bl.ocks.org – 1153292 – Mobile Patent Suits.
Created 8/2011.
1Gbps wireless network made with red and green laser pointers
Now, I think for the first time ever, researchers at the National Taipei University of Technology in Taiwan have transmitted data using lasers — not high-powered, laboratory-dwelling lasers; handheld, AAA-battery laser pointers. The setup is rather simple: The engineers took a red and green laser pointer, wired in a 500Mbps data stream into each, and simply pointed them at photodiode receptors. On the receiving end, the signals are amplified and then multiplexed to create a 1Gbps data stream. The complete setup, according to New Scientist, cost just $600.
via 1Gbps wireless network made with red and green laser pointers | ExtremeTech.
Will laser-based VLC actually find its way to market, then? There’s no getting around the fact that laser links are highly directional (even more so than the shoddy IrDA networks of yore), and atmospheric conditions will play a big part in the BER, and thus the actual data rate. With WiGig making its way to market, laser pointer VLC will probably never be seen by consumers. Still, for quick bursts of data between mobile devices, or wireless communications in hospitals, or simply as a fun hobby for amateur radio (?) operators, cheap, laser pointer VLC could be very useful indeed.
Open Compute Project
We started a project at Facebook a little over a year ago with a pretty big goal: to build one of the most efficient computing infrastructures at the lowest possible cost. We decided to honor our hacker roots and challenge convention by custom designing and building our software, servers and data centers from the ground up – and then share these technologies as they evolve.
via Open Compute Project – Hacking Conventional Computing Infrastructure.
Open Compute Wants to Overhaul Data Center Racks
The Open Rack design, which was unveiled today at the Open Compute Summit in San Antonio, also offers an innovative approach to power management. The design features busbars supplying 12-volt power to servers, eliminating the need for individual power supplies for each server. Open Rack also offers standard interfaces for mechanical and electrical components.
via Open Compute Wants to Overhaul Data Center Racks » Data Center Knowledge.
Can Fibre Channel survive Ethernet’s assault?
Computerworld – Fibre Channel, the high-speed data transport protocol for storage area networks (SAN), is under increasing pressure as data centers move toward Ethernet for all data network traffic and SAS for hardware interconnects.
By no means is Fibre Channel down and out. In fact, recent figures indicate it’s still showing low single-digit, year-over-year growth. The protocol is currently used in $50 billion worth of equipment around the world, according to research firm Gartner.
via Protocol wars: Can Fibre Channel survive Ethernet’s assault? – Computerworld.
Apple blocks Dropbox-based apps
Apple is blocking apps that take advantage of the new Dropbox SDK because they inadvertently allow users to buy extra online storage without Apple taking a cut.
via Apple blocks Dropbox-based apps | Enterprise | News | PC Pro.
OONI
OONI is the Open Observatory for Network Interference and its aim is to collect high quality data using open methodologies, using Free and Open Source Software (FL/OSS) to share observations and data about the kind, methods and amount of surveillance and censorship in the world
via – OONI.
Git – Fast Version Control System
Git is a free & open source, distributed version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency.
Microsoft Invests $300 Million In Nook e-Readers
MS just buried the only lawsuit that could have blown a hole the size of Manhattan in their anti-Android patent portfolio.
via Microsoft Invests $300 Million In Nook e-Readers – Slashdot.
Raspberry Pi gets an electronics prototyping plate kit
With the Raspberry Pi now shipping, thousands of curious programmers, hackers, teachers, and kids are starting to experiment with the device. That experimentation is limited to software for the most part, but with the Gertboard in development it shouldn’t be long before Raspberry Pi hardware extensions are also a possibility.