Prolimatech MK-26 Review
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Working Towards Electron-Fed Biofuel-Producing Bacteria One of the challenges shared by solar and wind power is its difficulty to transport the energy they produce to where it is wanted. The areas with the most sunlight and the most wind are not always near major population centers, and even then, the power can vary, uncontrollably throughout the day. As reported by the American Society for Microbiology, the first step to using bacteria to convert the electricity to chemical energy has been taken. Nature is filled with bacteria that can do all kinds of things, including oxidizing iron. These bacteria feed on the electricity released by iron oxidation to grow and multiply, along with carbon dioxide from the air. What researchers have successfully done is replaced the oxidation process with an equivalent voltage, causing the bacteria to thrive on an electrode. Potentially we could see these or similar bacteria being used to pull carbon dioxide from the air and converting it into more useful compounds, such as biofuels, using solar and wind power to provide the necessary energy. That technology is still far off though, but a little closer to reality than it had been. Source: American Society for Microbiology Read More ...
New Jailbreak Available for iOS 6 Devices A method to jailbreak iOS 6 devices has just been released by a team of hackers known as evad3rs. The tool, evasi0n, uses a previously unknown exploit to jailbreak all versions of iOS 6 on iPhones, iPods, and iPads. The jailbreak software works on Windows, OS X, and Linux and offers the ability to do an untethered jailbreak. This means that "the iOS device doesn't need to be plugged into a computer to re-enable the jailbreak every time the device is rebooted." Source: Ars Technica Read More ...
Quantum Dot Challenges Overcome Quantum dots are sometimes referred to as 'designer molecules' because some of their properties can be precisely controlled, such as the frequencies of light they react to. While this ability could make them very useful for a myriad of studies and technologies, there are several issues with quantum dots, such as the light they emit being dim or blinking on and off. Now researchers at MIT have developed a new kind of quantum dot which actually does not suffer these disadvantages. One potential use for quantum dots is as medical markers, where they are attached to a cell or other biological component. By shining an ultraviolet light on the sample, the dots will light up in a different color, allowing one to follow it, but because of how quickly they may be moving, if the dot blinks off or produces too broad a spectrum of light, it can be lost. By slowly growing the new quantum dots in solution, the researchers were able to produce dots that stay lit 94% of the time and have a single frequency peak, without having to make them too large to be useable. Another property of the dots is a very high 97% energy efficiency rating, which should be useful if the slow-growing method is adapted for large scale manufacture. The researchers believe that we could see these dots being used as soon as two years from now, and those uses may not be limited to medical tests. Solid state lighting and displays could utilize these dots, but only time will tell how great their potential is. Source: MIT Read More ...
HP Jumps into Chromebook Market Hewlett-Packard has announced its first entry into the expanding Chromebook market, the Pavilion Chromebook. Powered by the Internet focused Chrome OS from Google, this device offers a number of similar features to competitors in the market. The HP Chromebook is powered by an Intel Celeron CPU, 16GB of flash storage, and Wi-Fi. The main areas of difference are a mix of good and bad. A 14" screen is the largest on a Chromebook, but the 4.25 hours of battery life put it at the bottom of the pile. The Pavilion Chromebook comes with two years of 100GB Google Drive Cloud Storage and will retail for $330. Source: Wired Read More ...
Stripped Down Low-Power Raspberry Pi Released A new, smaller version of the Raspberry Pi, the 'Model A' micro PC has been released in Europe. The Linux board is the latest addition to the super-cheap developer board, and costs just $25. The major changes between this and the larger 'Model B' being the absence of an Ethernet port and a single USB port. RAM has also been reduced, from 512MB down to 256MB, identical to that of the Model B's predecessor. From the component cuts, the UK-based Raspberry Pi Foundation has managed to cut the power consumption to 'roughly a third' of the 'Model B'. This makes the 'Model A' micro PC more suitable for low-power devices such as those running on solar or battery power. As of now, the 'Model A' micro PC is only available in Europe, however overseas customers can order the device, but will need to wait a while before receiving it. Source: CNET.com Read More ...
Setting New Maximums for Solar Cells Everyone loves a good sale as it lets you get more for your money. 'Buy one, get one free,' sales are perhaps the most intriguing of sales to consumers, as the same cost gets you double what you want. Researchers at the University of California, Davis have recently found a way to get just such a 'sale' within solar cells by having one photon create two electron-hole pairs, instead of the usual one. When a photon strikes a silicon solar cell, depending on its frequency, it may cause an electron to be ejected from its atom and enter the conducting band, leaving a positively charged hole behind. By collecting these electrons one can create an electrical current, but a conventional silicon solar cell can achieve no better than 33% efficiency. What the researchers have discovered is a means to use a special form of silicon, called silicon BC8, to eject two electrons instead of one. This double ejection is due to an effect called 'quantum confinement,' which will typically only happen with ultra violet light. The researchers simulated how BC8 behaves though and found that nanoparticles of it should have the double ejection effect when visible hits it. Potentially a solar cell that utilizes BC8 would have a maximum efficiency of 42%, but by concentrating the light that could shoot up to 70%. Of course a means of producing silicon BC8 will be needed first, but recent research from Harvard and MIT suggest this efficiently done using laser light. Source: University of California, Davis Read More ...
The Thermalright AXP-100 Ready to Give ITX Better CPU Cooling Options The steady adoption of ITX amongst system builders has given rise to some small but powerful PC hardware, and Thermalright’s AXP-100 looks to further improve CPU thermals of your bite-sized machine. While a six-heatpipe configuration can normally be found in mammoth CPU coolers, the AXP-100 manages to pack in the same number, directing the CPU heat towards the heatspreader and fan array. The AXP-100 includes a 100mm fan, but also comes with a secondary fan mount that can accommodate even bigger fans, up to 140mm. With a 5.8cm clearance, the Thermalright AXP-100 should fit in snugly in an ITX setup. What's more, the AXP-100 supports the LGA 2011 socket, which is a pretty good indication that you'll be getting some decent overclocking headroom with this diminutive CPU cooler. Source: PC Gamer Read More ...
Hardware Roundup: Monday Edition We have a good start to the week with our Monday roundup. We have another review of the Kingston SSDNow 300V 120GB solid state drive, which is also the prize in the Different Kind of Contest here at OCC. A review of the ADATA DashDrive Elite HE720 500GB external drive is also in the storage section of the roundup. We have another look at the G.SKILL Trident X 8GB 2400C10 dual channel memory kit, the Logitech G600 MMO gaming mouse, the ASRock Z77 OC Formula motherboard and more today, so be sure to use the links below to read all of the reviews from our affiliates today. Gaming Gunblitz @ LanOC Reviews Input Devices Logitech G600 MMO Gaming Mouse @ Madshrimps Memory G.SKILL TRIDENTX 8GB 2400C10 Dual Channel RAM Kit @ Madshrimps RAMDisks: Maximizing High-Capacity RAM @ Bjorn3D Motherboards ASRock Z77 OC Formula Motherboard @ Madshrimps Power Supplies EVGA SuperNOVA NEX750G Gold Power Supply @ PC Perspective Storage/Hard Drives Kingston SSDNow V300: Value meets performance @ Computer Ed ADATA DashDrive Elite HE720 External Drive @ Benchmark Reviews OCZ Vector 256GB @ Bjorn3D Miscellany ThinkComputers & ROCCAT Facebook Giveaway! @ ThinkComputers Read More ...
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