On December 16, 1947, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain, two Bell Labs researchers, built the world's first transistor.
Their device, called a point contract transistor, conducted electricity and amplified signals, a job then currently handled by bulky and delicate vacuum tubes and other components.
Their colleague William Shockley followed soon after with junction transistors. Although Bardeen and Brattain were first, Shockley's device became the basis for a scientific and industrial juggernaut.
"It is the seminal device in terms of the way we think about information, and information is everything, from the music we listen to (to) the TV we watch," Intel CTO Justin Rattner said. "Modern communications is all based on theories of information, not on how many megawatts we can pump into the antenna. It is how clever we can be finding those few faint signals and putting them to use, which is a computing problem."
He added: "You couldn't have five tubes in your iPod."
Besides making it easier to store information and send signals, transistors had another, somewhat unanticipated, characteristic. They could be shrunk at a consistent rate over time, which makes transistors and electronic products steadily cheaper and faster.
The effect, ultimately expressed as Moore's Law, encouraged investors to pour money into high-tech outfits because people had at least some level of assurance that tomorrow's products would be noticeably better than the ones available today. A high tolerance for risk has become one of the defining traits of Silicon Valley.
For tech companies, Moore's Law also served as a threat. Companies that chose not to invest in the new manufacturing techniques or components would quickly fall behind. Thus, innovation has become a matter of simple survival.
Predicting the end of Moore's Law is a cottage industry. If it does end, the heady lifestyle could slow down. Consumers would simply stop replacing their computers or other devices as fast as they do now and resort to getting new stuff when it breaks, Dan Hutcheson, CEO of VLSI Research, has said.
To date, though, the naysayers have been wrong. Lithography, the technique exploited to draw circuits, was supposed to hit a wall at 1 micron, and then at 250-nanometer manufacturing. That's because, some people theorized, it would be impossible to draw circuits smaller than the wavelength of light used by lithography machines. The industry blew past the 250-nanometer manufacturing mark in the mid-1990s. (A micron is a millionth of a meter, and a nanometer is a billionth of a meter. The measurement refers to the average feature length of a chip.)
Chips now come out of factories with 45-nanometer features, thanks to the introduction of metal gates in transistors, a massive change.
Many believe that Moore's Law, as it applies to existing technologies, may peter out around 2020. The structures inside transistors--particularly an insulating layer called the gate oxide--will by that time consist of only a few atoms.
Nonetheless, optimists say chip designers will stop shrinking transistors and instead begin to stack them. Toshiba has plans for 3D memory. The economic and performance benefits would continue to grow. Intel and IBM are also working on transistors with two or three gates, which would have a similar effect to going 3D.
Others believe chip designers will find a way to harness quantum effects--that is, replacing electronic signals with another physical phenomenon.
"We just can't turn the crank. If anything, it is becoming more difficult, and we will see many more dramatic changes than we've seen in the last 40 years," said Rattner. "Will we call it Moore's Law when the transistors don't use electrical charge? At some point we will make a transition from charge-based transistors to something else. As long as we preserve the basic tenets of Moore's Law, I think people will still call it that."
Monday, December 17, 2007
Saturday, November 17, 2007
VMware eases multiple OS overload
"By allowing users to run Linux and Windows from a single workstation at the same time, VMware cuts hardware costs and streamlines development processes"
Disregarding issues of monopolistic practices, open-source debates, and vendor loyalty, most techies agree that the perfect computing model would include a single, standardized operating system that meets everybody's productivity and programming needs.Unfortunately, new and revised operating systems are developed and released on a regular basis, which brings us further and further away from a standardized OS, even though many of these releases reduce programming costs and marginalize interoperability issues.Developers and support teams, who must somehow account for a growing number of platforms while programming and troubleshooting, suffer the real headache behind this lack of OS standardization. And the associated hardware costs are no picnic for an enterprise's bottom line either.To cover all their Windows and Linux-variant bases and to save on hardware costs in the process, many development and technical support departments have begun turning to emulation utilities that allow users to run multiple OSes on the same workstation.VMware's recently released VMware 2.0 is an attractive example of such a solution. Running on Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Linux, VMware 2.0 provides multiple virtual computers on a single host, allowing you to mix and match applications and operating systems to your heart's delight without constantly rebooting. For this colossal convenience and for its top-notch usability, VMware 2.0 earned a score of Very Good in our testing. We tested the product under Windows NT 4.0, using it to run SuSE Linux 6.4 and Windows 2000 on virtual machines. In this scenario, Windows NT 4.0 was the host OS, and SuSE Linux and Windows 2000 were guest OSes.We first installed and configured two VMware 2.0 VMs (virtual machines) using a built-in configuration wizard and then layered our operating system choices on top.Our installations of SuSE Linux and Windows 2000 closely mirrored the processes we would have taken to install the OSs on a physical PC. For example, under Windows 2000, we were able to run Fdisk and format virtual disk partitions, detect virtual devices that were mapped to physical devices on our system, and make display adapter and networking choices. Overall, we spent about an hour installing each OS.VMware 2.0 supports a wider variety of peripherals and devices than do previous versions of the product. Nevertheless, it does not support the use of DVD, CD-R, or CD-RW drives. The software also runs exclusively on x86 platforms, which means computers with non-x86 architecture, such as Apple Power Macs or Sun Workstations, are left out in the cold.Modus OperandiEach VM requires an exclusive chunk of allocated memory and physical hard disk space. VMware recommends having a minimum of 128MB on your workstation to run a VM and active applications on both the host and guest OS. In our opinion, the more memory you throw at VMware, the merrier. Our test station was equipped with 512MB of RAM, and we allocated 128MB to each VM. Overall we were happy with the performances of both the Linux and the Windows 2000 VMs.VMware 2.0 works with two types of storage: your existing partitions (raw disks) and virtual disks. Virtual disks are more convenient because they allow you to add operating systems to your workstation without repartitioning your physical hard drive. The disks can therefore be easily backed up, restored, or even copied to another workstation. Another useful feature of virtual disk files is that disks created under VMware 2.0 for Windows can be used under VMware 2.0 for Linux and vice versa. Ultimately, this can help decrease your system administration costs and storage overhead.Regardless of your storage choice, disks in VMware 2.0 virtual machines operate in one of three modes: persistent, nonpersistent, and undoable. In the persistent mode, disks behave as do conventional disks, with permanent changes made to the image. The nonpersistent mode allows you to discard changes made to the VM at the end of each session. The undoable setting allows you to decide whether to keep or discard disk changes at the end of each session.We found the undoable mode to be the most appealing, as it allowed us to recover from self-induced errors, such as system crashes or registry problems, by discarding all changes and simply restarting the virtual machine.Isolation boothVMware 2.0 VMs are fairly isolated from each other and from the host OS. We deliberately crashed our Windows 2000 VM without it affecting the performance of our Windows NT host or the operation of SuSE Linux.But because it can also be convenient and desirable to have your VMs interoperate, VMware provides two primary forms of networking: bridged and host-only.Bridged networking uses a virtual ethernet adapter to allow a VM to appear as a full-fledged host on your network. This means that the VM can use any and all services available on your network, including printers, file servers, and gateways.Host-only networking is more restrictive. In this mode, VMs can only communicate with the host and other VMs on the same system. This is helpful for using workstations that may not be connected to a LAN or for isolating certain workstations from one another, often for security reasons.Round-upVMware 2.0, priced at $299, is too expensive for casual use across an organization. However, the software provides real utility to development and support teams that are required to work with multiple versions of operating systems. The ability to toggle among several VPNs on a single workstation will decrease your hardware costs and greatly boost your staff's productivity.
Disregarding issues of monopolistic practices, open-source debates, and vendor loyalty, most techies agree that the perfect computing model would include a single, standardized operating system that meets everybody's productivity and programming needs.Unfortunately, new and revised operating systems are developed and released on a regular basis, which brings us further and further away from a standardized OS, even though many of these releases reduce programming costs and marginalize interoperability issues.Developers and support teams, who must somehow account for a growing number of platforms while programming and troubleshooting, suffer the real headache behind this lack of OS standardization. And the associated hardware costs are no picnic for an enterprise's bottom line either.To cover all their Windows and Linux-variant bases and to save on hardware costs in the process, many development and technical support departments have begun turning to emulation utilities that allow users to run multiple OSes on the same workstation.VMware's recently released VMware 2.0 is an attractive example of such a solution. Running on Windows NT, Windows 2000, and Linux, VMware 2.0 provides multiple virtual computers on a single host, allowing you to mix and match applications and operating systems to your heart's delight without constantly rebooting. For this colossal convenience and for its top-notch usability, VMware 2.0 earned a score of Very Good in our testing. We tested the product under Windows NT 4.0, using it to run SuSE Linux 6.4 and Windows 2000 on virtual machines. In this scenario, Windows NT 4.0 was the host OS, and SuSE Linux and Windows 2000 were guest OSes.We first installed and configured two VMware 2.0 VMs (virtual machines) using a built-in configuration wizard and then layered our operating system choices on top.Our installations of SuSE Linux and Windows 2000 closely mirrored the processes we would have taken to install the OSs on a physical PC. For example, under Windows 2000, we were able to run Fdisk and format virtual disk partitions, detect virtual devices that were mapped to physical devices on our system, and make display adapter and networking choices. Overall, we spent about an hour installing each OS.VMware 2.0 supports a wider variety of peripherals and devices than do previous versions of the product. Nevertheless, it does not support the use of DVD, CD-R, or CD-RW drives. The software also runs exclusively on x86 platforms, which means computers with non-x86 architecture, such as Apple Power Macs or Sun Workstations, are left out in the cold.Modus OperandiEach VM requires an exclusive chunk of allocated memory and physical hard disk space. VMware recommends having a minimum of 128MB on your workstation to run a VM and active applications on both the host and guest OS. In our opinion, the more memory you throw at VMware, the merrier. Our test station was equipped with 512MB of RAM, and we allocated 128MB to each VM. Overall we were happy with the performances of both the Linux and the Windows 2000 VMs.VMware 2.0 works with two types of storage: your existing partitions (raw disks) and virtual disks. Virtual disks are more convenient because they allow you to add operating systems to your workstation without repartitioning your physical hard drive. The disks can therefore be easily backed up, restored, or even copied to another workstation. Another useful feature of virtual disk files is that disks created under VMware 2.0 for Windows can be used under VMware 2.0 for Linux and vice versa. Ultimately, this can help decrease your system administration costs and storage overhead.Regardless of your storage choice, disks in VMware 2.0 virtual machines operate in one of three modes: persistent, nonpersistent, and undoable. In the persistent mode, disks behave as do conventional disks, with permanent changes made to the image. The nonpersistent mode allows you to discard changes made to the VM at the end of each session. The undoable setting allows you to decide whether to keep or discard disk changes at the end of each session.We found the undoable mode to be the most appealing, as it allowed us to recover from self-induced errors, such as system crashes or registry problems, by discarding all changes and simply restarting the virtual machine.Isolation boothVMware 2.0 VMs are fairly isolated from each other and from the host OS. We deliberately crashed our Windows 2000 VM without it affecting the performance of our Windows NT host or the operation of SuSE Linux.But because it can also be convenient and desirable to have your VMs interoperate, VMware provides two primary forms of networking: bridged and host-only.Bridged networking uses a virtual ethernet adapter to allow a VM to appear as a full-fledged host on your network. This means that the VM can use any and all services available on your network, including printers, file servers, and gateways.Host-only networking is more restrictive. In this mode, VMs can only communicate with the host and other VMs on the same system. This is helpful for using workstations that may not be connected to a LAN or for isolating certain workstations from one another, often for security reasons.Round-upVMware 2.0, priced at $299, is too expensive for casual use across an organization. However, the software provides real utility to development and support teams that are required to work with multiple versions of operating systems. The ability to toggle among several VPNs on a single workstation will decrease your hardware costs and greatly boost your staff's productivity.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Google complains about Microsoft's Vista
Internet search leader Google Inc. is trying to convince federal and state authorities that Microsoft Corp.'s Vista operating system is stifling competition as the high-tech heavyweights wrestle for the allegiance of personal computer users
In a 49-page document filed April 18 with the U.S. Justice Department and state attorneys general, Google alleged that the latest version of Microsoft's Windows operating system impairs the performance of "desktop search" programs that find data stored on a computer's hard drive.
The Vista operating system, which became widely available in January, includes a desktop search function that competes with a free program Google introduced in 2004. Several other companies also offer desktop search applications.
Besides bogging down competing programs, Google alleged Microsoft had made it too complicated to turn off the desktop search feature built into Vista.
With its allegations, Google hopes to show that Microsoft isn't complying with a 2002 settlement of an antitrust case that concluded the world's largest software maker had leveraged the Windows operating system to throttle competition.
The consent decree requires Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft to ensure its rivals can build products that run smoothly on Windows — something that Google says isn't happening.
"The search boxes built throughout Vista are hard-wired to Microsoft's own desktop search product, with no way for users to choose an alternate provider," Google spokesman Ricardo Reyes said in a statement issued Monday.
In its own statement, Microsoft said it already has made more than a dozen changes to address regulators' concerns about Vista and pledged to address any other legitimate problems. "While we don't believe there are any compliance concerns with desktop search, we've also told officials we are committed to going the extra mile to resolve this issue," Microsoft spokesman Jack Evans said.
Justice Department spokesman Eric Ablin declined to comment Monday, citing confidentiality concerns.
Although he wouldn't discuss Google's allegations, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal confirmed that several states are taking a hard look at whether Vista is affecting the effectiveness of programs that aren't made by Microsoft.
"We really have reached a turning point in the process and expect to make a decision on how to proceed by the end of the week," Blumenthal said in a Monday interview.
Describing the Vista complaints as "troublesome," California Attorney General Jerry Brown said he has been in touch with the Justice Department, other state attorneys general and technology industry representatives in an effort to resolve the issue.
"Our goal is to provide consumers using the Vista operating system easier access to competing features," Brown said in a statement.
In a story Sunday, The New York Times reported that the state attorneys general are more inclined to press Microsoft to revamp Vista than the Justice Department.
A court hearing to review Microsoft's adherence with the consent decree is scheduled June 26.
Google's complaint is just latest example of its escalating battle with Microsoft — a duel that figures to shape the future direction of personal computing.
With its search engine already established as the Web's most popular gateway, Google has been offering an array of additional services that could become the building blocks for a Web-based computing platform that lessens the need for Microsoft's products.
Besides e-mail and instant messaging, Google also is distributing word processing and spreadsheet programs aimed at the Office suite of software that has long been one of Microsoft's biggest cash cows.
Google has been able to offer most of its services free because it makes so much money from the ads that it serves up alongside its search results and other content published by the thousands of Web sites that belong to Google's network.
Hoping to siphon away some of that revenue, Microsoft has invested heavily in its own search engine, which still ranks a distant third behind Google and Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news)
Microsoft engineered Vista so its desktop search and Internet search engine would operate independently in an effort to avoid legal problems, said Brad Smith, the company's general counsel.
"If we were creating a feature in Windows and somehow requiring people to jump from our feature to our Internet search, then I could at least understand an antitrust argument being raised," Smith said.
Google Chairman Eric Schmidt has been a longtime critic of Microsoft's business tactics. After raising antitrust concerns about Microsoft in his previous jobs at Sun Microsystems Inc. and Novell Inc., Schmidt again has been on the attack as he steers Google.
Last year, the Mountain View-based company reached out to the Justice Department to raise alarms about how the latest version of Microsoft's Web browser threatened to make it more difficult for computer users to install the toolbars of competing search engines. Although regulators decided not to intervene, Microsoft subsequently modified the way Explorer handled the selection of search toolbars.
Before putting its most recent misgivings on paper, Google began discussing the desktop search issue with authorities last year.
Those talks were apparently touched upon during a hearing in March when the Justice Department said it was investigating a claim that Microsoft had violated its antitrust settlement. Without identifying the complaining party, the Justice Department said the grievances were related to "middleware," or software that links different computer programs.
Google filed its written complaint just a few days after Microsoft publicly urged antitrust regulators to scrutinize Google's planned $3.1 billion acquisition of online ad service DoubleClick Inc. Microsoft contends the deal will give Google too much power over the rapidly growing online ad market. The Federal Trade Commission has opened a formal inquiry into the matter
In a 49-page document filed April 18 with the U.S. Justice Department and state attorneys general, Google alleged that the latest version of Microsoft's Windows operating system impairs the performance of "desktop search" programs that find data stored on a computer's hard drive.
The Vista operating system, which became widely available in January, includes a desktop search function that competes with a free program Google introduced in 2004. Several other companies also offer desktop search applications.
Besides bogging down competing programs, Google alleged Microsoft had made it too complicated to turn off the desktop search feature built into Vista.
With its allegations, Google hopes to show that Microsoft isn't complying with a 2002 settlement of an antitrust case that concluded the world's largest software maker had leveraged the Windows operating system to throttle competition.
The consent decree requires Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft to ensure its rivals can build products that run smoothly on Windows — something that Google says isn't happening.
"The search boxes built throughout Vista are hard-wired to Microsoft's own desktop search product, with no way for users to choose an alternate provider," Google spokesman Ricardo Reyes said in a statement issued Monday.
In its own statement, Microsoft said it already has made more than a dozen changes to address regulators' concerns about Vista and pledged to address any other legitimate problems. "While we don't believe there are any compliance concerns with desktop search, we've also told officials we are committed to going the extra mile to resolve this issue," Microsoft spokesman Jack Evans said.
Justice Department spokesman Eric Ablin declined to comment Monday, citing confidentiality concerns.
Although he wouldn't discuss Google's allegations, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal confirmed that several states are taking a hard look at whether Vista is affecting the effectiveness of programs that aren't made by Microsoft.
"We really have reached a turning point in the process and expect to make a decision on how to proceed by the end of the week," Blumenthal said in a Monday interview.
Describing the Vista complaints as "troublesome," California Attorney General Jerry Brown said he has been in touch with the Justice Department, other state attorneys general and technology industry representatives in an effort to resolve the issue.
"Our goal is to provide consumers using the Vista operating system easier access to competing features," Brown said in a statement.
In a story Sunday, The New York Times reported that the state attorneys general are more inclined to press Microsoft to revamp Vista than the Justice Department.
A court hearing to review Microsoft's adherence with the consent decree is scheduled June 26.
Google's complaint is just latest example of its escalating battle with Microsoft — a duel that figures to shape the future direction of personal computing.
With its search engine already established as the Web's most popular gateway, Google has been offering an array of additional services that could become the building blocks for a Web-based computing platform that lessens the need for Microsoft's products.
Besides e-mail and instant messaging, Google also is distributing word processing and spreadsheet programs aimed at the Office suite of software that has long been one of Microsoft's biggest cash cows.
Google has been able to offer most of its services free because it makes so much money from the ads that it serves up alongside its search results and other content published by the thousands of Web sites that belong to Google's network.
Hoping to siphon away some of that revenue, Microsoft has invested heavily in its own search engine, which still ranks a distant third behind Google and Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news)
Microsoft engineered Vista so its desktop search and Internet search engine would operate independently in an effort to avoid legal problems, said Brad Smith, the company's general counsel.
"If we were creating a feature in Windows and somehow requiring people to jump from our feature to our Internet search, then I could at least understand an antitrust argument being raised," Smith said.
Google Chairman Eric Schmidt has been a longtime critic of Microsoft's business tactics. After raising antitrust concerns about Microsoft in his previous jobs at Sun Microsystems Inc. and Novell Inc., Schmidt again has been on the attack as he steers Google.
Last year, the Mountain View-based company reached out to the Justice Department to raise alarms about how the latest version of Microsoft's Web browser threatened to make it more difficult for computer users to install the toolbars of competing search engines. Although regulators decided not to intervene, Microsoft subsequently modified the way Explorer handled the selection of search toolbars.
Before putting its most recent misgivings on paper, Google began discussing the desktop search issue with authorities last year.
Those talks were apparently touched upon during a hearing in March when the Justice Department said it was investigating a claim that Microsoft had violated its antitrust settlement. Without identifying the complaining party, the Justice Department said the grievances were related to "middleware," or software that links different computer programs.
Google filed its written complaint just a few days after Microsoft publicly urged antitrust regulators to scrutinize Google's planned $3.1 billion acquisition of online ad service DoubleClick Inc. Microsoft contends the deal will give Google too much power over the rapidly growing online ad market. The Federal Trade Commission has opened a formal inquiry into the matter
Apple extends Web browser to Windows
Apple Inc. has set the stage for yet another rivalry with Microsoft Corp. by launching a Windows version of its Safari Internet browser and inviting developers to create Web-based programs for its upcoming iPhone.
Apple made the announcements at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, where it mainly highlighted the features of its next upgrade to the Mac
OS X' operating system, dubbed Leopard and due to be available in October.
Some industry analysts viewed the moves as infectious ways for the Cupertino-based company to attract new converts to its products, but investors were apparently betting on more astounding news from the Wall Street darling.
Apple made the announcements at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference on Monday, where it mainly highlighted the features of its next upgrade to the Mac
OS X' operating system, dubbed Leopard and due to be available in October.
Some industry analysts viewed the moves as infectious ways for the Cupertino-based company to attract new converts to its products, but investors were apparently betting on more astounding news from the Wall Street darling.
Saturday, June 9, 2007
orkube.com:-new social networking website
A new social networking website is started from India.It is similar to myspace.com. It has the facility similar to orkut and youtube.com.The name, orkube.com is formed by these two website's name.[orkut+youtube=orkube.com]. The main features of this website is
Connect with your friends from your high school.
Connect with your friends from your company.
Connect with your friends who are in your friend list.
Connect with your friends friends and so on.
create your own video blog and mp3 sharing site, Send messages to your friends. Forward your friends a friends profile's. Manage your address book. Post a BLOG Post on Forums Post a Journal for all your friends and much more...
Connect with your friends from your high school.
Connect with your friends from your company.
Connect with your friends who are in your friend list.
Connect with your friends friends and so on.
create your own video blog and mp3 sharing site, Send messages to your friends. Forward your friends a friends profile's. Manage your address book. Post a BLOG Post on Forums Post a Journal for all your friends and much more...