I really hope the technology works but I have doubts about its reliability outside the lab.
Its one thing getting one transistor working in ideal conditions... its another to build a circuit with at least a billion of these transistors (which it will need, if it is to compete with Silicon for Computer parts). Although that said, as these transistors will be so fast, there could be more practical high frequency analogue applications.
I think background radiation will be one of its main reasons it will fail for a CPU and RAM. With a structure 1 atom thick there is no room for failure. Either an atom exists or it doesn't. Knock an atom out of place then it fails. With a conventional transistor as its bulk material all that happens is it degrades its performance but it can take it (most of the time).
When I first started to read the article I thought it sounded a bit like the Ballistic transistor. Its interesting the Wiki also mentions Graphene as a way to form Ballistic transistors.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballistic_transistor
I really hope it works as it could create incredible computers... But even analogue applications could be very interesting (like maybe even operating in the Terra Hz range:)
That's a great idea, but I think a critical mass maybe a bit heavy for the poor old Robo-Pigeons. Maybe they could just use some smaller explosive payload, to create more targetted Robo-Assassin-Pigeons. Then they just need to land them near their targets.
(Maybe they could use birdseed or bread to give it an additional partly self guided operating mode).
Why stop at crapping on targets?. I bet the American security services are worried. Now there's a real risk of using one of these Pigeons as a remote spying device. Imagine an innocent looking pigeon sitting on a window ledge, but really its fitted with a microphone and remote control. It would be ideal for spying.
Unfortunately, its software sounds like it could have stored that day byte (or some other data), somewhere is shouldn't have... just as well it wasn't in the fire a mission flag byte... or worse still, the ejector seat flag byte.
I don't think Microsoft would do this, but as linux is open source, it would also be possible (in theory) to do the reverse of what you suggest and plant small routines from Microsoft code into sections of Linux. Of course that assumes someone working for Microsoft could get the code sections past other programmers reviewing the new Linux code, but it could be done.
I don't think Microsoft would try this to win any kind of legal action against Linux, (especially as a lot of people are watching the code), but I wouldn't put it past someone trying this kind of stunt from other companies with some open source software. Sadly it seems with corrupt human thinking, anything is possible in the pursuit of their goals, especially where that goal is money and/or power.
Its like the old saying... "All's fair in love and war".. that should be "All's fair in love, war and business"... although the use of the word fair in that saying seems almost like positive PR to say, do anything unfair you can to get ahead. So its not really fair at all.
The interesting thing is most humans are not like this (most people have empathy and ethics) but there are enough bad ones who are like this, to make everyone suspicious of the actions of others.
"Do you mean to tell me that Paris Hilton did not blow me in a motel room?!!!?!"
Have you seen the film "Around the world in 80 days?". She thinks she is in that film. After all, her whole life must seem Photoshopped to her. Sorry, but you are on the end of the queue and it may take her a bit longer than 80 days to get to you.
Personally I don't envy you when she does finally get to you.
The article doesn't mention the hum is a momentary event, it seems to imply this is a commonly occurring 10 millihertz hum?... So maybe the wave action is introducing random noise and part of that noise could then be hitting possibly the resonate frequency of some part of the Earth?!
But could it be the resonate frequency of the whole earth?... or the resonate frequency of just the Oceans?... or even the resonate frequency of the rock part of the earth?. (Or even possibly the resonate frequency of the liquid outer core?!)
It would be fascinating to know what the resonate frequency of the whole earth could be?. (I promise not to use it to build a Dooms Day machine;)
I agree about its not just the governments we all have to worry about, but there's an even bigger problem with giving DNA to especially corporations.
Once its given then that's it, they have it forever. So they have effectively the blue print to you. Everything that makes you, who you are, is contained in your DNA. Its only our current inability to reverse engineer the DNA which gives some protection against the huge amount of profiling that would otherwise be possible.
And its only a matter to time before they will be able to learn to do far more reverse engineering profiling based on DNA.
Considering the rate of progress in DNA sequencing etc..., then imagine where we will be in 20 or 30 years from now. Even worse, if someone born now has their DNA taken and recorded, then when they are say 40 or 50 imagine how much more will be possible to learn about that person from their DNA.
Governments & Corporations will be able to use this data in the future to predict likely behaviours. They can then use this to manipulate what you think, by altering what they tell you based on what they know about you.
There are already precedents for governments manipulating what they tell people during elections based on what the governments know about people from even just conventional data such as various licences etc...
Now imagine what would happen in the future if marketing companies could get these DNA profiles of people.
"a relatively low number of computer users are likely to get Vista by downloading it from the Internet"
For one thing, how big is it!?!... if its about 100Mb zip'ed then great! (yes I can dream!;)... if its 1Gb+ then the Internet's bandwidth is going to get some interesting testing time... (and some people's patence should get some good testing time as well;)
The problem with an Internet download of the OS is, what about a complete re-install?. Its a lot to download again even if the internet connection can be re-installed and re-established somehow.
I'll stick with a disk install. At least that's likely to be a less painful way to install it. (I hope).
What?, so it was a few billion year old amoeba's fault?!?... Seems a bit harsh?... I bet its spinning in its grave now, thinking, "I knew I shouldn't have evolved".
Ahh but if they add a second hand that well solve everything. Then we can all sleep soundly knowing there are 420 seconds spare to play with. So we won't have to worry so much about all the extra nukes they can fit into so many spare seconds.
Slashdot Mirror
I really hope the technology works but I have doubts about its reliability outside the lab.
... its another to build a circuit with at least a billion of these transistors (which it will need, if it is to compete with Silicon for Computer parts). Although that said, as these transistors will be so fast, there could be more practical high frequency analogue applications.
... But even analogue applications could be very interesting (like maybe even operating in the Terra Hz range :)
Its one thing getting one transistor working in ideal conditions
I think background radiation will be one of its main reasons it will fail for a CPU and RAM. With a structure 1 atom thick there is no room for failure. Either an atom exists or it doesn't. Knock an atom out of place then it fails. With a conventional transistor as its bulk material all that happens is it degrades its performance but it can take it (most of the time).
When I first started to read the article I thought it sounded a bit like the Ballistic transistor. Its interesting the Wiki also mentions Graphene as a way to form Ballistic transistors. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballistic_transistor
I really hope it works as it could create incredible computers
"nuclear option pigeons"... etc..
That's a great idea, but I think a critical mass maybe a bit heavy for the poor old Robo-Pigeons. Maybe they could just use some smaller explosive payload, to create more targetted Robo-Assassin-Pigeons. Then they just need to land them near their targets.
(Maybe they could use birdseed or bread to give it an additional partly self guided operating mode).
"crap on specified targets"
Why stop at crapping on targets?. I bet the American security services are worried. Now there's a real risk of using one of these Pigeons as a remote spying device. Imagine an innocent looking pigeon sitting on a window ledge, but really its fitted with a microphone and remote control. It would be ideal for spying.
"Vista? Hello Vista? Please delete 36,000 files for me?"
... ok"
Computer: "What, any 36,000 files at random?
"is like a foolish man who built his house on sand"
Yeah but my sand has Bacteria in it to Protect Against Quakes, so its not so foolish.
doh ... missile, not mission ... I think I have a bug.
"I'll assume they're adding a day"
... just as well it wasn't in the fire a mission flag byte ... or worse still, the ejector seat flag byte.
Unfortunately, its software sounds like it could have stored that day byte (or some other data), somewhere is shouldn't have
I don't think Microsoft would do this, but as linux is open source, it would also be possible (in theory) to do the reverse of what you suggest and plant small routines from Microsoft code into sections of Linux. Of course that assumes someone working for Microsoft could get the code sections past other programmers reviewing the new Linux code, but it could be done.
... "All's fair in love and war" .. that should be "All's fair in love, war and business" ... although the use of the word fair in that saying seems almost like positive PR to say, do anything unfair you can to get ahead. So its not really fair at all.
I don't think Microsoft would try this to win any kind of legal action against Linux, (especially as a lot of people are watching the code), but I wouldn't put it past someone trying this kind of stunt from other companies with some open source software. Sadly it seems with corrupt human thinking, anything is possible in the pursuit of their goals, especially where that goal is money and/or power.
Its like the old saying
The interesting thing is most humans are not like this (most people have empathy and ethics) but there are enough bad ones who are like this, to make everyone suspicious of the actions of others.
Non-military? ... How about home made Inertial Confinement Fusion Experiments?
_ fusion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inertial_confinement
Only catch is you need a really big shed.
Thats a great way to improve its performance.
Then they could cache all that RAM into a new system file and call it pagefile2.sys
"Do you mean to tell me that Paris Hilton did not blow me in a motel room?!!!?!"
Have you seen the film "Around the world in 80 days?". She thinks she is in that film. After all, her whole life must seem Photoshopped to her. Sorry, but you are on the end of the queue and it may take her a bit longer than 80 days to get to you.
Personally I don't envy you when she does finally get to you.
Trackers have moved on a long way since the early days of the 4 track Amiga etc.. trackers.
Its great there are some good OSS music editors. I've not heard of VioLet Composer until now, but I'll check it out.
One great OSS music editor I've used is ModPlug.
http://sourceforge.net/projects/modplug/
"forget what color the sky is"
I maybe be able to remember, if you tell me what level you got to?
"what goes up like a rocket can come down like a rocket."
Unless it goes so far up like a rocket, that it ends up staying in orbit.
The article doesn't mention the hum is a momentary event, it seems to imply this is a commonly occurring 10 millihertz hum? ... So maybe the wave action is introducing random noise and part of that noise could then be hitting possibly the resonate frequency of some part of the Earth?!
... or the resonate frequency of just the Oceans? ... or even the resonate frequency of the rock part of the earth?. (Or even possibly the resonate frequency of the liquid outer core?!)
;)
But could it be the resonate frequency of the whole earth?
It would be fascinating to know what the resonate frequency of the whole earth could be?. (I promise not to use it to build a Dooms Day machine
I agree about its not just the governments we all have to worry about, but there's an even bigger problem with giving DNA to especially corporations.
Once its given then that's it, they have it forever. So they have effectively the blue print to you. Everything that makes you, who you are, is contained in your DNA. Its only our current inability to reverse engineer the DNA which gives some protection against the huge amount of profiling that would otherwise be possible.
And its only a matter to time before they will be able to learn to do far more reverse engineering profiling based on DNA.
Considering the rate of progress in DNA sequencing etc..., then imagine where we will be in 20 or 30 years from now. Even worse, if someone born now has their DNA taken and recorded, then when they are say 40 or 50 imagine how much more will be possible to learn about that person from their DNA.
Governments & Corporations will be able to use this data in the future to predict likely behaviours. They can then use this to manipulate what you think, by altering what they tell you based on what they know about you.
There are already precedents for governments manipulating what they tell people during elections based on what the governments know about people from even just conventional data such as various licences etc...
Now imagine what would happen in the future if marketing companies could get these DNA profiles of people.
Maybe they can't see the point?
I don't think an Albatross would make a good Snack food at the movies or anywhere else for that matter.
Now for a Sunday Roast lunch, with roast potatos, Mmmm...
"SF has now been re-labeled as Speculative Fiction" ... "At least that's what my Literature professors at college claim"
;)
Sounds like your Literature professors are living in some soft of Fantasy world.
"a relatively low number of computer users are likely to get Vista by downloading it from the Internet"
... if its about 100Mb zip'ed then great! (yes I can dream! ;) ... if its 1Gb+ then the Internet's bandwidth is going to get some interesting testing time ... (and some people's patence should get some good testing time as well ;)
For one thing, how big is it!?!
The problem with an Internet download of the OS is, what about a complete re-install?. Its a lot to download again even if the internet connection can be re-installed and re-established somehow.
I'll stick with a disk install. At least that's likely to be a less painful way to install it. (I hope).
"Yes pass the blame all the way back."
... Seems a bit harsh? ... I bet its spinning in its grave now, thinking, "I knew I shouldn't have evolved".
What?, so it was a few billion year old amoeba's fault?!?
"This doesn't replace my idea to construct a house made out of giant legos does it"
... they are called "Bricks".
That idea has already been done
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brick
Ahh but if they add a second hand that well solve everything. Then we can all sleep soundly knowing there are 420 seconds spare to play with. So we won't have to worry so much about all the extra nukes they can fit into so many spare seconds.
Maybe they should buy Pimlico, it should be cheaper than £500m and all they will need is a passport to it.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041737/