current year. We will see investment in industrial robots segment in the growing markets such as China, India, Southeast Asia, Russia, Eastern Europe and South America. The non-automotive sector especially the metal and machinery industry, the semiconductor industry, the glass/ceramics industry, the furniture industry will continue to increase their robot investments.

The development of the robot sales will again be different in the three big regions.

In the American countries, the non-automotive sectors will grow remarkably in 2008. But this increases will not be enough to offset the expected decline in sales to the automotive sector. Finally robot sales will decrease in 2008 in this region.
InEurope it will continue to grow. In Germany, the order intakes of the first quarter in 2008 are still at double-digit rates. Italy is expected to show growth between 5 to 10% in robot installations. Strong robot investment will be seen in the Eastern European countries.
After the stagnation in 2007, the robot supplies to Asia will increase in 2008. Average growth in Japan and the Republic of Korea will be seen. According to first estimates, in 2008, the total increase of the robot shipments in the world will be between 8% and 12% higher than 2007.

Things to Consider Before Buying a Home Theater System

2008-08-04T06:18:34Z

All of us dream a good home theater system in our home. We are always ready to spend how much it needs to buy a good system. But spending quite a handful of money and buying branded products can't ensure a quality home theater system. You would have read a lot of articles and suggestions on this. But this article will draw your attention only to the most neglected problems that pose serious problems in long term.

Estimate system components according to the room size

At first you must decide in which room you are going to place your home theater system. Whether that particular room will be used solely for your system or for other purposes too. It will help you decide the size of your system components, like that of speakers. The most important but perhaps most neglected factor before buying a home theater system is to estimate the size of home theater system. The room shouldn't be considered as the place only for keeping the set but it is entirely a component of the home theater system, like any other electronics product.

It would be better to draw a map of the room on a sheet of paper and sketch the likely placement of the furniture and other room components. Measure the dimension of room and make a list of all the current commodities and also the inputs you are going to buy. You should also approximately estimate the size of cables and wires needed to connect the items. After finalizing all these info, you should take this map with you when you go out to buy new system.

A room with too many windows doesn't seem proper for fitting home theater system. Most of the televisions provide best picture quality in semi-lit room or in darker rooms. It is strongly suggested not to place the TV in the direction opposite to window. However you might use curtains to block the light but make it sure they are effective.

Don't neglect speakers

Most of us do a common mistake that we spend the maximum portion of our budget on video/audio components but neglect the speakers and sub-woofers. It ultimately led us to experience poor sound quality. You should give the speakers the same priority as to other parts. It is not required to spend a lot on speakers and woofers but go for those which can do well for you. A lot of choice available in the market can led you to confusion. What you should do that listen to speakers at the dealers shop before you buy. You can take your own CDs and listen to make a comparison in the sound quality.

Appropriate Size of TV

Though all of us desire to have a larger TV but its size should be proportional to the size of room. Buying a wrong size television that doesn't fit the room size tells your under-preparation. As mentioned earlier you must buy the components keeping the size of room in the mind. Viewing distance also make a difference and according to a general rule the minimum optimum viewing distance from the viewer to the TV screen should be about 2 - 2 1/2 times the width of the television screen.

Read the user manual properly

Again one of the most neglected factor is the avoidance of user manuals. Most of us start setting up the components without reading the user manual given with the system. We think we can do it and finally led to an array of problems. So it would always be nice to read all the instructions and suggestions before you start up.

Before buying a Fitness Equipment!

2008-07-11T10:18:27Z

Buying a fitness equipment mightnot be a cause of concern for most people. The main problem is the usability of these fitness equipment in the long term. A major chunk of consumers say they would exercise more if they had exercise equipment in their home. But it isn't true. According to a survey by Consumer Reports, 37% of consumers who do purchase home equipment exercise less than anticipated. At the end the fitness equipment they buy remain no more useful.

Exercising in the privacy of your home can be comfortable and more accessible than in a gym. So investment in home fitness equipment can be great if done wisely and smartly. Afterall it can represent a sizable financial commitment as well as a lifestyle change.

What mistakes we commonly do?

The first and the very common mistake the fitness equipment buyers do is to purchase a machine with too many features. More features mean more money but more money does not ensure better quality, especially in the case of fitness equipment. Most of the fitness equipment equipped with electronic features are used very rarely. It is mainly due to the lack of knowledge to use the computer and later they give up. So it will be better not to go after the features, rather you should choose the equipment that offers a total workout.

At first try out!

It is very important for you to be well aquaint of all the features, benefits and drawbacks of the equipment you are going to purchase. So at first try it out! The best place to start with is a gym. Get a monthly membership and try out the equipment you wish to buy. Once you find out the equipment needed for your purpose, look for the features and see what is good and what isn't. Then go out to different stores and try their machines. Here the point to be remembered is that you should wear your exercise clothes and exercise shoes while checking these equipment. It will give you the same feeling as in gym. All fitness machines look great, just turn it on and use for a good fifteen-twenty minutes. The weighing machines should be used for at least 20 repetitions. It will give you a great idea of the equipment and you will be more comfortable with the equipment before buying.

Tips for beginners

The beginners in the exercise world must be careful with the selection of the fitness equipment. They shouldn't buy anything complicated or hard to use or setup. The high end fitness equipment looks for the coordination of upper and lower bodies and that can be quite overwhelming for the people having less experienc with exercise routines. You should ask more questions like information sheet and inquire about all costs. Look for discounts and sales. Some equipment sellers will offer to put together your new fitness equipment. Ask your seller to fit those equipments in your home which are quite cubsersome and difficlut to setup.

Solid State Drive : Time to change your storage technology

2008-06-28T05:55:51Z

In this digitized world we usually spend more time with computers than with our friends and families. And when your best companion slows down and refuses talking to you, you might feel irritated, tormented, and hostile. So how can you speed up your computer's performance so that it might not pose any problems in smooth functioning. Adding more memory to your PC might be a solution but there are practical limitations to it. A new technology in the storage device, SSD can help improve the speed and performance. Let's see how?

About Solid State Drive

Solid state is an electrical term refering to electronic circuitry, totally built of semiconductors. Initially this term was used to define those electronics items that were constructed from semiconductors rather than vacuum tubes. In a solid state drive, the primary storage medium is semiconductors unlike the magnetic media in a hard drive. It uses solid-state memory to store persistent data.

Why Solid State Drive?

So what are the advantages of using solid state drives. Let's see how can you be more benefitted by using SSD than hard drive. The foremost advantage of SSD is that it does not have any moving parts. The traditional drives have drive motors to spin the drive heads and the magnetic platters. All the data in flash memory chips are stored on a solid state drive.

Faster Data Access: This can be the most attracting feature of SSDs. Neither the drive have to spin the platter nor to move the drive heads, data can be instantly read. It can roughly speed up the process to 20%.

Less Power Usage: Since there are no motors in the solid state drives, they don't draw power. Due to that it use less energy than the regualr hard drives. Power factor has a key in portable computers.

Higher Reliability: The SSDs add to the relaibility of portable drives. Hard drives are very sensitive and fragile. They are prone to damage even in the case of small collision, finally resulting in complete data loss. In SSD data is stored in memory chips, so there are fewer chances to be damaged in any sort of impact.

Limitations On Its Use

Solid state drives have been available for quite some time. The cost of a SSD is roughly equal to one entire notebook. That is the main limiting factor, which has checked its usage in wide number of PCs. But gradually this scenario is changing as more and more companies are producing the drives. The capacity for producing the flash memory chips also continues to grow. The cost of SS drives have been reduced to less than half compared to its price one year ago.

Capacity of the SSDs is also another problem in its adoption. The hard drive technologies allows for over 200 GB of data in a small 2,5 inch notebook hard drive. But most of the SSD drives are of the 64GB capacity. Thus the higher price of SSDs are even providing a fraction of data.

Possibilities Lies Ahead

In near future you will get SSDs closer to the capacities of hard drives and at prices comparable to hard drives. A number of companies specialized in flash memory are coming up with the products that look set to the push the capapcities of SSDs. The market for solid state drive disks is set to increase at a 70 per cent compound annual growth rate from 2007-2012 with enterprise storage expected to provide a steady base.

OLEDs are the future of screens

2008-06-16T12:41:45Z

Have you ever imagined of having a display monitor built into your clothing that can be rolled up? Have you conceived of having a high-definition TV, 80 inches wide but less than a quarter-inch thick, and that consumes less power than most TVs. These devices are not just an artist's speculation, they might be possible in the near future with the help of OLEDs.

OLED or Organic Light-Emitting Diodes, a type of solid state lighting, are plastic-based materials capable of emitting light. It can be used to make screens by spraying the materials on a surface. OLED displays have the potential to offer a cheaper, brighter, less power-hungry alternative to LCDs.

OLED screens in consumer appliances

The OLED screens have forayed into the display screen market, whether it is the mobile screen, laptop or your watch screen. Applications of OLED can be seen in electronic prodcuts as some of the top most companies have already taken initivatives towards this direction. General Electric along with Osram Opto Semiconductors, The Ewing and others have come up with the idea of transforming organic light-emitting diodes into a source of room lighting. Samsung and Pioneer Electronics are using OLEDs for screens on consumer electronics products.

At present OLED screens are being used in small-screen devices like cell phones, PDAs and digital cameras. The likes of Sony and Samsung are determied to use the OLEd technology in their future products. Sony Corporation announced that it was beginning mass production of OLED screens for various personal entertainment handhelds. In October 2007 they announced that they would be the first to market with an OLED television. Kodak released a digital camera, the EasyShare LS633, with an OLED display in March 2003.

Future applications

One of the most interesting aspects of OLED is that it can be used to build transparent and flexible screens. One of its applications can be "transparent window." By day, it would work like a common transparent plastic window. As light fade, flick a switch and it becomes a light fixture. It could cut energy costs by switching dynamically when sunlight will suffice. The government of USA is currently funding OLED research to produce a HUD, with which soldiers will be able to view through their helmets while receiving orders.

A good energy efficient alternative

OLED could be the energy efficient alternative for the power soaking incandescent bulbs. It can be done by increasing the size of the sheets and the brightness. In the wake of the rising importance of environment friendliness and energy savings, OLED is rapidly emerging as a highly competent and feaisble alternative to existing lighting technologies. The energy savings provided by the use of LEDs has attracted countries, like Europe, America, Japan, China, South Korea, etc to establish solid-state lighting.

OLED Benefits

OLEDs have a significantly lesser price than LCDs or plasma displays. It is due to the fact that they can be printed onto any suitable substrate using an inkjet printer or even screen printing technologies.

Since the OLEDs can be printed onto flexible substrates, it has opened the gate to several new applications, like roll-up displays and displays embedded in fabrics.

OLED pixels directly emit light, thus provides a greater range of colors, brightness, and viewing angle than LCDs.

OLEDs have a faster response time than standard LCD screens.

WiMax: Enabling the wireless connection to be omnipresent

2008-06-05T05:57:00Z

Hey guys! Do you face problems connecting to Internet while travelling? Or your connection is too slow to work. You don't have your PC with you and you just have your iPod, and want to be connected to net. No need to worry! Here is the WiMax for solving all your problems. WiMax technology will provide a faster mean to connect to the Internet with your laptops or mobile devices while you are on the go. It will give you a feeling like having an Internet connection in your pocket.

WiMax is a giant leap in the field of wireless communication technology. It is similar to the WiFi service found in airports, coffee shops, and other places but more powerful. It is capable of covering entire cities. It provides faster connection for movies, games and other data services than the latest cellular networks. This technology will allow consumers to use a new range of Internet devices. It has the potential to serve from low density residential applications to enterprise customers.

Peeping into WiMax basics

WiMax stand for Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access. This name was given by the WiMAX Forum, which was formed in June 2001 to promote conformance and interoperability of the standard. Wi-Max is a standards based telecommunications technology aimed at providing wireless data over larger distances in different ways. It is based on the IEEE 802.16 standard. Its broader range and bandwidth efficiency are the advantages over Wi-Fi. At every station it can provide speed upto 75 Mbps.

WiMAX offers nomadic, portable, and fast mobile wireless broadband connectivity without the requirement of being in direct line-of-sight with a base station. WiMAX Forum Certified systems possess the capacity to deliver up to 40 Mbps per channel, for fixed and portable access applications, in a typical cell radius deployment of three to ten kilometers.

Benefits over DSL and cable modems

The two most prominent drawbacks with DSL and Cabel Modems are lot of wiring and their low speed. Every few kilometers they require to boost up the speed and hence end up with a mess of wires.

WiMax overcomes these disadvantages.

No cluttering of wires.
The high download speed of 75MBps from each station can cover the entire city easy.
No problems of maintaining the wires and their connection which has definite shortcomings when it gets damaged somewhere.

The future lies ahead

America's Sprint Nextel and Clearwire have started a joint venture for developing a high-speed mobile network based on WiMax. At the start they are aimed to cover 10 to 15 million people in the United States. In Canada, Bell Canada and Rogers Communications Inc. have invested in Inukshuk Wireless Inc., providing wireless broadband network service based on pre-WiMax standards in about 20 centres across Canada.

IT companies have recognized the potential of WiMax and are working in the direction to provide the customers a fast and omnipresent connection.
It shows a promising future in terms of cost effectiveness and benefits to the consumers. The technology can be combined with multitusde of consumer electronic products. However Wi-Max needs to be integrated with technologies like bluetooth, Wi-Fi and others. Issues like spectrum allocation also needs to be resolved. According to Mr. Wickware, vice-president of Nortel's Carrier Network, "Anything that could or should be connected to the network, will be connected to the network, game consoles, obviously smartphones, digital camera, appliances, vehicles, you name it,".

Green IT: The Solution for Gen-next Business

2008-05-28T06:19:22Z

Business is not only meant for making profit rather it must have some social and environmental obligations too. If your business is contributing to make the environment unsustainable, causing irrepairable loss to the society, country and this planet then making money is just not worthy. All businesses need to act in an environmentally responsible manner, not only to fulfil their legal and moral duties but also to raise the brand and to ameliorate their corporate image. In a competitive market where companies are progressively sensible to the ‘green’ market, they must avoid the increasing financial penalties that are being levied against carbon production.

In the wake of rising energy costs and goverment's imposition on carbon production, the survival for the businesses has become quite unmanageable. And the impact is mainly not on the power hungry businesses but it is the least expexted IT sector that is going to suffer the most. After all in future all businesses will progressively be judged according to their environmental credentials, by their shareholders, legislators, and customers.

Why the IT sector is most Vulnerable?

IT has been a profligate consumer of energy. The IT function of all businesses is driving an exponential rise in need for energy, and, along with it, is having to bear the associated cost increments. A typical computer consumes about 0.65 kilowatts perhour when in use, or 0.35 kWh in stand-by mode and 0.03kWh in hibernate mode. According to an approximation 1kWh produces 0.51kg of carbon dioxide (CO2). Though the figures look meagre but when added for one entire year and summed for the number of computers used in a single organization, the data looks enormous and gigantic. According to an estimation a single PC in office mode costs a peanut amount of £16.00 per annum to run, but generates 1.094 tonnes of CO2 per annum equivalent to the CO2 produced by a single passenger flying from London to Cairo.

What led to this situation?

In the preliminary age of IT industry, the emphasis was on processing power and storage capacity, and power consumption has been ignored. Energy consumption was regarded much less important

than performance. Smaller transistors and faster processors, which consume more electricity and become hot frequently, were used to form the basis of each new generation of processors. The alleviated operating temperatures enhanced the consumption of power, requiring more number of cooling fans. Though the advent of faster, smaller chips has provided smaller and stackable servers facilitating greater computing power but with no exemption in overall energy consumption, and often with an increased requirement for cooling.

Need for change in strategies

Keeping all the points in mind, it has become prevalent to make some changes in the strategies in the businesses. The ultimate aim of IT is to make businesses more efficient and productive, and to save money. Businesses are used to having to ‘do more with less’ to remain competitive. They must learn to use less electricity in the same way, using green (sustainable) computing to save money. This will take major changes in IT policies and user behaviours.

There is a dire need for a power-based IT optimisation strategy, bringing power right to the fore of IT policy. The companies will have to take modest steps, making sure that desktop PCs, computer monitors and printers are turned off at night, and/or using more effective power-saving modes on unused equipment. Switch to more energy-efficient equipment, such as LCDs rather than CRT monitors when buying new hardware. The dual-core processors are faster and consume less energy than traditional chips. The latest generation of dual-core processors consume about one third less power than their predecessors while offering up to 80% better performance.

A look at the future

The issues of growing environmental damage and rising energy costs will become more significant in future, economically and politically. They would keep driving the cost of living as well as the cost of doing business. An environment comprised of hazardous gases would throw all the living species in an endangered state. Ultimately it is the people and the society who is going to suffer the most. It is the right time for the businesses to take the right steps towards making them green and specially for the IT sector.

New Small Thing In Mobile Technology: Femtocells

2008-04-01T07:28:02Z

In a recently conducted survey, it was revealed that most people switch their cellular phone providers not because of high priced call plans or poor customer services but because of poor network coverage inside their homes where 27% to 47% of all wireless minutes are spent.

New technologies like Wi-Fi to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) have been introduced to tackle poor network coverage inside homes. The most effective technology for improvement of cell coverage is “FEMTOCELL”. The word “femto” denotes something one-quadrillionth the size of a given unit, and is derived from Danish or Norwegian word “femten”.

Femtocells are small cellular phone base stations designed to be located inside offices or homes. They act as in-home wireless access points and use high speed internet connection rather than wireless network to route a call from a headset to the carrier’s switching station from where it is directed to its destination.

In simple language, Femtocell is a handy device, which looks like a router or modem capable of sidestepping nearby towers and the weak coverage they sometimes provide. They use a DSL/Cable connection to backhaul traffic or in simple words they connect cellular networks through broadband lines such as digital subscriber line (DSL) or fiber to the home (FTTH).

Therefore, the purpose of FEMTOCELL is to provide mobile phone users a good and effective network in areas away from existing base stations. Carriers are busy looking for new methods to find a solution to the ever increasing demands of the users for greater and extended coverages.

In comparison to better-established technologies like Wi-Fi and WiMax which deliver high speed internet access. Ray Smets, Vice-President marketing in the broadband solution group at Motorola said that femtocells were getting an equal amount of energy in terms of importance and they were being considered just as significant as other wireless technologies that were being developed.

Search giant Google, invested $20 million on Britain based femtocell startup Ubiquisys. Thomson, world’s largest producer of DSL modems, collaborated with infrastructure maker Nokia Siemens Networks to develop femtocell gear. Netgear which makes Wi- Fi routers, co-founded Femto Forum primarily to promote femtocell standards and applications.

World leaders in technology, Motorola and world web search leader Google are the first companies to sincerely work on the improvement of mobile coverage inside houses/buildings. They are investing tremendous resources for speedy development of femtocells. Recently, Motorola bought Startup Netopia to add to its femtocell efforts.

The main question is why there is a sudden flurry of interest on wireless technology like femtocell? According to a consultancy ABI Research, by 2012, there will be more than 150 million users of femtocell products on 70 million access points worldwide. That’s a huge advancement of a technology which is in trails now. Femtocell technology can give newcomers such as Google, a big launch in the wireless market while offering competition to existing telecom providers such as AT&T and Vonage.

EPOC : Next Generation Gaming

2008-03-11T09:37:24Z

Good news for the gamer community, Australian neuro- engineering company has created a brain computer interface 'Epoc', that is capable of reading electrical pulses in the brain and converts them into commands of a video game. By using thoughts and emotions, gamers will now be able to interact with the virtual world.

Relation between human brain and machine has always been limited to conscious interaction, with no linking of expression, communication, perception – reserved solely for the human domain.

Human brain is made up of hundred billion nerve cells, which emit electrical impulse when interacting. The headset uses non- invasive electroncephalograpy, a technology in which electrical activity produced by brain is recorded through electrodes placed at the scalp.

Australian government has funded Epoc million dollars for project Epoc. Emotiv, the company making it has raised $ 6.3 million in funding till date. With staff of Randy Breen, former vice- president and head of department of Lucas Arts, Emotiv’s new gameplay will be like nothing ever seen before. This mind reading game controller prototype is available for $299, and has a gyroscope to detect movements. Epic is not available to consumers at the moment. Consumer version will be announced at a later.

Project Epoc is a headset that detects player’s thoughts, feelings and expression with the use of sensors, placed in the headset. A set of sensors collect the electric signals emitted by the neurons in the brains. Sensors are placed at specific locations in order to capture all the electric signals. The Emotiv said the headset could detect more than thirty different expressions, emotions and actions. Project Epoc can be used wirelessly. This freedom is achieved with use wifi technology. It can be connected with all the game platforms from computers to consoles. USB dongle is plugged into a computer, which offers wireless capabilities to the headset.

Authentic facial expression of avatars of gamers of virtual world can be given with the use of Epoc technology. For example headset can translate the players expressions like smile, wink grimaces into the avatar expression to the avatar in the game.

"If you laughed or felt happy after killing a character in a game then your virtual buddy could admonish you for being callous," said Tan Le, president of US/Australian firm Emotiv.

Usage of Project Epoc headset is simple and hassle free. There is no need to put any kind of gel on the scalp for the headset to function. There are no cables and no large net of electrodes. You don’t need too much of technical knowledge to operate it.

Hundreds or thousands of thoughts go through our mind every minute. Even when we are focusing, many times we think of something else even if for just a split of second. This gadget should be able to isolate those thoughts and ignore them, so that it does not misinterpret any of those thoughts as commands of the game.

Motion controller and wireless gaming have taken gaming to a different level. Using electrical signals produced inside the brain to play games has given gaming a new definition. Some believe that Project Epoc won't be a successful project. Nintendo Wii introduced Wii controller in 2006, which used motion sensor technology. Some people think they looked goofy while playing with the controller, imagine, sitting still and playing "Emotiv Baseball" without even moving your head!

Doubts have been raised, as some people think that the games, which we play, are not tailored for our brain-button-pushing. If all the latest games are tailored for this gadget, it could revolutionize the game play experience.

Living With a Zombie

2008-02-11T07:46:24Z

In a survey, conducted on different computers all around the globe, it was found that 50 - 80% spam worldwide was sent by zombie computers. Microsoft used a computer with low protection to check the strength of phishing attacks on a computer. Microsoft's computer received 5 million requests in three weeks and 18 million spam e-mails. Computer turning into 'Zombies' has become a problem for online internet securities. Online criminals target home users with high speed internet connections as home computers are less protected.

A zombie computer is mostly a home computer which is infected with a virus/trojan horse. Unlike the zombies of any Hollywood movie, zombie computers are not easily identifiable, they are silent workers.

Zombies in movies have a strange appearance and they make groaning sounds but computer zombies are different, they send spam and gives their control to malicious users. Zombie computer allows online criminals to send remote commands, which are processed by the infected computer.

A computer turns into a zombie when an internet user gets tricked, and downloads malicious code hidden in an attachment in video, music, image or any other downloadable file. Once the malicious code is downloaded, it sends an alert to distant server where the online criminal (master of the computer) is sitting. In that alert message, infected computer informs about its Internet Address (IP location) and hijack status.

Online criminals take control over many zombie computers at a time. All the Zombie computer are then used together for malicious tasks. A group of Zombie computers are known as 'botnets'. Botnets can include thousands of computers. All these computers, if used together, can block a server by repeatedly sending messages to a same server. They are also responsible for almost 80% of the e-mail spam all over the world.

When a user leaves an infected computer having high speed internet connection on standby, the computer starts sending malicious content to other computers and networks. Online spies command their zombie computers to record and send online transactions, credit card numbers,bank accounts and other personal details.

Most spammers protect their identity by sending mails through zombie computers or by creating fake e-mails, thus, making it difficult for online internet securities to track down the spammer on the baises of information provided in the spam email.

To aware internet users about phishing attacks and encourage internet service providers to take zombie preventive measures a website was launched by Federal Consumer Protection focusing on "Operation Spam Zombie", this was done along with more than twenty countries and thirty five government partners.

To check if you are working with a zombie look out for these signs: computer working too slow, displays mysterious messages or responds in an unexpected manner If , you find these signs in your computer, time for you to update your antivirus and run a system scan. Also download latest malware and adware software removers on your computer.