Posts tagged computing

Intel spending more than $1 billion on new CPU manufacturing plants.

With the latest range of Ivy Bridge CPU’s from Intel only recently hitting the market, the company is wasting no time investing in new technology for the next generation of processors.

Where Ivy Bridge used a 22nm manufacturing process, the next CPU will move that down to 14nm, which will be produced at 3 new ‘Fabs’ - one in Ireland and two in the US.

The 14nm process technology is expected to start being used in 2013.

Microsoft to push further development of ‘memory cube’.

Microsoft joined the Hybrid Memory Cube Consortium earlier this month, which already includes high profile companies Samsung and IBM. Together the group is trying to advance the technology which uses stacks of DRAM memory combined together with a logic layer on top to control and optimize the memory. Traditionally memory controllers are intergrated into other parts of computers, but by combining them into the logic layer of the memory cube, higher speeds can be achieved along with lower energy consumption.

According to the Consortium, the memory cube could provide 15x the performance of DDR3 memory (which is found in most new computers today), while utilizing an amazing 70% less energy per bit than DDR3.

The group hopes to have 2 and 4 Gigabyte versions of the cube available early next year, although it’s unclear if those would simply be testing versions for developers or a finished product for mass market. They are also working on an interface for the cube to work with mobile devices, where power consumption is particularly critical. Intel is also rumoured to be considering joining the consortium.

‘Vacuum Tube’ processor 12x faster than silicone based transistors.

Vacuum tubes were used in computers until around 50 years ago, when transistors were found to be able to be mass produced onto silicon more cheaply and effectively. Now vacuum tube techniques have been used again to create a device able to operate at up to 0.46 terahertz - more than 12 times faster than the latest Ivy Bridge range of processors from Intel which operate up to 3.8Ghz. 

…it is created by etching a tiny cavity in phosphorous-doped silicon. The cavity is bordered by three electrodes: a source, a gate, and a drain. The source and drain are separated by just 150 nanometers, while the gate sits on top. Electrons are emitted from the source thanks to a voltage applied across it and the drain, while the gate controls the electron flow across the cavity.

Because the device is so small in size, the team found they didn’t need a true vacuum to make it work, as the risk of electrons colliding with any atoms in the air is so low at the nanometre scale. This means they would be more suited to cheaper mass production.

This work is of particular interest to NASA and other space agencies, as traditional computers need to be radiation-proofed before leaving Earth’s atmosphere - this wouldn’t be a problem for the new device, potentially saving them time and money by enabling space-ready computers.

Internet penetration rate stats released.

[Insert dirty joke here]

The chart shows the percentage of population with internet access. Iceland and Norway both have incredible rates of over 97% - almost the entire country is online.

The UK ranks number 14 at 84.1%, with the US number 27 at 78.3%.

Check out the full chart here at Internet World Stats.

T-rays used to transmit data at 3GB/s.

Japanese researchers have created a proof-of-principle device able to transmit data in the terahertz spectrum at record speeds of 3Gb/s. That’s around 20 times faster than 802.11n Wi-Fi used in the latest home electronics.

While the technology is likely to only work within ranges of about 10m, it could theoretically support speeds of up to 100Gb/s. 

At the heart of the team’s 1mm-square device is what is known as a resonant tunnelling diode, or RTD.

Tunnelling diodes have the unusual characteristic that the voltage across them can sometimes go down as current is increased.

RTDs are designed such that this process makes the diode “resonate”, which in the current work’s design means it sprays out waves in the terahertz band.

Internet World Stats Q1 results.

Internet World Stats has released it’s data for the first three months of 2012, showing China with a huge lead in the number of individual users.

The United Kingdom has the highest percentage of population of internet users, at 84.1%. That’s followed closely by Korea and Germany (both 82.7%), Japan (80%), with the US next at 78.3%.

The top 20 countries make up 75% of the world’s internet users.

Interesting to see Nigeria at 11th place overall, maybe because of all their internet scammers?!

New material could enable wearable electronics.

The University of Exeter in England have created the most transparent, lightweight and flexible material ever for conducting electricity. Called GraphExeter, the material could revolutionise the creation of wearable electronic devices, such as clothing containing computers, phones and MP3 players.

GraphExeter could also be used for the creation of ‘smart’ mirrors or windows, with computerised interactive features. Since this material is also transparent over a wide light spectrum, it could enhance by more than 30% the efficiency of solar panels.

Adapted from graphene, GraphExeter is much more flexible than indium tin oxide (ITO), the main conductive material currently used in electronics. ITO is becoming increasingly expensive and is a finite resource, expected to run out in 2017.

To create GraphExeter, the Exeter team sandwiched molecules of ferric chloride between two layers of graphene. Ferric chloride enhances the electrical conductivity of graphene, without affecting the material’s transparency.

First Gigabit Wi-Fi router goes in sale in May.

The Netgear R6300 runs on a Broadcom chip which allows gigabit speeds over the still unratified 802.11ac standard, using a 5GHz spectrum. That standard is theoretically three times faster than the existing 801.11n.

While the $200 router is capable of blazing speeds (and for a reasonable price), don’t expect to see a big boost using it to run your home network just yet as there’s currently no 802.11ac compatible devices or computer chips to receive the signal. Those will be available in early 2013, but until then the router will work with older (and slower) standards.

Intel’s new CPUs [finally] arrive.

After months of delays, the first Ivy Bridge chips from Intel are ready for release, with the first Ivy Bridge computers currently being released to reviewers. Those units should be available to order from April 29.

The CPUs are significant in that they are the first to offer a ‘3D transistor’ design, while using an even smaller 22nm manufacturing process. Check out an explanation of the 3D design here, or watch this video.

The smaller 22nm process means there is more room for the integrated graphics block, and early reports indicate that the chip’s Intel 4000 graphics is better than an entry level graphics card, meaning users can play any current generation PC game without needing a separate graphics card. (Provided you’re willing to have it set to low detail levels, no doubt)

Meanwhile the chip speeds are looking to be the same as current generation ‘Sandy Bridge’ Processors, with the clock frequency of 3.5GHz (up to 3.9GHz in turbo mode) remaining the same. However Intel notes that users can still expect to see either a 20% performance increase, or a 20% reduction in power consumption depending on usage.

Customers looking to buy computers with the new chip should look for the “Intel third-generation Core” series branding, with the chips still going by the Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 names.

And if you’re wondering how small 22nm is, compare it to a human hair, which is usually up to 100,000nm in diameter!

Facebook statistics updated for 2012.

Internet World Stats have released their breakdown of Facebook statistics for the year ending 31 March 2012.

It puts the world total of Facebook users at 835,525,280 - that’s 11.9% of the world population.

Check it out for yourself here.