#Intel theory on opening software During December last year, Intel showcased a special project we worked on for renowned English theoretical physicist, cosmologist, author,
Intel was able to demonstrate for the first time with Professor Hawking an Intel-created open-source communications platform to replace his decades-old system,
and the very specific relationship between this man and his machine, Intel has delivered a tailored solution--called ACAT (Assistive Context Aware Toolkit)--resulting in improved communication for Hawking with the world.
A multidisciplinary team of researchers from Intel Labs has been working for three years with Hawking to replace his current communications system with modern technology.
providing ongoing feedback to help Intel improve the system with every iteration. Similar to the parts of an engine interacting smoothly to run a car,
the Intel-created software user interface enables existing and new technologies to efficiently work with each other.
managing and navigating the web, emails, and documents; opening a new document; and saving, editing,
and helps him select a character on the computer. Integrating software from British language technology company Swiftkey has improved greatly the system's ability to learn from Hawking to predict his next characters
and words so he only has to type less than 20 percent of all characters. This information is sent to his existing speech synthesizer
so he can communicate to others through his laptop. For example, to conduct a web search,
Hawking previously had to take arduous routes, such as exiting from his communication window, navigating a mouse to run the browser,
navigating the mouse again to the search bar, and finally typing the search text. The new system automates all of these steps for a seamless and swift process.
The value Intel sees in using open software extends to the cloud. This is why it has been proactive in making sure open-source solutions for the cloud,
ie Openstack, aren't seen as lacking based on misconceptions of poor technical support, longer implementations, or lack of regulations to control the quality of code.
Intel has a long history of using open-source software for its Design Grid and now it can add to that list creating open-software as well l
#Samsung begins production of next-gen embedded NAND flash Samsung has begun production of Universal Flash Storage (UFS) chips, the world's first production example of the technology with a maximum
capacity of 128 gigabytes, the South korean tech giant has announced. UFS applies international semiconductor standard setter JEDEC's latest UFS 2. 0 interface,
and is considered the next-generation NAND flash product after embedded Multi Media Cards (emmc) to be used in mobile devices.
Samsung, the world's largest memory chip maker by revenue, said it used Command Queue, a technology applied in solid-state drives (SSD) to process input and output data simultaneously,
which allows it to have a 2. 7 times faster reading time than the average emmc 5. 0. The latest chip achieved a random reading speed of 14,000 IOPS, 28 times faster than external memory cards,
Samsung said, and will offer the best user experience when multitasking, even while watching ultra high-quality video content.
The UFS lineup will come in 32 gigabytes, 64 gigabytes, and 128 gigabytes of storage space, two times that of emmc's 16 gigabytes, 32 gigabytes,
and 64 gigabytes. Like embedded Package-on-Package (epop), launched earlier this year by the firm
UFS can be stacked atop processors to allow smartphones to be thinner. A Samsung spokesperson declined to comment on which client it is supplying the chips to.
However, it is expected widely that it will first be used in its upcoming Galaxy S6 smartphones, along with epop.
Meanwhile, Samsung is continuing the production of emmcs, and has begun mass production of emmc 5. 1 1
#Aussies 3d print jet engine in world first Engineers from Monash and Deakin universities and the CSIRO have printed two gas turbine engines modelled on an"auxiliary power unit"used in aircraft like the Falcon 20, a French business jet.
One of the printed engines is currently on display at the Avalon International Airshow in Victoria,
Computer giant Hewlett-packard has announced that it will put an ultra-fast 3d printer on the market by 2016.
#Apple, Google urge Obama to reject smartphone backdoor proposals Symantec Apple, Google and other technology companies are petitioning US President Obama to stop new regulations
which may threaten the personal security of mobile devices and communication. As reported by The Washington post,
which gained access to a letter due to be sent to the White house this week, over 140 technology companies,
which would allow law enforcement to view decrypted data on mobile devices. According to the publication, the signatories are appealing to government officials to protect privacy rights in light of companies adding increased security and encryption to mobile devices in a post-Snowden era.
Encryption and personal privacy hit the spotlight after former US National security agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden released a swathe of confidential files documenting the widespread, bulk data collection and spying activities
of the agency across the globe. The letter says"strong encryption is the cornerstone of the modern information economy's security,
the only ways to grant law enforcement access to decrypted data is the use of backdoors or by deliberately weakening security standards
--which can place users at risk. Furthermore, the government should"fully support and not undermine efforts to create encryption standards
undermine, weaken or make vulnerable"software offered commercially. In October last year, FBI Director James Comey said unchecked encryption could lead us to a"dark, dark place,
"as law enforcement will become blind in tracing criminal suspects who are able to hide their digital communications. window. console && console. log && console. log("ADS:
queuing sharethrough-top-555b0a6bacc4e for display";"var cbsigptdivids=cbsigptdivids; cbsigptdivids. push("sharethrough-top-555b0a6bacc4e";"The FBI support encryption as a concept,
but want a method for agents to access decrypted data in investigations. However, companies including Apple
and Google have taken a different view. In order to restore public trust in mobile devices shown to be vulnerable to the NSA's spying activities,
both firms have begun offering smartphone encryption which hands the keys over to consumers --which means even by court order
and warrant the companies could not hand over user data. Apple's ios 8 is once such system
which was met not with applause from law enforcement. The operating system contains encryption which prevents the company from releasing user data,
forcing police to go after the device owners themselves in the quest for data rather than the tech giant.
Google reversed its original decision to enable encryption by default due to legacy issues with older Android operating systems,
but some devices are offered with heightened security y
#AWS plans 80 MW solar farm In virginia to power eastern US datacenters Amazon web services (AWS) has announced plans for an 80-megawatt solar farm in Accomack County, Virginia.
Once operational in October 2016, AWS says the Amazon Solar Farm US East will be the largest solar farm In virginia,
generating 170,000-megawatt hours of solar power annually that will be pumped into the electrical grids that power AWS cloud datacenters in the eastern and central US.
The Virginia solar farm is part of AWS'larger goal to power its global infrastructure footprint with 100 percent renewable energy.
In January the cloud service provider announced plans for a wind farm in Benton County Indiana, that is expected to produce 500,000-megawatt hours of wind power annually once it's operational in January 2016.
AWS also claims to operate three carbon-neutral regions--US WEST in Oregon, the US Govcloud,
and EU in Frankfurt. But even with its grand energy commitments, AWS is criticized still highly--mostly by the environmental organization Greenpeace--for its lack of transparency surrounding energy consumption and the way it sources renewable energy.
For one, Amazon's energy timeline is a lot blurrier than those outlined by Apple, Google and IBM.
Beyond the dates set for the solar and wind farms Amazon has committed not publically to a renewable energy deadline.
AWS does say it expects to run its infrastructure on 40 percent renewable power for by the end of 2016.
So far approximately 25 percent of the power consumed within its global datacenters comes from renewable energy sources, according to a recent blog post by AWS cloud chief Jeff Barr.
In the lengthy post, Barr acknowledged a recent Greenpeace energy report that blasts AWS for being stuck in the"dirty energy past
"and accuses the cloud provider for having taken"few or no steps to switch to renewables".
"On average, AWS customers use 77 percent fewer servers, 84 percent less power, and utilize a 28 percent cleaner power mix,
for a total reduction in carbon emissions of 88 percent from using the AWS Cloud instead of operating their own data centers
#Hardware prices could come down after WTO tariff repeal on chips, switches and touchscreens Consumers may see prices for certain tech products fall thanks to a new trade deal between 54 World trade organisation (WTO) members.
According to the WTO, the 54 members have agreed to cut tariffs on a list of 201 IT products with that account for $1. 3 trillion in trade each year.
The products have been added to the Information technology Agreement, a deal launched in 1997 to cover a range of technology products such as typewriters, word processors, hard drives, and other items,
which members agreed to eliminate tariffs on. However, in 2012, members acknowledged that the tech industry had expanded well beyond the items considered in previous decades.
which include magnetic resonance imaging machines, machine tools for manufacturing printed circuits, telecommunications satellites and touchscreens"."Announcing the trade deal,
the European commission noted members would also remove customs duties on video games and consoles, home hi-fi systems, headphones, Blu-ray and DVR players, semiconductors, TV cameras, routers, and switches.
Monitors, projectors, non-digital car radios and TVS will be excluded from the pact in the EU. The full terms of the agreement will be circulated at a WTO General council meeting on 28 july.
#Intel, Micron unveil 3d XPOINT as first new class of memory tech in decades Building off a partnership forged over the last decade,
Intel and Micron jointly debuted a new memory storage technology on Tuesday. Dubbed 3d XPOINT, the transistor-less storage and memory platform is designed to offer a nonvolatile,
high-performance interface touting high-speed access to data and applications stored closer to the processor. The two memory producers touted this is the first introduction of a new memory category
since the debut of NAND flash in 1989. 3d XPOINT is boasted to be at least 1,
000 times faster matched by 1, 000 times greater endurance than present-day NAND solutions on the market. 3d XPOINT is promised also to be at least 10 times faster than SSD.
The initial iteration consists of 128 gigabytes per die stored across two memory layers. Perpendicular conductors connect 128 billion memory cells with each cell storing a single bit of data."
"This is something many people thought was impossible, and many people gave up trying to accomplish,"reflected Rob Crooke, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Nonvolatile Memory Solutions Group, during a media presentation on Tuesday morning.
Hinting at just how much data is still in the pipeline just to be generated, Intel and Micron executives shared a forecast that the world will generate roughly 44 zettabytes in the next five years.
For reference, one zettabyte is equal to one billion terabytes. Intel and Micron said they are already developing products based on 3d XPOINT with samples scheduled to start rolling out to select customers later this year.
Specific products weren't divulged although Crooke listed possibilities running the gamut from gaming to mobile healthcare to DNA research.
Showing no signs of a summer slowdown, Intel has had already quite a big month--most notably a solid second quarter earnings report two weeks ago.
Intel CEO Brian Krzanich credited the results to growth in three departments--memory, data centers and the Internet of things--altogether
of which he noted accounted for more than 70 percent of operating profit. Those units also made up for continued pitfalls surrounding the PC space.
More Intel news can be expected soon as the tech giant's annual conference Intel Developer Forum (IDF), is taking place in San francisco a bit earlier this year from August 18 to 20.
Skylake, the code name for Intel's sixth-generation Core processor aimed at PCS, is slated also to drop during the second half of 2015.
Images via Inte e
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