A disc that can store 500 gigabytes (GB) of data, equivalent to 100 DVDs, has been unveiled by General Electric.

The micro-holographic disc, which is the same size as existing DVD discs, is aimed at the archive industry.

But the company believes it can eventually be used in the consumer market place and home players.

Blu-ray discs, which are used to store high definition movies and games, can currently hold between 25GB and 50GB.

Micro-holographic discs can store more data than DVDs or Blu-ray because they store information on the disc in three dimensions, rather than just pits on the surface of the disc.

The challenge for this area of technology has been to increase the reflectivity of the holograms that are stored on the discs so that players can be used to both read and write to the discs.

Brian Lawrence, who leads GE’s Holographic Storage said on the GE Research blog: “Very recently, the team at GE has made dramatic improvements in the materials enabling significant increases in the amount of light that can be reflected by the holograms.”

More capacity

The higher reflectivity that can be achieved, the more capacity for the disc. While the technology is still in the laboratory stage, GE believes it will take off because players can be built which are backwards compatible with existing DVD and Blu-ray technologies.

In a statement the firm said: “The hardware and formats are so similar to current optical storage technology that the micro-holographic players will enable consumers to play back their CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray discs.”

”GE’s breakthrough is a huge step toward bringing our next generation holographic storage technology to the everyday consumer,” said Mr Lawrence in a statement.

He added: “The day when you can store your entire high definition movie collection on one disc and support high resolution formats like 3D television is closer than you think.”

Micro-holographic technology has been one of the leading areas of research for storage experts for decades. Discs are seen as a reliable and effective form of storage and are both consumer and retail friendly.

However, General Electric will need to work with hardware manufacturers if it is to bring the technology to the consumer market.

The relatively modest adoption of Blu-ray discs sales globally might be an issue with some companies who believe digital distribution and cloud computing is the long-term answer to content delivery and storage.

“This is truly a breakthrough in the development of the materials that are so critical to ultimately bringing holographic storage to the everyday consumer,” said Mr Lawrence.

Source: BBC News

Solar recharger will be shown by Energizer at CES 2009

CES 2009 is only a few weeks away. CES is the annual show where all sorts of computers, gadgets and other gear gets unveiled to press for the first time, and shortly thereafter to the public. One name that hasn’t been associated with CES in the past, but is instantly recognizable to most people is Energizer.

Energizer has announced some interesting new items will be unveiled at CES 2009. One of the gadgets that will be shown at the show is a solar charger that uses a clamshell design with a solar panel in the middle of the shell. The charger is designed to recharge Energizer’s rechargeable AA and AAA batteries.

In addition to recharging these batteries, the device also has a USB port to charge other devices with the power of the sun. That means that the aptly named Energizer Rechargeable Solar Charger will also work with your iPod or iPhone.

For times when the sun is blocked by clouds or fog the charger can also be topped off by plugging it into a normal wall AC outlet. Outdoorsy types who are eyeing this charger as a way to keep a phone or GPS device powered during long hikes or when exposed to the elements will appreciate that Energizer has built the charger to be weatherproof. The charger is being unveiled at CES 2009, but won’t be available to purchase until the summer of 2009.

Energizer’s biggest announcement for CES 2009 is a new type of battery that uses Zinc Air technology. This technology allows Energizer to build batteries for consumer electronic devices like laptops that offer the same runtime as current lithium ion batteries in less space. That will allow OEMs to design smaller batteries without sacrificing runtime and make batteries that occupy the same space as a lithium ion battery, but offers longer duration.

If tech similar to Zinc Air can be combined with the Boston-Power Sonata technology, a huge improvement in mobility would be achieved.

source: DailyTech

Lenovo security feature leaves notebooks inoperable after receiving a special text message

Lenovo with Security Feature

It’s no fun having something that belongs to you stolen. When it’s your notebook computer, things can be even worse if you have confidential personal or business information stored on the notebook. Criminals can gain access to things like tax returns and have all the information they need to steal your identity.

Many people encrypt the data on their computer to prevent this sort of problem from happening, but Lenovo has a different method of protecting the computer it will be offering to customers next year. The feature is called the Lenovo Constant Secure Remote Disable feature and works with notebooks that are WWAN equipped. With the feature notebook owners can send a simple text message to the notebook that will render the machine inoperable to unauthorized users.

The technology behind the feature came from work between Lenovo and Phoenix Technologies. Starting in Q1 2009 the feature will be available on select notebooks. In the event that a notebook is lost or stolen owners send a text message with a command “lockdown PC now” or “PC shut off.”

If the shut off command is sent, the machine will turn off and when the thief tries to turn the machine back on it will lockdown automatically. A text confirmation is sent back to the user when the shutdown or lock is executed.

If the notebook is recovered users can unlock it with a pre-set pass code entered when the notebook starts up.

Lenovo’s Bob Galush said, “Remote Disable dramatically reduces the anxiety and waiting people often experience when they’ve been the victim of a lost or stolen notebook PC.  Through our work with Phoenix, we are able to reduce customers’ security risks and potential exposure of their confidential data when their ThinkPad notebook is lost or stolen. Combined with features like built-in biometric fingerprint readers, full hard drive encryption and embedded security chips, Lenovo ThinkPad notebooks offer the latest industry-leading PC security technologies.”

Lenovo says that the Remote Disable service will be included in the price of notebooks at no additional charge and will be available on mobile broadband equipped ThinkPad notebooks. The system will operate in areas where cellular phone GSM signals are supported and SMS text messages can be sent.

There is no word from Lenovo on whether the data on the notebooks hard drive would be accessible if the hard drive was removed from the machine. For the best safety, something like a full disk encryption hard drive would be ideal with Lenovo’s remote kill feature.

Frequent air travelers will also find the new Lenovo feature appealing considering over 600,000 notebooks are lost in airports each year and many of them are never claimed. A study conducted this summer revealed that out of the notebooks lost in airports each year, 65% of them were never reclaimed.

Source :  DailyTech