Recently in Technology and Science Category

What happens when you string together 24 256GB Samsung MLC SSDs - you get 6TB of storage and 2GB/sec throughput. Sweet mother of ---!

Discovered the news on Lucas Mearian's Computer World blog who writes:

When you've got millions of dollars at your disposal, and access to some of the industry's best hardware engineers, what do you do? Well, if you're Samsung you make a YouTube video showing the speed, capacity and reliability you can get by stringing together 24 solid state disk drives behind a RAID controller to create "the world's most powerful consumer computer". The result: 6TB of storage and 2GB/sec throughput that is able to load 53 programs 18 seconds. Whoa.

The video below shows the 24 SSDs setup along with some interesting benchmarks. For instance, in the video they rip a 700MB DVD in 0.8s, open all of Microsoft Office apps in 0.5s, and launch 53 programs in 18.09s! At $500 a pop per SSD, it'll cost you $12,000 for ludicrously fast hard drive speeds! Of course, I remember writing about Samsung's Super Fast SATA hard drive in 2004, which featured 3Gb/s speed using traditional HDD technology, which is cheaper than SSDs. Of course, it's 3Gb/s (3 Gigabits per second) not 3GB/s (3 Gigabytes per second), so you'd have to divide that by 8 bits per byte or 0.375 GB/s or 375MB/s. That's odd - that's faster than the 220MB/s random access speed of each individual SSD (aggregate is 24 x 220MB/s). I thought SSDs were generally faster than hard drives? Something must be off in my math. Actually, just read that the 3GB/s is the speed of the I/O channel. The read speed is 1.5GB/s or 0.156 GB/s, which is 156MB/s . Now that sounds more accurate!

And then of course, there's perpendicular hard drive technology, which is a new way of "squeezing" more bits onto a hard drive by changing the orientation of the way the bits are recorded. Normally magnetic bits are written parallel to the drive's surface, but not with perpendicularity - its 90 degrees perpendicular to the normal parallel orientation. Because the bits are recorded upright and "into" the surface of the drive platter, you can squeeze a lot more bits together without the bits polarity causing the bits to flip their magnetic orientation. Check out my blog post where a classic School House Rock video makes an appearance along with a hilarious Hitachi video on perpendicular HDD technology.

Anyway, here's the 24 SSD RAID video:

Om Malik sent a note saying Cisco CEO John Chambers posted a guest blog entry so I went to check it out.

John begins:

Now that President Obama has signed the $787 billion economic stimulus package into law, the real hard work begins: using that money to create jobs. If spent wisely, this package has a chance at fundamentally reforming the U.S. health-care system, making our economy energy efficient and providing Americans with the training and skills required to succeed in a 21st century global marketplace.

But the country can't accomplish these goals unless it has the infrastructure to support them. That's why the funding for broadband was so vital. Broadband is the ticket for entry to participate in the world economy. It is a fundamental technology upon which other things are built. It enables collaboration, innovation and operational excellence, and positions the U.S. to compete on a global basis.

Well, you probably already know my thoughts on Obama's broadband stimulus. I hate it! It's not that I wouldn't like 100% of Americans to all have high-speed broadband. I just don't think broadband is that vital that we need to spend billions of tax payer dollars when we are a fiscal crisis, the stock market is imploding, and the deficit is shooting through the roof. The "pie in the sky" idea that the government can just magically produce more money (and spend it) to do just about anything is partly what got us into this economic mess. What happened to fiscal responsibility? What happened to only spending what you have? Why are we mortgaging our children's future by throwing money around?

I support an economic stimulus to help spark the economy, but spending billions on broadband today when we won't actually reap the rewards for years... it just seems to me like the money could be better spent elsewhere for a more immediate economic impact. Believe me, I love my broadband and feel sorry for those that can't get it, but those billions of dollars could be better spent to help the economy in the near future.

And don't forget to factor in 'compound interest' and government waste. The government has never been good at investing money wisely, because it isn't their money. It's your money. It's so much easier to spend other people's money foolishly. So if it's a $40 billion broadband package, then expect it to cost the tax payer more like $120 billion.

I can see why John Chambers, the CEO of Cisco supports the broadband stimulus. It gives Cisco a HUGE windfall of revenue to help build out this high-speed broadband network. Cisco is obviously a huge benficiary of this broadband stimulus.

John ends his guest blog post with this:

As our policymakers work on maintaining U.S. competitiveness, they should keep in mind that broadband is the vehicle by which our citizens can be more productive, health care can be modernized, our economy can become more efficient and innovation can flourish. To continue our nation's growth, add jobs and drive innovation, we must invest in broadband.

I agree investments must be made in broadband. My beef is with who the "we" is. Is it the "we" tax payer or is it "we" the employees at Verizon, AT&T, Level3, and other ISPs that should 'invest' in building broadband networks. The web has only existing for about 14 years and in that time, U.S. companies themselves have brought high-speed broadband to 80-90% of Americans without a government (aka tax payer) handout.

We Americans complain about the banks needing billions of dollars in government bailout money to stay afloat, yet we're willing to hand over billions to corporations to "help" them build high-speed broadband without complaint? It doesn't make any sense. I guess because we all love our broadband so much and we want to "share the broadband love", we're willing to look the other way when the government gives OUR money to broadband providers.

If we had a budget surplus, I'd me more apt to say go ahead and give the ISPs money to build out their networks. But to me with all this spending on programs that won't stimulate the economy today, President Obama is being penny-wise, pound-foolish. Make that penny-foolish, pound foolish.

Rich met with ooma recently to see their latest wares and hear about their current business model. Recently, ooma ditched the 'P2P voice network' idea where users actually "share" their home landline with others and instead became a traditional VoIP broadband provider. Apparently, the privacy issues were too much to overcome, since users were concerns about fraudulent activity happening on their home landline by outside ooma users. I had my own reservations about the business model as well, since they claimed it would take 2,000 strategicly placed ooma boxes in all the various local exchanges to get good local call coverage for free P2P calls.

Besides becoming a traditional VoIP broadband provider, ooma is now going to start offering high-end media phones, that according to Rich Tehrani will in the future feature a picture frame, in-house sensors and cameras. As for what they offer today, in early January, ooma launched Telo, which offers unlimited, free VoIP-to-PSTN (U.S.) calls over the Internet along with a DECT 6.0 cordless phone that supports call screening, MP3 ringtones, 12-hour talk time, HD voice, speakerphone, two-line support, mobile transfer, and intercom. It supports up to eight phone numbers and six phones


                   ooma's Telo phone system with DECT 6.0 handset.

The Telo phone system is expected to be available in the first half of 2009. The next question you're probably thinking is "If it's free unlimited U.S. VoIP-to-PSTN calls, how does ooma make any money?" The answer to that is ooma offers ooma Premier, with advanced features that they hope people will opt & pay for. (See: http://www.ooma.com/company/how_we_make_money.php)

Some of the Premiere features include:

• Instant Second Line allows you to make or take two simultaneous calls from a single phone number
• Blacklists helps you protect your privacy and block telemarketers
• Multiring lets you answer calls from your home phone or cell phone
• Message Screening allows you to listen in as the caller is leaving their message
• Send to Voicemail allows you to transfer a call to your voicemail
• Voicemail Forwarding lets you forward voicemail so that you can listen to it from your favorite email program
• Do Not Disturb allows you to roll your calls into voicemail without ringing your phone
• Personal Numbers allows you to select additional phone numbers in any calling area in the US

The "free" unlimited calling puts them on par with magicJack, but the magicJack is much less expensive (magicJack costs $39.99 1st year, and $19.99/yr in subsequent years). Pricing for Telo has not been announced, but I'm sure it will be much more expensive since the hardware costs so much more. One advantage for Telo is that magicjack requires your PC to be on all the time to make/receive calls over its USB-based dongle. The Telo phone system is a standalone phone that has no such restriction. It's also a multi-line and multi-handset phone platform, so it's more suitable to busy households that require multiple lines or phone handsets.

Check out Rich's post for more on Telo and how the FCC is actually an investor in ooma.

According to The Sun, aeronautical engineer Bernie Bamford was browsing through Google Ocean when he came upon this formation showing a perfect rectangle the size of Wales lying on the bed of the Atlantic Ocean nearly 3½ miles down. A series of criss-crossing lines that looks like a large city enclosed by the a boundary appears in Google Earth. I launched Google Earth myself to see, entered in the coordinates (N31.381 W24.375) and sure enough, there it is.

Now, it could simply be a series of seams in the topographic scans where areas are being tiled together along with missing scan data that has to be interpolated. However, according to The Sun article, Google responded as follows:

Google today claimed the criss-crossing lines were sonar data collected as boats mapped the ocean floor.

But the internet giant said "blank spots" within the lines could not be explained.

So has Atlantis finally been found? Didn't Edgar Cayce, the "American Prophet" say that Atlantis would be discovered soon after the millenium? Anyone got a bathysphere I can borrow? I'll get to the bottom of this.

Related:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10168269-36.html

According to In-stat, nearly 31 Million Business IP Phones will ship in 2012. That's if the Mayan 2012 Doomsday Prophecy doesn't come to pass. You know, the one where the Mayan calendar ends on December 21st, 2012 - the same date as the Winter Solstice and when the Earth will be in galactic alignment with the massive black hole at the center of our galaxy, as well as our sun, resulting in a planetary shift. The date 12-21-12 reads as, A-B-B-A-A-B. Since the Hebrew language is read from right to left, this date would read BA ABBA. The Hebrew translation for BA ABBA is "Father comes" or "Father is coming". If you believe in that sort of thing. Here's a History Channel clip about 2012 that might bring out the conspiracy/doomsday nut inside you.

And then there is a Sony Pictures movie titled 2012 coming out this summer, as seen by this trailer:


Anyway, In-stat explains, "Within the business market, corded IP phones remain the standard, and will continue to dominate the enterprise IP phone market through 2012," says Norm Bogen, In-Stat analyst. "However, WLAN and IP DECT phones continue to grow, especially within some specific vertical and geographical markets."

Recent research by In-Stat found the following:

• Cisco, Avaya, and Nortel are leading the market for enterprise IP phones.
• Wi-Fi integration in cellular phones is growing rapidly; however, the majority of Wi-Fi/cellular phones are not designed for VoIP.
• Uniden holds top market share for consumer IP corded phones

The In-stat report points out that the IP phone market is "a tale of two markets" with IP phones thriving in business but as for the home consumer, not so much.  By 2012, 31 million voice-centric business IP phones will ship but the consumer side will be outpaced by businesses more than 10 to 1. Why the slow consumer adoption of IP phones?

According to In-stat, "the nascent consumer market for voice-centric IP phones is being subjugated by the introduction of IP media phones, such as the Verizon Hub and AT&T HomeManager that support both IP communications, as well as delivery of Internet information and multimedia content."

I think they're a little premature in that statement. The Verizon Hub is a cool device, but it literally just came out, so it is not affecting consumers from buying IP phones at home. I think the reason is that consumers are happy with their home cordless phones with built-in answering machines. Some even have the multi-handset cordless phone systems, which allow you to strategically place handsets around the house with the ability to screen callers and remotely check the answering machine without going to the base unit. There just isn't a good reason to purchase a $150-$300 corded/desktop IP phone for the home.

You could argue that a Wi-Fi phone might be a good option for the consumer. Wi-Fi phones are less expensive than desktop IP phones, they're mobile, and they can get you cheaper or even free calling (i.e. Skype-to-Skype calls). But Wi-Fi phones have notoriously bad battery life. A better option in my opinion is a DECT 6.0 phone device with VoIP capabilities, such as the Philips VOIP841 Skype phone. Although there are other WiFi and DECT phones worth a look. I should point out that Wi-Fi phones have the advantage over DECT of sometimes offering a built-in browser so you can access the web.

Let's look at how In-stat defines "media phone" and "why the media phone":

The media phone is a new category of broadband device that combines the power of the PC with the performance of a telephone. The result is an always-on multimedia broadband device that is perfect for accessing online news and weather, viewing videos, and a host of other applications. In-Stat believes that the media phone will complement the PC, TV, and mobile handset, becoming an indispensable 4th screen in the home. Service providers and IP PBX vendors, alike, are introducing media phones because they add value to traditional voice telephones and related services.

                                           Verizon Hub, a sample media phone

I certainly agree that consumers will start to adopt "media phones" in their homes, but only if the media phones are subsidized by the carrier. They'll be too expensive otherwise. It worked for the cell phone market, so it can work for the home as well. There have been plenty of times I wanted to check the weather or current movie times, but had to boot up my PC in order to look up information. Having a media phone in the living room with instant Internet access is a nice feature to have. I do agree with the In-stat report that businesses will continue to be the main driver behind IP phone sales, but I wouldn't be surprised to see traditional phone manufacturers such as Uniden developing cordless IP phones for the home market that offer Internet access.

You can download a free copy of In-Stat's media phone research report: The Media Phone Has Arrived!

Relatedly, the research, "IP Phones Worldwide-On the Desk and Beyond" covers the worldwide market for voice-centric IP phones. It includes:

• IP phone vendor market shares for 2007 and 1H2008, segmented by phone type and consumer versus business
• A 5-year forecast by IP phone type (Corded, WLAN, Cordless DECT, Dual-mode Cellular/WLAN, Consumer, Business)
• Analysis of trends in business and consumer markets
• Profiles of more than two dozen vendors

As I wrote a few days ago, Verizon plans to launch the Verizon Hub. I just learned the Verizon Hub will launch February 1st. As I also was the first to point out, my source told me that the Verizon Hub is essentially the same thing as the Verizon One (created by OpenPeak), which I wrote about in March 2007. In my post from a few days ago, I wrote, "One of my sources told me that the Verizon Hub is the same thing as the Verizon One, but apparently Verizon changed the name to the Verizon Hub deskphone."



The Verizon Hub is the evolution of the Verizon One. As part of that evolution, I hope they no longer restrict you to surfing specific websites. Or if they do have to limit it, I hope the list of allowed websites includes YouTube, Digg, Yahoo! + Mail, Gmail, Google, MSN, and Hotmail. The device sports a touch-screen interface for surfing, checking the weather & traffic, and more. It also allows users to make PSTN phone calls via its POTS connection (no VoIP ), access email, search the web, view a calendar, stream music from the web, and view photo images from a digital camera - essentially making it double as a digital photo frame when not in use.

Update: It is VoIP. I found some documentation that mentions attaching a 911 sticker to the phone (E-911 compliance laws) as well as how to hook up the device. It only mentions Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity - no mention of connecting a RJ11 wire to a wall jack. So obviously it is VoIP. My source says is it is VoIP using SIP on the backend.



It sports a WiFi and an Ethernet connection, so I'm not sure why they didn't include VoIP support. At least make it work with Verizon VoiceWing, which is Verizon's VoIP broadband service. Though I have heard from another source that it will support VoIP. I'll get to the bottom of this and let you know. As mentioned in the above update, it does do VoIP. My source says they are leveraging SIP and he believes it is using VoiceWing, but needs to confirm.

It also has visual voice mail, an address book, and even audio directions which the Hub can send to Verizon Wireless phones.

I was hoping it might include a femtocell to improve signal bars in locations with a weak Verizon signal, but alas my sources tell me it won't include femtocell. It will however run on any broadband connection and features tight integration with Verizon Wireless services. It also can integrate with Verizon FiOS and let you control your FiOS TV service from this device.



Update: 2:50pm Just to reiterate - it is VoIP. I found some documentation that mentions attaching a 911 sticker (E911 compliance laws)  to the phone as well as how to hook up the device. It only mentions Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity - no mention of connecting a RJ11 wire to a wall jack. So obviously it is VoIP. My source says is it is VoIP using SIP on the backend.

Price: $199.99 after $50 mail-in rebate. $34.99/month fee with unlimited calls anywhere in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

Update: 1:58pm: Found some more info from a source
It appears that the Verizon Hub will have the ability to upload photos to http://verizonwireless/hub (currently unavailable). You will be able to port your existing number by calling 800-922-0204. The home screen widgets will give you quick access to Missed Calls, Voice Mail, Messages--Text, Picture and Video, Call Forwarding, and Time & Weather. You will also be able to view movie listings, showtimes, and even video trailers. Yup, the Verizon Hub supports video. You'll even be able to purchase movie tickets from the phone. It also supports Verizon V Cast, which enables you to watch popular video clips of news, sports, and more. It also sports a Chaperone feature that lets you track where your kids are via their cell phones.

Update 11:47am They just put this on the news wires. No mention of VoIP.

Verizon Wireless Reimagines the Home Phone

In a dynamic move sure to rattle devotees of plain old home phones, Verizon Wireless will introduce the new Verizon Hub on Feb. 1. Only Verizon Wireless can launch a new touch screen home phone system designed to replace old-style home phones with a souped-up home communications system, bridging wireline and wireless connectivity in one simple service, that runs on any broadband connection whether supplied by Verizon FiOS Internet or DSL or any other high-speed service provider.

Innovative Verizon Hub Helps Manage Busy Lives and Helps Users Stay Connected to Family and Community

In a dynamic move sure to rattle devotees of plain old home phones, Verizon Wireless will introduce the new Verizon Hub on Feb. 1. Only Verizon Wireless can launch a new touch screen home phone system designed to replace old-style home phones with a souped-up home communications system, bridging wireline and wireless connectivity in one simple service, that runs on any broadband connection -- whether supplied by Verizon FiOS Internet or DSL or any other high-speed service provider.

Families with active lifestyles and virtually anyone who wants to stay current and connected need a tool that helps manage their communications, contacts and calendars simply and smartly -- all from one easy screen. The Verizon Hub is poised to help pave the way for people to stay in touch and up to date with the information they need to navigate their increasingly busy days and nights.

"The Verizon Hub reinvents the home phone system that's been centered on your kitchen counter for years. We're bringing huge new functionality to a common household device that will unlock its true potential. And in the process, Verizon Wireless is updating the tools busy families can use to manage their lives," said Mike Lanman, vice president and chief marketing officer at Verizon Wireless. "The Verizon Hub is going to change the way you think about what you want and need your home phone to do. Whether you're thinking about getting rid of your home phone or can't live without it, now is the time to try out the Verizon Hub."

The Verizon Hub uses your existing broadband connection, and it's quick to get it up and running. It will work with any open broadband connection from virtually any broadband provider -- telecommunications or cable -- anywhere in the United States.

Out of the box, the Verizon Hub will have all the calling features users expect from the most advanced home phones, plus visual voicemail and robust contact list management. Verizon Wireless has also added exciting messaging options, including text message calendar alerts and audible turn-by-turn directions delivered to Verizon Wireless phones from the Verizon Hub -- with just a few simple taps on the screen.

Information will be at a family's fingertips, literally from an easy-to-navigate touch screen with clear icons on the Verizon Hub. Families will start and end their days with nuggets of customized information from the Verizon Hub:

• Check local traffic and weather in the morning before leaving the house
• Update your calendar and automatically receive a text when an appointment changes or as a reminder not to be late
• Get directions to the new site when the location for soccer practice is moved
• Find the number of the new pizza parlor to order a pie
• Preview the trailers from an upcoming movie that you might want to take the family to over the weekend, then purchase tickets using the Verizon Hub

Families on the go can access all the information and functionality of the Verizon Hub remotely from a companion Web site, even adding calendar entries for family members and inputting new contacts from the Web site. The home-based Verizon Hub is instantly updated.

Verizon Wireless customers who bring the Verizon Hub into their homes can connect to popular applications including VZ Navigator(SM) and Chaperone(R), as well as incorporate their wireless devices through text, picture and video messaging between wireless phones and the Verizon Hub. New and exciting V CAST content will also be available on the Verizon Hub, and when not in use, the Verizon Hub doubles as a digital picture frame displaying all of your favorite photos.

More details on the Verizon Hub, including pricing and service plans, will be available in the coming days. For more information on Verizon Wireless products and services, please visit www.verizonwireless.com.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable wireless voice and data network, serving 83.7 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with 85,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.

President-Elect Barack Obama is planning to send up to $40 billion in grants and loans bailout funds toward improving broadband availability and speeds as part of broader economic stimulus efforts, according to UBS analysts.

According to Telephony Online:

A draft of the proposed $825-billion economic stimulus bill circulating on Capitol Hill today lists $6 billion for expanding broadband "so businesses in rural and other underserved areas can link up to the global economy," adding that this provision could well aid the job-creation goals of the larger economic stimulus effort.

PC World writes: The money will "strengthen the economy and provide business and job opportunities in every section of America with benefits to e-commerce, education and health-care," a House Appropriations Committee document said. "For every dollar invested in broadband the economy sees a ten-fold return on that investment."

10X the return? I'm not buying it. My BS meter just went off the scale. Just my opinion here, but I see this as $40 billion in wasted tax payer money. The private U.S. sector already offers high-speed Internet to nearly every part of the country. Where DSL or cable isn't available, American can pay for high-speed satellite Internet access. If it isn't profitable for ISPs to bring high-speed Internet to boondocks USA, then I am very skeptical about the government paying for it. We've been down this road before with the Community Reinvestment Act forcing banks to give mortgage loans to risky  individuals, which turned into a very unprofitable venture with disastrous results.

Let the free market decide where high-speed Internet is profitable. Seriously, why should I subsidize high-speed Internet for Backwaters, U.S.A.?

In this tight economy, I'd rather have this $40 billion divided by 300 million Americans = $133.33 back per person.

That's $533 for my 4 person family.

Or if you only count just tax payers it's $40b divides by 136 million tax payers = $294 back per tax payer.

$40 billion doesn't seem like a lot in the grand scheme of things, but when the government spends $40b on this, $100b on that, $800b on bailouts, etc. soon enough your Federal income taxes starts shooting through the roof - or at least the deficit will until the bill comes due years from now. Average Americans no longer pay attention to how much the Federal government takes out of their paycheck each week/bi-week. It's money they never see, so they don't miss it.

I have a solution for this slow American economy - suspend all federal income taxes (except social security taxes of course) for 1 year. I guarantee that will give the economy a huge boost. It'll never happen though, because my fellow Americans will be shocked how much more dispensable income they will have in the course of one year. Once their eyes are opened, Americans will never allow the federal government to reinstitute the same amount of taxes formerly taken. Congress knows this and will never give up that much money/power.

Now, you could argue that poor Americans could use an Internet access subsidy. However, last I checked, poor people in this country had plasma TVs, PS3s, subsidized housing, free emergency care, and more. We have perhaps the richest poor people in the world or close to it. If they want Internet access, they'll pay for it. Americans work hard and will work to earn things they want. It's the way it's always been.

Unfortunately, we keep hearing these "great ideas" how to offer more services to Americans via the government, and we just think the government can do anything with their "limitless" funds. The U.S government can just print more money - it's just Monopoly money after all. Who cares about the impacts on inflation, which will no doubt hit us in the next 18 months from all these bailouts and new government spending ideas/plans?

So the question is do you want really want your federal taxes to increase and go towards building high-speed Internet access for every American. If you agree to pay higher taxes for that, why not tax the taxpayers even more to give a free car or a free house to all Americans making under $40,000? Bad analogy? Agreed, it is a bit over the top, but you see my point.

I'm all for stimulating the economy, but this seems like yet another wasteful government project.

Let Verizon, AT&T, cable cos, etc. make their own investments in building out their Internet networks. Enough with the government grants, subsidies handouts already!

With today's news of Nortel's potential bankruptcy flying, my fellow TMC team members have been trading emails back-and-forth about Nortel's future. (See also Rich's overview).

Brendan Read had an interesting take that I thought I'd share:

This could cause a political firestorm in Canada: Nortel being a Canadian company, Avaya being American, expected more job losses from consolidation, Stephen Harper's Conservative minority government being propped up by the center-left parties including a resurgent Liberal party under its US-educated new leader Michael Ignatieff, and the bulk of Nortel's jobs being in the battleground province of Ontario.

Parliament resumes later this month with a new budget--and his deal could add enough explosives to the mix to ignite another election. Harper is a superb political gameplayer which is why he stopped the sale of the firm that made the Canadarm to an American outfit.

He then pointed to an Industry Week article where the sale was blocked by the Canadian government.

So is an Avaya acquisition of Nortel in the works? And if so, will the Canadian government block it? Nortel is one of Canada's most prestigious companies. It would almost be equivalent to the U.S. losing Coca-Cola. Ok, maybe not. AT&T then? Interesting times ahead for Nortel, which has very good technology. Someone is going to pick up Nortel, whether it's an American company or someone else remains to be seen. Maybe the Canadian government will join the U.S. "bailout" fracas and acquire Nortel themselves?

Related:
Nortel throws a Hail Mary - "Nortel will now seek creditor protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) in Canada, and its American subsidiaries have filed for Chapter 11 with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware"

Apparently, disk drives are more sensitive to minor vibrations than previously thought. A blog post by Sun Microsystems engineer Brendan Gregg called "Unusual disk latency" discovered unusually high disk I/O latency during a streaming write test. He explains how disk drives latency can shoot up dramatically when someone shouts at them making them perform more slowly.

Yes, that's right, he can make his hard drives slow down simply by screaming at them. We've all been there, screaming at our PCs or Macs, i.e. "Curses you for crashing in the middle of my email novel! Stupid PC!" Like an impetulant child that stubbornly refuses to do what it is told even when yelled at, apparently hard drives have feelings too. Or it could simply be explained by the fact that hard drives have safety mechanisms which stop the hard drive during vibrations to prevent damage. Me, I'm going with the impetulance thing.

Play the video for all his screaming glory.

Toshiba announced that it will showcase a 512GB solid-state drive (SSD) at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) next month, with shipments of this large SSD in the second quarter of 2009. These NAND-flash-based solid state drives (SSD) will be the industry's first 2.5-inch 512-gigabyte SSD and features fast read/write times and reliable performance for laptops/notebooks, and other equipment.

In addition to the 2.5-inch, 512GB drive, the 43nm NAND SSD family also includes capacities of 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB, offered in 1.8-inch or 2.5-inch drive enclosures or as SSD Flash Modules. The drives feature a maximum sequential read speed of 240MB per second (MBps) and maximum sequential write speed of 200MBps. This should definitely result in faster boot and application loading times. The drives also offer AES data encryption to prevent unauthorized data access.

512GB soon... next stop 1TB (1 terabyte)!

More