06.20.2006IBM/GIT Chip Breaks Speed Record

IBM's frozen chip has claimed (at least for now) the silicon-based chip speed record with it's 500GHz SiGe (silicon germanium) chip developed in concert with the Georgia Institute of Technology (GIT). The chip operated at 350GHz at room temperature and was able to achieve 500 GHz by cryogenically "freezing" the circuit to minus 451 degrees Fahrenheit (4.5 Kelvins).

While ultrahigh SiGe (silicon germanium) circuits are being eyeballed for specialized commercial and military applications, this kind of research could filter down into useful consumer applications. The article mentions HDTV, cell phone video applications, and automobile computers as likely candidates for the powerful, low-energy chips developed as a result of this research.

11.03.2005Panasonic SA-XR55

While doing some research into upgrades for my home theater system, I ran across people that believed that this <$230 unit was a marvel. At first, I didn't want to believe that a sub $300 unit would do most of what the $1,399 Yamaha RX-V2600 I was shopping would.

After receiving my Panny from Amazon for just under $230, all I can say is that for the price this thing is amazing. Sure it only has two optical in's, no HDMI, no multi room zone control, no THX, no on-screen display, and no auto setup. It also has one of the worst remote controls I have ever seen in terms of usability. But it does sound very clean, can handle a 5.1 (and I would imagine up to a 7.1 setup) cleanly, and it does it at less than 10 lbs. It is also capable of dual and bi-amping, and has enough music and movie modes to keep me happy.

What I found interesting about this unit is that it is all digital. The lack of digital/analog conversion parts keeps this unit extremely light and reduces some of the interference. That's not to say that typical amp/receiver combos don't sound superior, but I do think that at this price point, this receiver is difficult to beat.

I'm still amazed at this thing. I'm sure an upgrade will be in order should I get into a larger place but for the forseeable future, this unit will be driving my system.

09.29.2005iPod Maps

Every once in a while, somebody comes up with a fantastic idea. Ipod users in major rapid transit districts could use their newer iPods to read subway maps. As this Yahoo! article details, the maps were digitally shrunk for use on the iPod by William Bright, a 27 y/o that works for Nerve.com. Since the maps used were copyrighted, the maps were removed once the copyright lawyers for both the San Francisco and New York City contacted Mr. Bright. The idea of analog maps to digital media remains a valid one but will likely be poorly executed and unreasonably expensive once it's commercialized.

08.03.2005Downfall

Bruno Ganz puts in a great performance in this film which documents the final days of Hitler and the Nazi's in Berlin as the Russians surround and eventally cause the surrender of the Germans at the end of WWII in May of 1945. The entire supporting cast, casting, atmosphere, and general look of the film are all outstanding. The film approaches interesting issues rarely seen in Hitler/Nazi films, topics such as Hitlers refusal to help out or even care about the German civilian population during his slide into insanity.

Having said that, this film suffers badly in one major area: length. While some movies can comfortably approach the 3 hour mark, this movie struggles with pacing and it's 150+ minute length. Hitler dies at about the 90 minute mark and the film drags badly from there. The last third of the film, from Hitler's suicide to the eventual surrender of the German army to the Russians, is particularly painful to watch not because of the subject matter but because of the slow and uninteresting pacing.

Given the quality of acting this movie offers, better editing and a shorter length would have provided a better viewing experience. With tight editing, a 100 or even a 90 minute movie would have been possible and would have allowed a brsk, interesting movie with something to say instead of a meandering tale that seemed way too long.

One other minor gripe with the film is that the subtitling is often difficult to read due to its small size and poor choice of colors.

The producers of the Alexander movie actually shortened the film for the directors cut of the DVD, when are movie producers going to learn that more and bigger is not always better.

08.02.2005No “Dust” For Me

Occasionally while web surfing, I come across a blog entry or article that really gets me thinking. I found such an example here. After reading the post/essay a couple of times, some thoughts immediately came to mind.

One of the results of the digital age is that things can be so easily transformed. Music was one of, if not the first mediums to see its material change through natural and artificial processes. Music first changed through intentional efforts (remakes, live performances, interpretations) and through unintentional effects (aging of recording medium being a prime cause). When music progressed to albums, the music could be manipulated in various forms ranging from radio stations spinning records faster for additional ad revenue to MC's scratching records to create new beats or melodies. Now with the arrival of the digital age, physical medium has yielded to digital purity. Everything from samples to entire tracks can be digitally manipulated and changed.

Personally, I see the effort to restore and protect archives in efforts such as the BBC Creative Archive project as a positive step. While it is true that there is value and interest in how such creative works age, without protection of the original it's often impossible to restore a work back to it’s original state. It's always easier to decay something than to restore it.

Contexts and transformations in movies, photos, music, and other digitally stored art can always be approximated. As technology improves, digital data can be manipulated to provide any experience we want, from how we enjoy our art in terms of semantics and interfaces to the content of the art itself. While there will be no naturally occurring "dust", the dust can be digitally created.

Digital storage and usage provides an unparalleled opportunity for creative techniques with existing and new material never seen before. And seeing what can be done by somebody with the proper knowledge of manipulation is nothing short of amazing in my book.

08.01.2005IE7 and CSS Compatability

After seeing this blog entry referenced in Slashdot, I am pleased that active steps are being taken to make IE7 (shipping with the new Microsoft OS Vista, aka Longhorn) more CSS compliant. With IE7's catching up in the features game with tabbed windows, a seamless inline search, and integrated RSS support, CSS support might provide reason enough for many to seriously look at IE again. While not a huge fan of IE, significant competition in the browser market will only inspire both sides to innovate. Nothing wrong with that.

07.30.2005Audioslave - Out of Exile

Audioslave - Out of Exile, Producer Rick Rubin

With the talent this band has (1/4 Soundgarden, 3/4 Rage Against the Machine) and the producer they have on board (Rick Rubin), I am amazed at how uninteresting this album really is. A couple of decent but by no means spectacular tracks with the rest of the album phoned in.

Perhaps most disappointing to me is the fact that this album doesn't seem to have a great deal of energy. It's "Soundgarden/RATM-lite". It's very clean and safe, not at all what I would expect from the people involved.

Rick Rubin usually has the ear for turning good bands great, and can even make a not so good band sound interesting. I don't know what the reasons are for the failure here but it's disappointing seeing this considering what both SG and RATM were doing before their demise.

I hope the next one is better