Tech Update – davidonovan dot com https://www.davidonovan.com Opinion and commentary from around the world and up your asphalt driveway Fri, 08 Aug 2014 20:37:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0 Imagine never having to ‘boot up’ a computer again https://www.davidonovan.com/imagine-never-having-to-boot-up-a-computer-again/ https://www.davidonovan.com/imagine-never-having-to-boot-up-a-computer-again/#respond Tue, 12 Sep 2006 16:53:10 +0000 http://blog.davesweet.com/?p=368 Continue reading →]]> Korean electronics manufacturer Samsung has produced a working prototype of a new type of memory called PRAM that is as fast as ordinary RAM, but it doesn’t lose its contents when powered off.  It works like Flash memory, but it doesn’t have to erase a cell’s contents before writing to it, which boosts its speed thirtyfold over Flash.  Its cell size is half as big and it requires 20% fewer steps to produce in manufacturing than Flash, so it’s cheaper and smaller, and lasts 10 times longer. 

This is exactly the kind of revolution we’ve been waiting for in computer systems.  We’ll look back on the days when transient memory that lost its contents when turned off was the stone age of computing.  Powering off your computer will no longer be the time-consuming process it once was, and hibernation will be instantaneous.  Power failure will no longer be a catastrophic event.  Booting a computer will no longer be the five-minute coffee-break event it once was – simply turning it back on will return it to where it was when you shut it off. 

Brilliant!

It is expected to be in mainstream use within the next decade.  I’m not sure I can wait that long.

]]> https://www.davidonovan.com/imagine-never-having-to-boot-up-a-computer-again/feed/ 0 The amazing six-stroke engine that runs on gas and water https://www.davidonovan.com/the-amazing-six-stroke-engine-that-runs-on-gas-and-water/ https://www.davidonovan.com/the-amazing-six-stroke-engine-that-runs-on-gas-and-water/#respond Fri, 07 Jul 2006 16:28:37 +0000 http://blog.davesweet.com/?p=236 Continue reading →]]> Bruce Crower has devised a hybrid engine which runs on gasoline and distilled water.  Four strokes are for gas, the other two are for steam.  The beauty of it is it eliminates the need for a liquid cooling system, as the water cools the engine from the inside out during its expansion phase.  This internal cooling also allows for increased compression ratios with regular-octane fuel.  Brilliant!

Six-stroke engine on Autoweek

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