DARPA

Defence Advance Research Project Agency Unveils Atlas To Defense Secretary

Chuck Hagel, the U.S. Defense Secretary, has had a look at the life-size robot, which resembles the ‘Terminator’.  This is the latest experiment by Pentagon employed, hi-tech researchers at DARPA.  The massive Atlas robot is designed, not for war, but as a robot that would help rescue victims in the rubble of a natural disaster, according to officials.

The Atlas robot is 6-foot-2-inches tall and is one of the many entrants in a contest which requires people to design and produce a man-like life-saving machine.  The project is the brainchild of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).  The competition was created in the aftermath of Japan’s Fukushima earthquake and tsunami disasters. The robots are required to navigate rough terrain, enter buildings and sift through rubble.

DARPA, showcased the Atlas robot to Hagel, but apart from some LED lighting, the humanoid robot was switched off on a “static” display. Head of DARPA’s Tactical Technology Office, Brad Tousley, informed Hagel that unfortunately the Hollywood film industry has created unrealistic expectations of what real robots can accomplish and to build a robot that can climb ladders or open doors and carry objects requires overwhelming feats of computer science and engineering.

Scientists at the demonstration also showed Hagel the latest technology for prosthetics, this included a mechanical hand, which responds to brain impulses and a prosthetic arm that is controlled by foot movements.  Hagel said that this new technology would have a dramatic effect on the lives of soldiers wounded in combat.  “This is transformational…We’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said.

Justin Sanchez, program manager at DARPA and a medical doctor who works with prosthetics and brain-related technology, showed Hagel a film of a patient, whose brain had been implanted with a sensor. This allowed her to control a mechanical arm with her thoughts.  Scientists then showed off the shiny black mechanical hand and arm, which responds to brain impulses.  The prosthetic would have sensors that are attached which allow the fingers to send sensations back to the brain. Officials said, the tactile feedback system should be operational within a few months.

Difference between an Intel Core i3, i5 and i7?

Core i7 — the difference in a nutshell

If you want a plain and simple answer, then generally speaking, Core i7s are better than Core i5s, which are in turn better than Core i3s. Nope, Core i7 does not have seven cores nor does Core i3 have three cores. The numbers are simply indicative of their relative processing powers.

Their relative levels of processing power are also signified by their Intel Processor Star Ratings, which are based on a collection of criteria involving their number of cores, clockspeed (in GHz), size of cache, as well as some new Intel technologies like Turbo Boost and Hyper-Threading.

Core i3s are rated with three stars, i5s have four stars, and i7s have five. If you’re wondering why the ratings start with three, well they actually don’t. The entry-level Intel CPUs — Celeron and Pentium — get one and two stars respectively.

Note: Core processors can be grouped in terms of their target devices, i.e., those for laptops and those for desktops. Each has its own specific characteristics/specs. To avoid confusion, we’ll focus on the desktop variants. Note also that we’ll be focusing on the 2nd Generation (Sandy Bridge) Core CPUs.

Number of cores

The more cores there are, the more tasks (known as threads) can be served at the same time. The lowest number of cores can be found in Core i3 CPUs, i.e., which have only two cores. Currently, all Core i3s are dual-core processors.

Currently all Core i5 processors, except for the i5-661, are quad cores in Australia. The Core i5-661 is only a dual-core processor with a clockspeed of 3.33 GHz. Remember that all Core i3s are also dual cores. Furthermore, the i3-560 is also 3.33GHz, yet a lot cheaper. Sounds like it might be a better buy than the i5. What gives?

At this point, I’d like to grab the opportunity to illustrate how a number of factors affect the overall processing power of a CPU and determine whether it should be considered an i3, an i5, or an i7.

Even if the i5-661 normally runs at the same clockspeed as Core i3-560, and even if they all have the same number of cores, the i5-661 benefits from a technology known as Turbo Boost.

Intel Turbo Boost

The Intel Turbo Boost Technology allows a processor to dynamically increase its clockspeed whenever the need arises. The maximum amount that Turbo Boost can raise clockspeed at any given time is dependent on the number of active cores, the estimated current consumption, the estimated power consumption, and the processor temperature.

For the Core i5-661, its maximum allowable processor frequency is 3.6 GHz. Because none of the Core i3 CPUs have Turbo Boost, the i5-661 can outrun them when it needs to. Because all Core i5 processors are equipped with the latest version of this technology — Turbo Boost 2.0 — all of them can outrun any Core i3.

Cache size

Whenever the CPU finds that it keeps on using the same data over and over, it stores that data in its cache. Cache is just like RAM, only faster — because it’s built into the CPU itself. Both RAM and cache serve as holding areas for frequently used data. Without them, the CPU would have to keep on reading from the hard disk drive, which would take a lot more time.

Basically, RAM minimises interaction with the hard disk, while cache minimises interaction with the RAM. Obviously, with a larger cache, more data can be accessed quickly. All Core i3 processors have 3MB of cache. All Core i5s, except again for the 661 (only 4MB), have 6MB of cache. Finally, all Core i7 CPUs have 8MB of cache. This is clearly one reason why an i7 outperforms an i5 — and why an i5 outperforms an i3.

Hyper-Threading

Strictly speaking, only one thread can be served by one core at a time. So if a CPU is a dual core, then supposedly only two threads can be served simultaneously. However, Intel has introduced a technology called Hyper-Threading. This enables a single core to serve multiple threads.

For instance, a Core i3, which is only a dual core, can actually serve two threads per core. In other words, a total of four threads can run simultaneously. Thus, even if Core i5 processors are quad cores, since they don’t support Hyper-Threading (again, except the i5-661) the number of threads they can serve at the same time is just about equal to those of their Core i3 counterparts.

This is one of the many reasons why Core i7 processors are the creme de la creme. Not only are they quad cores, they also support Hyper-Threading. Thus, a total of eight threads can run on them at the same time. Combine that with 8MB of cache and Intel Turbo Boost Technology, which all of them have, and you’ll see what sets the Core i7 apart from its siblings.

The upshot is that if you do a lot of things at the same time on your PC, then it might be worth forking out a bit more for an i5 or i7. However, if you use your PC to check emails, do some banking, read the news, and download a bit of music, you might be equally served by the cheaper i3.

Hopefully this gives you some insight for your next CPU selection.

Happy computing!

History Of Media Storage In Pictures

History Of Media Storage In Pictures

Believe it or not, there was a time when disks could only store slightly more than 1 megabyte. Now, you probably have 64 gigabytes strapped to your keychain, don’t you? Not to mention endless cloud storage that you can access anywhere in the world.

But have you ever wondered how it all began?

 

What is a Processor Or CPU?

What is a Processor Or CPU?

The CPU (Central Processing Unit) or processor is the brain of the computer – it’s where all the calculations are carried out. Short of gaming, pretty much all the work a computer does is carried out by the CPU; whileRAM and hard drives are important, they simply act as storage while data manipulation is carried out by the processor.

The die or internals of Intel’s i7 980x – the most powerful consumer CPU currently

… and the same processor held in the hand for a size reference

Clock Speed

One of the most common things you’ll see when looking at CPU specifications is the processor’s clock speed, measured in gigahertz (GHz), with 1GHz being equal to 1 billion hertz or cycles per second. This means that a 1GHz processor is able to carry out 1 billion calculations every second. As a general rule of thumb a processor with a higher clock speed is more powerful than one with a lower clock speed.

However this isn’t the whole story, as different CPUs can do different amounts of work per cycle. One way to understand this is to imagine two people trying to fill identical swimming pools from a well with nothing but buckets. If both buckets were the same size, the faster person would be the one who can make more trips between the well and their swimming pool in the same time frame. However, the slower person could fill their pool just as fast if they carry more water per trip with a bigger bucket. 

Multiple Cores

When looking to buy a new computer, you’ll be constantly barraged with mentions of cores – dual cores! Quad cores!

Hexa-core processors! What does it actually mean?

Up until 2004, all processors had just one core, or processing unit. A processor was made faster by increasing that core’s clock speed. The disadvantage to this was that higher clock speeds generated much more heat, leading to massive, noisy heatsinks. It eventually reached the stage where it was simply infeasible to keep increasing the clock speed.

The solution was to create a processor with two cores – that is, a single processor with two smaller, lower speed processing units which can carry out different instructions. The benefit in this is obvious – why force a single unit harder and harder to do lots of things at once when you can split the work between two slightly less capable units? Many hands make light work, as they say.

The first generations of dual core processors – the Intel Celeron D and AMD Athlon 64 X2 families, for example – weren’t much more efficient than their single-cored predecessors. In fact, before the technology was perfected they generated more heat than ever. However, over time they’ve become better and better; most new computers have at least two cores, with single core CPUs used only for the absolutely cheapest computers (as well as for applications where lots of processing power simply isn’t needed, ie netbooks).

Most of the performance gains do come down purely to clock speeds again. As an example, let’s compare a 3.0GHz dual core processor with a 2.6GHz quad core processor. This means that the dual core processor has 2 cores each running at 3.0GHz, giving the “equivalent” of a single core processor running at 6.0GHz. Although each core on the quad core processor is running 400MHz slower, there are four cores – 4 cores each running at 2.6GHz gives the “equivalent” of 10.4GHz.

So by that logic, surely all quad core processors must be better than dual core processors, and all hexa-core processors must be better than quads, right? Well, it’s not quite as simple as that, because it depends on what you want to do with the computer. Most of the time computers are now used to doing lots of different things at once; opening a lot of tabs in a web browser, word processing, listening to music and instant messaging all at the same time. This is where multi-core processors excel, as they are able to split up the tasks and distribute them between the cores; the more cores you have, the more your CPU can handle at once.

However, there are some single tasks which require lots of processing power – editing video, working with large images in Photoshop or playing games, for example. Up until very recently most computer applications haven’t been designed to make proper use of multiple cores. In this case, a processor with fewer cores at higher clock speeds will perform better. 

Cache

When doing some deeper research on different CPUs, you may come across cache, measured in kilobytes (KB) or megabytes (MB). This is a place where the most frequently used data is stored so that it is quickly accessible by the processor. Most recent CPUs have at least 2 levels of cache (L1 and L2), with newer and more powerful ones having a third level (L3). L1 is the fastest but smallest level of cache, whereas the higher levels tend to have much higher quantities but are slower (although still faster than accessing the data from theRAM). Most processors split the cache up amongst the cores, although some do have a single cache for all cores to access. In almost all circumstances more cache is better.

AMD vs. Intel

Although there used to be many companies that used to mass market CPUs, the vast majority of the desktop and laptop CPU market share is split between two companies; AMD and Intel. While other companies such as ARM and VIA are still around and producing processors for other sectors (mobile devices and low power commercial uses, respectively), they do not produce processors for desktops and laptops.

So, what’s the main difference between AMD and Intel processors? It used to be efficiency – AMD processors would be just as powerful as Intel’s while performing at lower clock speeds. Intel focused on increasing clock speeds whereas AMD focused on increasing the amount of work done per cycle.

Right now the main difference is value and backwards compatibility vs. performance. At most performance levels AMD tends to produce processors at a more competitive rate to Intel. Furthermore, AMDs new CPUs (using the AM3 socket) are still compatible with older AMD-based motherboards with the AM2+ socket, making it relatively painless to upgrade to the latest processor technology.

Intel’s instead decided to make a clean break with its new processors, introducing two new sockets (Socket 1156 and Socket 1366) and making backwards compatibility impossible. However, Intel’s most powerful processor is 25-50% faster than AMD’s - the only downside is that it costs over three times as much!

To put it another way, for those looking to upgrade from an older AMD-based system, those looking for a good balance between price and performance and those who don’t mind going without cutting edge technology, an AMD-based computer makes the most sense.

On the other hand, for those where money is no object or performance is particularly important, an Intel-based system is probably a better bet.

Of course, this is all assuming you’re looking into building your own computer. If you just go to a store your mind will be made up for you; 80% of the time the computer will be built around an Intel CPU. That’s by no means a bad thing; you don’t need to go hunting for an AMD computer necessarily. Just bear this in mind if you look into building your own computer.

CPU Heatsinks

With all the work that the CPU does in such a small space it’s not surprising that they tend to generate a lot of heat. Of course, this heat has to go somewhere – if the CPU gets too hot it’ll be damaged and won’t work anymore. There are a lot of delicate electronics in there!

That’s where the CPU heatsink comes in. Just look for a big hunk of metal with a big fan on it. That’ll be the heatsink! The CPU is under that, and it’s the only thing keeping your CPU from melting itself to your motherboard. Just kidding! If for some reason the CPU doesn’t get cooled properly it’ll shut itself off before any real damage can be caused.

So how does a heatsink work? Well, the heatsink uses levers or screws to keep the heatsink pressed tightly against the CPU. A tiny amount of thermal paste between the two removes absolutely all the gaps. Heat is then transferred from the surface of the CPU’s heat spreader to the heatsink via conduction. The heat spreads throughout the heatsink out to the edges of the heatsink, which are split into lots of thin fins. This greatly increases the surface area of the heatsink so when the fan on top blows down it pushes cooler air over the hot fins, taking heat away from the heatsink.

The only problem is that the stock cooler doesn’t do the best job in the world. Yes, it keeps the processor cool enough that it doesn’t overheat, but it usually doesn’t do it efficiently or quietly. As a result the CPU heatsink is often the noisiest part of the computer.

There are many manufacturers who realise this is the case, so you’ll find lots of companies which sell after-market CPU coolers. These tend to be much bigger, providing many more fins and a much, much larger surface area for the heat to be transferred away from the heatsink. A bigger heatsink also means that it can carry a larger fan which can spin slower to move the same amount of air, thus creating next noise. 

To move the heat faster after-market coolers tend to use more heat pipes, which use liquids to transfer heat faster to the far ends of the heatsink. You can see that the heatsink before, the Scythe Mugen 2, has 5 heat pipes which go from the top of the heatsink, all the way down and through the main block before moving back up the other side. Compare that to the size of the stock AMD heatsink, and you can see why it can keep a processor at room temperature while staying pretty much silent!

How To Create The Google Circles Effect With CSS & jQuery

How To Create The Google Circles Effect With CSS & jQuery

This week’s Tutorial of the Week teaches you how to create a circle just like the one Google Circles use. As many of you might have already seen, one of the coolest features from Google’s new social project is the way you can easily add users to different circles to keep your social connections more organized.

This tutorial will only cover how to create the actual circle and have it grow when your mouse goes over it. You will not learn how to do the little profile images that appear around the circle, though if there is enough demand for me, I can work on that in the near future.

First off, this is what our circle should look like:

New Vulnerability in Internet Explorer Found!

New Vulnerability in Internet Explorer Found!

Internet Explorer users, listen up, and very carefully, too! Over the weekend, Microsoft announced that a new vulnerability has been found, one that affects each and every version of Internet Explorer. The attacks that have been noted particularly target Internet Explorer 9, 10, and 11, although all the other versions are also vulnerable. That’s around 55 percent of the browsers out there!

What happens is that the attack can corrupt data after an event such as a user being lured to a phony website. According to Microsoft Security Advisory 2963983:

The vulnerability is a remote code execution vulnerability. The vulnerability exists in the way that Internet Explorer accesses an object in memory that has been deleted or has not been properly allocated. The vulnerability may corrupt memory in a way that could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code in the context of the current user within Internet Explorer. An attacker could host a specially crafted website that is designed to exploit this vulnerability through Internet Explorer and then convince a user to view the website.

Of course, upon discovery of the new vulnerability, Microsoft has been rushing to fix the bug. In the same Security Advisory, Microsoft declares that this “may include providing a solution through our monthly security update release process, or an out-of-cycle security update, depending on customer needs”.

Needless to say, users who are still on Windows XP will not be receiving any help on this matter. One simple fix for these users? Use another Internet browser.

On the bright side, individual users may not have that much to worry about as it seems that the attacks are being carried out against U.S.-based firms which are in the defense and financial sectors, this is according to FireEye spokesman Vitor De Souza.

Still, one cannot be too careful when it comes to online security, and you never know just what the hackers might have in the pipeline. There’s no word yet as to when a fix will be released, but with such a serious bug, Microsoft should be rather fast with this.

FB introduces Anonymous Login, mobile ad network

FB introduces Anonymous Login, mobile ad network

Facebook moved Wednesday to bolster the trust of its more than one billion users by providing new controls on how much information is shared on the world's leading social network.

In a major shift away from the notion long preached by Facebook co-founder and chief Mark Zuckerberg of having a single known identity online, people will be able to use applications anonymously at Facebook.

 

The social network also provided a streamlined way for people to control which data applications can access and began letting people rein in what friends can do with shared posts at Facebook.

Zuckerberg announced the changes, along with moves to make Facebook a more stable platform for applications, at the social network's sold-out f8 developers conference.

 

"By giving people more power and control, they are going to trust all the apps we build more and over time use them more," Zuckerberg told an audience of about 1,700 conference attendees.

"That is positive for everyone."

In a statement Facebook explained its new "Anonymous Login" as an easy way for people to try an app without sharing personal information from Facebook..

 

"People tell us they're sometimes worried about sharing information with apps and want more choice and control over what personal information apps receive," the company said. "Today's announcements put power and control squarely in people's hands."

People are scared
In coming weeks, Facebook will also roll out a redesigned dashboard to give users a simple way to manage or remove third-party applications linked to their profiles at the social network.

"This is really big from a user standpoint," JibJab chief executive Gregg Spiridellis said of what he heard during the keynote presentation that opened the one-day Facebook conference.

"I think they are seeing people are scared. They realize that long-term, they need to be trusted."

A JibJab application that can synch with Facebook lets people personalize digital greeting cards with images of themselves or friends.

 

In a major move that promises to help application makers bring in more money and to further challenge Google for online marketing revenue, Facebook is expanding a test of putting its ad-targeting prowess to work for developers.

 

A Facebook Audience Network will what people share publicly about themselves and their interests to pinpoint marketing messages in third-party apps linked to Facebook on desktop computers or mobile devices.

Better targeted ads promise to be more effective and, by extension, more attractive to marketers as well as app makers.

"These guys are so smart," Spiridellis said of the Facebook team. "Every publisher is going to switch to Audience."

 

Hacker way
Facebook revived its popular developers conference after a two-year hiatus and promised that the event will take place annually for the foreseeable future.

 

Zuckerberg said the overarching themes at f8 were ways to help developers "build, grow, and monetize" applications that synch with Facebook.

 

While Zuckerberg still proudly endorses a "hacker way" of creatively bending software in innovative directions, he promised developers that the Facebook platform on which they rely will deliver "stability and consistency."

"My goal is building a culture of loving the people we serve that is as strong as hacking it," Zuckerberg said as he wound up his presentation on a personal note.

He described being in a personally reflective period triggered by Facebook turning 10 years old in February and him marking his 30th birthday in just a few weeks.

It has also been 10 years since he first met his wife, Priscilla Chan, he added.

"It's a time to reflect in life, family, philanthropy and what is important in the 10 years ahead," Zuckerberg said.

Block – Unblock Calls and SMS on Nokia Lumia Windows Phone 8!

Block – Unblock Calls and SMS on Nokia Lumia Windows Phone 8!

If you are using a Nokia Lumia Windows Phone 8 running smartphone then you can easily black list contacts of spammers to block calls and SMS on your phone. It happens that we get calls from marketing agency executives, who annoys you by calling everyday just to sell something, in which you have no internet. It is not limited to calls only; they can even annoy you by sending text messages. The best way to get rid of these spammers is by blocking them from calling you and sending text messages to your phone.

Now if you are using a Nokia Lumia Windows Phone 8 smartphone then this tutorial will help you to block calls and SMS on your smartphone. Follow these steps to know how you can do this.

Note: Before proceeding with these steps, make sure that you have latest version of Windows Phone 8 installed.

How to Block SMS and Calls on Windows Phone 8

Step 1: Go to Apps list by swiping left

Step 2: Scroll down and click on Settings

Step 3: In Settings, find and tap on Call + SMS filter

Step 4: Now you will be asked to accept Nokia terms of use and privacy policy. Accept it to turn on call and SMS filter.

Step 5: Next step is to block calls by adding numbers to black/blocked list

Step 6: To do this go to contacts/ call log by taping on Phone app

Step 7: Find and long tap on the number you want to block and select block number from the options.

Note: If you want to block a SMS sender number, which is not saved in your call log, then long-tap on that SMS and select block number.

Step 8: Tap on OK to confirm it.

How to Unblock Blocked Numbers

Now if you change your mind and want to unblock a blocked number then follow these steps to unblock it.

Step 1: Go to Apps List

Step 2: Tap on Settings

Step 3: Tap on Call + SMS filter

Step 4: Tap on Blocked number

Step 5: Tap on the number you want to unblock

Step 6: Tap on Unblock (bottom) to unblock that number from blocked list

By following the above steps, you can block SMS and calls on Nokia Lumia Windows Phone 8 phone and stop getting annoyed by spammers, marketers and unwanted calls.