Samsung plugs IBM's brain-imitating chip into an advanced camera sensor

Samsung has taken the IBM's cognitive chip and plugged it into its Dynamic Vision Sensor (DVS) to process digital imagery at a blindingly fast rate.

IBM's TrueNorth, a so-called "cognitive chip," remarkably resembles the human brain: its 4,096 cores combine to create about a million digital neurons and 256 million synapse connections. In short, like everyone's favorite complex organ (THE BRAIN), it operates extremely quickly and consumes far less energy than typical processors. 

 
Typical digital cameras max out 120 frames per second, but a DVS-equipped gadget can capture an incredible 2,000 fps. Unlike a conventional sensor, each pixel on Samsung's only reacts if it needs to report a change in what it's seeing, according to CNET. That high speed could be useful for creating 3D maps or gesture controls. At a press event on Thursday in San Jose, the company demonstrated its ability to control a TV as it recognized hand waves and finger pinches from ten feet away.

DVS is efficient like its TrueNorth chip base, and only consumes about 300 milliwatts of power. That's about a hundredth the drain of a laptop's processor and a tenth of a phone's, a Samsung VP said at the event. But we still have a ways to go before we approach the minimal power requirements of the human brain, he said, which can process some tasks at 100 million times less power than a computer.

Source: CNET, IBM

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MIT researchers designed windows can rapidly switch from clear to opaque

Instead of covering your windows when the sun's too strong, you simply have to flip a switch to turn them completely opaque. A team of MIT researchers have developed a method that could make that scenario a reality. Their technique uses electrochromic materials that can instantly change the color of glass from transparent to nearly black by applying a bit of electricity. It's certainly not the first method developed to change a window's color, but according to the researchers, their creation has a much faster response time and requires lesser energy.

Imagine not having to use curtains or blinds anymore. Instead of covering your windows when the sun's too strong, you simply have to flip a switch to turn them completely opaque. 

The new discovery uses electrochromic materials, which change their color and transparency in response to an applied voltage, Dincă explains.

Other techniques take a few minutes to change the shade of the material, and some can't achieve the opacity that it can. Further, there are methods that need a constant flow of voltage for the window to remain opaque. This one only needs electricity when switching colors -- the window can remain in its nearly black state without being connected to a source of energy.



To make sure it has near instantaneous response time, the researchers used sponge-like materials called metal-organic frameworks that can quickly conduct electrons and ions. Electricity is applied to give the window a negative charge, and positive ions attack in an effort to neutralize it. That is what causes the color-changing effect. They also mixed two different chemicals that dye the window red and green to get to a color that's very nearly black.

MIT professor of chemistry Mircea Dincă said the technique could lead to "pretty significant energy savings" by reducing the need for air conditioning. "You could just flip a switch when the sun shines through the window, and turn it dark," he added. He also believes that it could lead to low-power smart displays, similar to e-ink found on Kindles. While the researchers already proved that their method works in the lab, they still need to create an actual working sample to entice investors and get their creation into our homes.

Source: MIT  

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Noah's Ark with life-size 'replica' theme park unveiled in Kentucky

A theme park in the US state of Kentucky has unveiled a 510-foot-long (155 metre-long) wooden model of Noah's Ark.

The ark was built by Christians who said they believe the biblical story was a historical event.

Critics have said the attraction should not have received tax incentives as it contradicts science education.
The ark is based on a biblical story of a man who received an apocalyptic warning from God about a massive flood.

Answers in Genesis, the ministry that built the ark, said the ship's dimensions are based on those described in the Bible.
The ark is also 85ft (26m) wide and 51ft (15m) high, according to the group.

The ark, which is about 40 miles (64km) south of Cincinnati, Ohio, in Williamstown, features displays of animals in cages as well as exhibits on the group's theories on the world's existence.

The group believes that God created everything, including dinosaurs, about 6,000 years ago.
Scientists have said the dinosaurs became extinct about 65m years before man appeared.
Ken Ham, president of Answers in Genesis, said the total cost of the ark is more than $100m (£77m).
The attraction has been at the centre of controversy in Kentucky, where it was awarded a tax incentive in 2014 worth up to $18m (about £14m).

The incentive allowed the park to recoup taxes on money made from visitors.
The tax break was then revoked after it was revealed that Answers in Genesis would only hire Christian staff members. However, the group sued and won.

Opponents of the theme park told the AP it is a violation of separation of church and state.
"Basically, this boat is a church raising scientifically illiterate children and lying to them about science," said Jim Helton, who lives about a half-hour from the ark.
One of the park's biggest critics is science advocate and former television personality Bill Nye "the Science Guy".

Nye debated Mr Ham on evolution in 2014, attracting millions of viewers online.
The video of the debate posted on YouTube by Answers in Genesis has more than five million views.

Following the debate, Mr Ham announced that a bond offering from Williamstown had raised $62m (about £48m) for the project, allowing the group to break ground on the site a few months later.
Answers in Genesis estimates that the theme park, which debuted to the public on Thursday, will draw about two million visitors in its first year.

Amid anger at 'scientifically preposterous' museum 

For Dr Jeanson is one of the advisers of Ark Encounter – billed as “a life-sized Noah’s Ark.” The 510-ft long boat and its surrounding attractions, unveiled in Kentucky on Thursday, has sparked a wave of protests, but he insisted that, far from being an outrage, the theme park was a gift to humanity.

“This is not anti-science,” he said, speaking to The Telegraph on the eve of the theme park’s opening. “I would say we embrace all science.

“We are just teaching people to think differently.”

Indeed, he admits that his thinking is radically different to that of many of his Harvard peers.

He and his Creationist colleagues believe that the Bible is a book of historic record. They argue that Genesis tells a factual story explaining that the Earth is only a few thousand years old, that man and dinosaur co-existed, and that Noah built an ark to save animals from a flood.

Evolution, he believes, is a myth: Darwin’s work has been misinterpreted.

The movement, known as young earth creationism, emerged only about 60 years ago, and has remained a marginal creed within Christianity. Even many Bible-believers and evangelicals accept the science showing that the universe is billions of years old — some reasoning that each of the six “days” of creation in the Book of Genesis may have lasted millions of years, not 24 hours.

Dr Krupa said the theme park was intended to “advance ignorance,” and described the museum’s opening as a “very, very sad” day for the nation.

“That Ken Ham is trying to ignore vast evidence to the contrary and convince people the world is 6,000 years old is an embarrassment to Kentucky, the US, and to Christianity,” he told The Telegraph.


source : telegraph.co.uk , BBC,

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Christo’s Grand- Scale Artwork Floating Piers project on Lake Iseo, Italy

Christo’s exhibit — “The Floating Piers” — which closed Monday after a 16-day exhibit at Lake Iseo, Italy, are as diverse as the artist’s grand-scale artworks. 

Christo says the artwork was a success. Others, like members of Rags Over the Arkansas River, who oppose Christo’s “Over the River” artwork planned for the Arkansas River corridor between Salida and Canon City, said the project was problematic at best.

“The Floating Piers” featured fabric-covered piers that stretched across the water of Lake Iseo and continued along sidewalks. Visitors — estimated at 1.2 million — were allowed to visit the artwork free of charge and walk over the piers, which caused unforeseen issues.

“Christo never seems to get the engineering right. Nor does he accurately factor in weather patterns, wind speeds, public health risks and the consequence of over-promoting his projects with no regard for the many negative impacts he engenders,” said Joan Anzelmo, Rags Over the Arkansas River spokeswoman. “In Italy, local authorities were forced to turn away hundreds of people trying to get to ‘The Floating Piers’ exhibit, so besieged were the nearby towns and trains.

For sixteen days – June 18 through July 3, 2016 – Italy’s Lake Iseo was reimagined. 100,000 square meters of shimmering yellow fabric, carried by a modular floating dock system of 220,000 high-density polyethylene cubes, undulated with the movement of the waves as The Floating Piers rose just above the surface of the water.

 Workers install the felt that will cover the floating cubes before the yellow fabric is installed, May 2016

From the evening of June 15 to the evening of June 17, teams unfurl 100,000 square meters of shimmering dahlia-yellow fabric on the piers and pedestrian streets in Sulzano and Peschiera Maraglio

The Walkway
A 3-kilometer-long walkway was created as The Floating Piers extended across the water of Lake Iseo. The piers were 16 meters wide and approximately 35 centimeters high with sloping sides. The fabric continued along 2.5 kilometers of pedestrian streets in Sulzano and Peschiera Maraglio.

“Those who experienced The Floating Piers felt like they were walking on water – or perhaps the back of a whale,” said Christo. “The light and water transformed the bright yellow fabric to shades of red and gold throughout the sixteen days.”

The Experience
Visitors were able experience this work of art by walking on it from Sulzano to Monte Isola and to the island of San Paolo, which was framed by The Floating Piers. The mountains surrounding the lake offered a bird’s-eye view of The Floating Piers, exposing unnoticed angles and altering perspectives.

Lake Iseo is located 100 kilometers east of Milan and 200 kilometers west of Venice. “Like all of our projects, The Floating Piers were absolutely free and open to the public,” said Christo. “There were no tickets, no openings, no reservations and no owners. The Floating Piers were an extension of the street and belonged to everyone.”


Source: christojeanneclaude.net

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Bulacan 22.5-hectare Solar Power Plant can power as much as 10,000 homes

Bulakenyos will have the means to take advantage of the solar energy as the United Nations announced its $400 million Solar Power Plant constructed in the province of Bulacan.

SAN ILDEFONSO, Bulacan - Photovoltaic cells covering some 22.5 hectares are installed here, capable of generating as much as 15 megawatts (MW) of electricity, enough to supply 10,000 homes.

Bulacan Solar Energy Corporation has an array of 8,760 solar panels, whose energy conversion translates to displacing "12,000 tons of carbon monoxide emissions" every year, according to Engineer Salvador Antonio Castro, president.

The company, Castro disclosed, aims to develop 500 megawatts of generating capacity from clean and renewable solar energy over the next five years.

Bulacan Solar Energy Corporation's photovoltaic farm in San Ildefonso, Bulacan. Photographed by Chad de Guzman, InterAksyon.

The project was financed with 40 percent equity contribution from Armstrong Asset Management of Singapore, regarded as the biggest clean energy fund in Southeast Asia.

"They're very much interested in our whole portfolio, so we fully expect to continue working with them," Castro said, even as he declined to name local investors in this undertaking.

BULACAN’S OWN. Second District Congressman Gavini “Apol” C. Pancho receives a certificate of appreciation from the Provincial Government of Bulacan headed by Gov. Wilhelmino M. Sy-Alvarado for being the guest speaker in the 117th Anniversary of the Inauguration of Malolos Congress held at the historic Barasoain Church September 15,2015. Also in the photo are (L-R) Board Member Felix Ople, Vice Gov. Daniel Fernando and Hon. Gion Gounet, UN ambassador on Goodwill.(bulacan gov.ph)

Expansion
The company wants to expand its solar farms in phases: a 40MW plant adjacent to the current one, and a 45MW solar farm a kilometer away, to complete their first 100MW solar energy project.

The solar farms will traverse Barangays Casalat, Pasong Bangkal, and Sapang Dayap.

Power plants of this nature take about three years for design development and three more years for construction. The trick is to cluster small plants (5 to 10 MW) and large plants (20MW and more) to rationalize infrastructure investment in electricity transmission.

The company has also made solar rooftop technology available to commercial and institutional organizations, and is looking into the expansion of hydroelectric power plants in the order of 100 megawatt, such as the run-off river project in Jasaan, Misamis Oriental currently in development.

"Hydro [power plants] are very site-specific. You cannot develop a project out of flatland. Obviously you need a lot of rainfall, you need a lot of rainforest cover for the watershed, and that typically happens in the mountains."

Each hydro project is estimated to cost around US$300 to 400 million.

Tariff policies
The company is waiting the new round of Feed-In Tariff (FIT) policies under the Renewable Energy Act of 2008 (Republic Act 9513), which regulates the production and distribution of renewable energy.

Castro adds that expansion depends on the issuance of FIT, the imposed tariff rates, and energy production quota: "You've probably heard of the different dates, some as early as July, some as late as December, and, until such time that we really understand what the next round of FIT is, then we're just planning so that we'll be ready for that time."

"If we can increase the feed-in tariff allocation for solar energy, then that is exactly what the Philippines needs. I understand that there are a lot of people advocating that, and that's very important," Castro added.

Click and watch the video posted by Chad de Guzman of TV5 Interaksyon, below:




Source: interaksyon.com,bulacan.gov.ph,

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First Quamtum Code On A Silicon - Australian Breakthrough

Engineers from the University of New South Wales, Australia, have made an important breakthrough that brings quantum computers one step closer to reality.

The team created a quantum version of a standard computer code within a silicon chip. The discovery shows that it is possible to construct realistic and reliable quantum computers.

Quantum computers have the potential to solve problems much more quickly than any computer that exists today, as they combine the rules of informatics to phenomena of quantum mechanics that are not observed in everyday life. Namely, the principle of superposition, popularized by Schrödinger’s cat being both alive and dead, and entanglement.

The specific test conducted in Australia used entanglement to run the code. Entangled particles are created together in a specific way so that their properties, such as energy and momentum, are connected. If a property is changed on one particle, for example during a measurement, the others will be affected as well. The changes are instantaneous, even if the two particles are at opposite ends of the universe, so scientists thought that it might be a violation of special relativity, which dictates that information cannot travel faster than light. Recently, it has been demonstrated that entanglement is a real phenomenon, though.

Using quantum behaviors adds more capability to computing. "This is, in some sense, the reason why quantum computers can be so much more powerful," said Stephanie Simmons, co-author of the study, in a statement. "With the same number of bits, they allow us to write a computer code that contains many more words, and we can use those extra words to run a different algorithm that reaches the result in a smaller number of steps."

The experiment consisted of creating an entangled state between the nucleus of a phosphorus atom and a single electron within a silicon chip. The phosphorus and the electron form a qubit, the quantum equivalent of a computer bit, and the experiment showed that they can be easily controlled and used for operations. While a conventional bit has only two possible states – 0 and 1 – qubits have many more thanks to quantum mechanics, which is why quantum computers are expected to be significantly more powerful than the computers we have today.

"Now, we have shown beyond any doubt that we can write this code inside a device that resembles the silicon microchips you have on your laptop or your mobile phone," said Professor Andrea Morello, leader of the team. "It's a real triumph of electrical engineering."


The research is published in Nature Nanotechnology.

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Britain’s Spaceship Looking Antarctic Research Station

Antarctica is on Earth, but it feels alien—a vast, cold, rapidly melting desert populated by scientists and emperor penguins. So it makes sense that today’s Antarctic research stations look a lot like spaceships: They’re often the only things protecting their inhabitants from inhospitable places people really shouldn’t be living in.

Caption: The bright red module of Halley VI, Britain’s Antarctic research station, houses a dining area, a pool table, a gym, a TV lounge, and presumably a well-stocked bar. credits: James Morris  

Only recently, though, they’ve become works of fine art, and Ice Station, a book out today about Britain’s newest station, helps drive that point home. When London architect Hugh Broughton planned Halley VI, he had to design his way around a tricky site. The Halley stations rest on an ice shelf 400 feet thick, inexorably floating west into the Weddell Sea. Sometimes, the ice calves—bad news for anything sitting on top of it. Accumulated snow crushed four of the station’s previous incarnations (Halleys I through IV); the British Antarctic Survey abandoned Halley V when it moved too far away from the mainland.

Caption: The station’s parts traveled by cargo ship to Antarctica, where a construction crew assembled each module and pulled them to their site nine miles away.credits: British Antarctic Survey   

 

Caption: The eight modules that make up Halley VI are each dedicated to a particular function: science, sleeping, socializing, or generating power. credits : James Morris

Caption: Reinforced steel structures help the station withstand Antarctica’s fierce storms.credits: Antony Dubber

Broughton and his team solved these problems by quite literally running away from them: They set Halley VI on hydraulic stilts on top of giant skis. When summer comes around, technicians raise the stilts one at a time and pack snow underneath, to prevent the station from getting buried. The wide steel strips are perfect for making a quick getaway when things turn dicey, and allow scientists to periodically drag the modules of the station to their proper place.

Caption: Hydraulic legs keep the station from getting buried by snow, while flat, wide skis allow the station to move when the ice beneath it threatens to split. credits : James Morris    

Caption: A bridge links the station’s energy modules, which also houses a sewage treatment plant and generates water by melting snow in melt tanks.
credits : James Morris

Halley VI sits on that precarious sheet of ice because it’s directly underneath the auroral oval, a prime place to monitor the ozone layer (the research station discovered the hole back in 1985), study the chemical interactions between air and snow, and see crazy beautiful auroras. Completed in 2012, the station contains a climate observatory with a spectrophotometer and a 360-degree view.

Caption: A climate observatory in the science module provides a 360-degree view of the vast nothingness that is the Brunt Ice Shelf. A spectrophotometer takes ozone readings.credits: James Morris

The first Halley station was essentially a wooden hut. Fifty-six years later, its successor is comfortable enough to alleviate the intense psychological strain that comes with living in a tiny lab in the remotest place on Earth. To fend off sensory deprivation, the designers chose comforting colors and installed wall panels of scented Lebanese cedar. A bright red social module, centrally located and larger than the other modules, includes a dining area, games and a gym.

Caption: Researchers and technicians unwind in the social module.credits: James Morris

Caption: The compact bedrooms come equipped with a fixture that simulates daylight, to combat seasonal affective disorder. credits:James Morris 

  
Caption: The architects hired a color consultant to choose interior décor that was calm and comforting—very important for residents facing a grim Antarctic winter. credits:James Morris   

And if scientists and technicians need to let off a bit more steam, the module also, helpfully, houses a very nice bar.

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The drought-stricken in Mexico has reveled the ruins of the 16th-century Temple of Santiago

Mexico has been suffering from a drought over the past year which has caused the water level in Nezahualcoyotl reservoir to decrease nearly 100 feet in recent months, but the drought hasn't been all negative.. The "silver lining" of this drought has been another chance to see this snapshot of history which was thought to be lost to a watery grave. Chiapas's Nezahualcoyotl reservoir has revealed a secret with its receding waters: the Temple of Santiago, a 16th-century church that's also known as Temple of Quechula.

The reservoir was a result of the construction of a dam in the 1960s, causing the 400-year-old ruins to be submerged. The temple has been exposed only once before: In 2002, the water was so low that visitors could walk around inside the church. The cathedral was built in the mid-16th century by Dominican monks led by Friar Bartolome de las Casas, a Spanish missionary famed for opposing slavery in colonial Mexico. The Temple of Santiago was deserted a few hundred years later.

"The church was abandoned due [to] the big plagues of 1773 to 1776," Carlos Navarete, an architect who worked with the Mexican government on an report on the church, told the Associated Press.


Beautiful photos of the Mexican Temple of Santiago have been circulating online, showing the church reappear from the water like a lost ruin of Atlantis.

Low water levels in a reservoir in Chiapas, Mexico, have revealed the ruins of the 16th century Temple of Santiago. pic.twitter.com/rxdEp4BLoJ

— Besho (@be_sh_oy) October 18, 2015

Now, the church is drawing tourists back to the area. Local fishermen are offering boat tours to visitors looking to explore the half-submerged structure. 

source: Associated Press

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NASA unveiled their “Warp Drive” ship – Faster than Light Spaceship

Ever since the sound barrier was broken, people have turned their attention to how we can break the light speed barrier.  But “Warp Drive” or any other term for faster-than-light travel still remains at the level of speculation.

The bulk of scientific knowledge concludes that it’s impossible, especially when considering Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. There are certainly some credible concepts in scientific literature, however it’s too soon to know if they are viable.

Science fiction writers have given us many images of interstellar travel, but traveling at the speed of light is simply imaginary at present.

In the meantime, science moves forward.  And while NASA is not pursuing interstellar flight, scientists here continue to advance ion propulsion for missions to deep space and beyond using solar electric power. This form of propulsion is the fastest and most efficient to date.

There are many “absurd” theories that have become reality over the years of scientific research.  But for the near future, warp drive remains a dream.

If you would like to know more about the theories of interstellar flight, you should visit the Tau Zero Foundation.  Marc Millis, a former NASA Glenn physicist, founded the organization to consider revolutionary advancements in propulsion. 

NASA explains the idea of Alcubierre’s Warp drive through a simple example moving sidewalks at airports. The concept is made analogous to walking on a moving sidewalk, provided that the sidewalk moves faster than one’s walk. This can be executed by contracting spacetime in front of the ship and expanding spacetime behind the ship.

The requirement of negative energy is the major issue. The problem arising would be controlling an environment of negative energy and its effect which is separate to the ship’s working. The situation in which ship would move is completely unknown i.e. warp bubble exceeding speed of light. Warp drive also recalls the time travel issues as in case of Worm Hole transportation.

Mark Rademaker, artist, who worked with White in designing Warp drive ship explains that craft consists of the main ship settled between two massive rings of negative energy which would develop the warp bubble. This new version of the ship is more compact and chunkier. According to Harold White, the design accounts for the predictions made according to mathematics of an Alcubierre warp drive currently.

NASA considers the warp drive and faster-than-light travelling spaceships projects at an ‘speculation’ stage. The development cycles of NASA describe this to be an early stage for warp drive. It has only passed the initial ‘conjecture’ stage of development.

The whole concept of warp drive seems impossible to many, however, works of White have grabbed the attention of scientists across the globe. Criticism and research may lead to a positive results. Comment and debate on possibilities of this project.

Source: NASA

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GSM Wireless Will Die in 2017

Carriers around the world are converging on 2017 as the year to turn off their GSM networks, with three operators in Singapore announcing Monday their plans to reuse their GSM spectrum for other services.

The end of GSM or the Wireless Dial Up version will free up more bandwidth for faster 3G and 4G network technologies—but will also force users of older connected devices that depend on GSM networks to upgrade or replace them.

On Monday Singaporean operators M1, Singtel and StarHub became the latest operators to set a timetable for turning off their GSM networks. They will do so on April 1, 2017, following in the footsteps of Telstra in Australia, which plans to do so by the end of 2016, and AT&T in the U.S, which will flip the switch on Jan. 1, 2017.

For many mobile phone users, the switch-off could pass almost unnoticed. Today, the majority of mobile customers have phones that also connect to 3G and 4G networks; only a small percentage of subscribers still use GSM-only phones, according to the Singaporean operators. When Telstra made its announcement last year, it said GSM accounted for less than 1 percent of the total traffic.

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Evolution of Wireless Internet  and Review

The reasons for turning off GSM networks are technical and financial. Turning them off means the spectrum can be reused by more efficient 3G and 4G networks, which can use the same bandwidth to carry more data or serve more customers—and hence generate more revenue. Having one less network to manage should also result in lower costs for operators.

Upgrading the network will be worth it, though, according to AT&T. The higher speeds offered by 3G and 4G networks will enable enterprises to deliver better M2M applications. For example, video cameras for real-time streaming and driver dash cameras for fleet trucks will be possible.

Not all operators are as aggressive in their plans to turn off GSM. In general, European operators are being a bit more cautious. For French network operator Orange, there will no big switch off, according to Yves Bellego, director of Technical and Network Strategy at the French operator. Norwegian operator Telenor plans to turn off its 3G network in 2020, and its GSM network in 2025, it recently announced.

The reticence to make the move isn’t just down to wanting to support existing M2M devices. The European operators still have lucrative roaming businesses and could run into some regulatory issues if they decide to turn off GSM networks in the next couple of years, according to Hatton.

For me  Philippines is not ready to remove the old GSM  2G band ,LTE is  still young and limited area have LTE signal. According  to Asia’s mobile and broadband internet speeds ,The Philippines is stock on the slow lane with increase of 0.2mbps from 3.4Mbps to 3.6Mbps.

{source}


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DOST To Develop Micro-Hydro Power Generation Technology

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has started to embark on the development of micro-hydropower generation technology, an official said yesterday.

The department has reached an agreement in principle with state-owned Philippine National Oil Corp.-Renewables Corp. The PNOC-RC would provide models on hydropower generation machinery, such as turbines, to be studied by DOST scientists and engineers.
“They will show us models, but only small ones. It will be a joint development project. DOST will try to develop the technology,” Science Secretary Mario Montejo told The STAR in a phone interview.

“We will start very small. It will be a mini- or micro-hydropower,” Montejo said, noting that the Philippines has great potential for hydropower generation because it has numerous rivers within its territory.

If local scientists and engineers are able to develop micro-hydropower capacities, Montejo said even small rivers that could not be tapped for large-scale power generation may be used to append the limited power supply in small towns.

Last week, the DOST signed a memorandum of agreement with the PNOC-RC for the installation of solar panels as an alternative source of electricity in offices within the DOST compound in Taguig City.

This would reduce the electricity bill by 20 percent, the DOST said.
The DOST added that it would not spend a single centavo for the partnership and would merely provide the rooftop space of its buildings for the solar project.

The length of cooperation between both agencies will run for 15 years, after which ownership of the installed solar panels would be fully transferred to the DOST, Montejo said.

Aside from the DOST buildings, Montejo said the Philippine Science High School, which now has 14 campuses all over the country, would join the project and adopt solar power technology.


{Source}

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SanDisk Extreme PRO 512GB World’s Highest Capacity SD Card

Since SanDisk unveiled its first 512MB SD card in 2003, capacity demands have increased exponentially and the new 512GB SanDisk Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I card represents a 1,000-fold capacity increase in just over a decade, yet maintains the same size footprint. SanDisk’s most powerful and highest capacity SD UHS-I memory card yet, the 512GB card delivers write speeds up to 90 MB/s* and UHS Speed Class 3 (U3) recording speed for high resolution, real-world color and stutter-free 4K Ultra HD video1. Transfer speeds up to 95 MB/s* move data quickly for efficient post-production workflow.

International Broadcasting Convention, AMSTERDAM, Sept. 11, 2014 – SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK), a global leader in flash storage solutions,  launched its 512GB** SanDisk Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I memory card, the world’s highest capacity SD™ card on the market. The new offering is designed to meet the demands of industry professionals who require the most advanced gear available for shooting 4K Ultra High Definition (3840x2160p) video, Full HD video (1920x1080)¹ and high-speed burst mode photography.

The 512GB SanDisk Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I card delivers both the speed and capacity needed to support 4K Ultra HD video capture, enabling users to shoot tremendous amounts of content without disrupting the moment.


The new offering comes with key features designed for pro-level action:

•     Built for and tested in harsh conditions—temperature proof, water proof, shock proof, and x-ray proof2
•     Lifetime limited warranty3
•     RescuePRO® Deluxe data recovery software download offer4, for bringing accidentally deleted images back to life

 The Extreme PRO comes in SDXC format and utilizes UHS-I interface, which is good for up to 104MB/s.

The 512GB Extreme PRO consists of 32 x 128Gbit (16GB) dies. The photo above is from SanDisk's 2014 Investor Day presentation where the company claimed that it has the technology for a 32-die SDXC card and with the Extreme PRO the technology has made it into the retail. Since SanDisk/Toshiba doesn't have a 256Gbit NAND die (nobody has one in mass production yet), the only way to achieve 512GB is through a 32-die stack. SanDisk hasn't specified whether the NAND is MLC or TLC, but given that it is a high-end product I'm guessing it is MLC based.

Stacking more dies on top of each other will always have a negative impact on yield as the wires have to be longer and there are more wires to connect, so the room for errors increases and thus the manufacturing cost goes up as well.

 All capacities are available now and the MSRP for the 512GB model is $800, which is certainly high since 512GB SSDs retail for close to $200.

Source: http://www.sandisk.com/about-sandisk/press-room/press-

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