Thursday 12 March 2009, 1:21 PM
A new spin on battery technology
Researchers at the Universties of Miami, Tokyo and Tohoku have discovered a new form of battery. Charged by the application of a very strong magnetic field, the Magnetic Tunnel Junction (MTJ) contains a set of nano-magnets - zones some 5 nanometers across in a zinc-gallium-arsenic-mangnesium matrix - which absorb energy and then release it over time. Although the effect had been predicted, the size and duration of the result was not "We had anticipated the effect, but the device produced a voltage over a hundred times too big and for tens of minutes, rather than for milliseconds as we had expected," said one of the researchers. "That this was counterintuitive is what lead to our theoretical understanding of what was really going on."
The MJT is the top part of the illustration, and is roughly the same diameter as a human hair. Beneath that is a magnified image of the central part of the device: the white spots are atoms, and the circles contain the nano-magnets that store the power. Picture: Phan Nam Hai/University of Miami
I've yet to dig out the paper in Nature to find out how far this is from being useful as a power source - as the current device is a few hundred micrometers across, it's not going to be storing megawatts. But it's the sort of thing that could be created in vast arrays, like any semiconductor device, and if they're getting to the bottom of the underlying physics then the same effect could be used in many different configurations. What may be much more interesting than just power storage is the fact, mentioned almost in passing in the press release, that the current delivered by the MTJ is spin-polarised; the electrons are predominately spinning in one direction.
That's hot news for spintronics, which we've covered previously and which, together with graphene, has the most exciting potential for fundamentally new computational devices. Spin logic could work much faster at much lower power than even today's finest electronics, because it doesn't rely on currents flowing and the consequent unavoidable loss.
And, as the researchers say, if this discovery leads to new insights into basic magnetic theory, there are almost no limits to how profoundly it could affect modern life. Which is a bit over the top - just not that much.
Tuesday 16 December 2008, 5:18 PM
Can you help? ZDNet UK needs some good people
We're putting together our plans for 2009 and beyond, making sure we've got the right ideas and the right approach for the very best coverage of business IT for people who need to know. That's you.
That's why we're organising a series of Superuser evenings in London next month. We want to hear what you have to say about the site, talk to you about our ideas, and make sure we're giving you what you need to do your job better. We can only do that by doing our jobs better, and for that we want to hear what we can do for you.
So if you're an IT professional, in management or at the sharp end of making IT work, and you're as keen on technology as we are, then let's get together. You'll have to be able to get to a central London location for a couple of hours after work under your own steam: there'll be refreshments, a small token of our appreciation, and our unwavering attention.
It won't be dry and formal – that's not our style. But it will be focussed, wide-ranging and informative, for everyone who takes part.
If you're interested, click here to let us know, and we'll take it from there.
Looking forward to seeing you,
Rupert
Friday 19 September 2008, 5:25 PM
Here comes the Small Business blog
There's a lot that IT can do for a small business. It can be a godsend in getting the work done -- think of how mobile tech can keep things moving when you're out on client calls -- and it can also be a real driver of growth.
But it can also throw up a whole new handful of problems. For a start, there's working out what exactly would give you the boost you're looking for. Then there's identifying what software and devices fit those needs best. Vendors are eager to jump in and suggest -- of course they are -- but they're maybe more attuned to bigger enterprises and not as flexible as they could be in recognising the particular demands of small businesses.
Next week we're launching a group blog dedicated to IT for small business, called Small Business blog (it actually took us a while to come up with that name -- don't ask.) We hope that by sharing experiences and ideas, you'll be able to get a better picture of what you need and what you could be doing with tech.
So give us your war stories, share your problems and suggest solutions. Just make sure to check the box that says "Small business blog" when you make your post. It's hard for smaller companies to connect with each other, yet your peers are the best people to give you advice. This is where you can tap into all that knowledge.
Tuesday 16 September 2008, 3:39 PM
You're invited: Breakfast briefing on virtualisation
As promised, ZDNet UK is hosting a get-together where we give you a chance to meet industry experts and get their views on an IT issue of the day. We're inviting folks to come along to a breakfast briefing in London on virtualisation, with a panel discussion, question-and-answer session, the opportunity to network -- and a groaning buffet of food, of course.
Execs from Intel, Dell, VMware and Elinea will talk about whether virtualisation is living up to its promise, and about what can be done to make it more useful for businesses. The discussion will cover issues such as manageability and benchmarking -- and whatever you'd like to bring up.
Anybody who's interested is welcome to come along to the briefing, on 8 October at Andaz in Liverpool Street. Click here to sign up, and I'll see you there.
*UPDATE I'm told that every attendee will get a CERN Supra key ring, containing superconductive material from the Large Hadron Collider. If you want to know what that looks like, take a look at David Meyer's blog
Friday 29 August 2008, 5:02 PM
Come talk to us about datacentre efficiency
I read every post made on ZDNet UK by our members, and every day it's brought home to me what a wealth of expertise there is out there among our users. Of course, it's the cornerstone of the community here--if we pool what we know, and share it, then we'll all benefit.
Now we're building on that to get some members with a shared interest into a room with a couple of ZDNet UK folks and an industry expert. We're inviting people to come have dinner and take part in a roundtable on datacentre energy efficiency, sponsored by Intel, at the Cafe des Amis in Covent Garden on 18 September. I'll be there, along with our illustrious editor Rupert Goodwins, and the special guest will be Dave Needham, head of datacentre strategy in BT's design and operate division. Here's what we'd like to talk about with you:
"Making good use of power management in the datacentre should be a simple decision, with cost savings, environmental credibility and datacentre design wins on the table. The reality is more complex. What do we need and what should we do to realise the potential of this increasingly important aspect of enterprise IT? "
We're starting small, so we've only got 12 spaces available and we're restricting it to IT Directors only. If you'd like to attend, the registration form is here.
And watch this space. We're planning a breakfast event in London on the same lines with more places and less restriction. I'll let you know more about that closer to the date. Until then, I'd like to hear from you: Are events like this a good idea?
Friday 15 August 2008, 6:15 PM
Pick of the week: Under the all-seeing eye
Here's this week's highlights, with Vista again in the crosshairs and what a constabular street stop might look like if we all had to carry ID cards.
RE: Microsoft's Mojave just a desert vista
blog comment Welshtroll can’t think of anything worse than being roped into a test by Microsoft to evaluate its new OS.
IDEAS - Identify, Engage & Assessment Statement
Talkback The latest in the debate between thinkfeeldo and Andrew Meredith on the worth and viability of ID cards.
meebo - Browser based multi-system IM chat
blog J. A. Watson takes a look at Meebo, a browser-based IM chat program that works with AIM, Yahoo, Google Talk and MSN.
Is this the future for legal P2P?
blog A major ISP has come up with a twist on dealing with people who download music--but there's a big catch, David Meyer says.
Mitigating the fallout
Talkback Sun's Web services architect Gerald Beuchelt responds to our report of a DNS-related risk to the company's OpenID service.
Get your Shoes on and go dance with code
blog Rupert Goodwins taps his feet to a tool you can download and use to write an application before breakfast.
Friday 1 August 2008, 5:59 PM
Pick of the week: Linux on the road and Vista at sea
Here's a roundup of great posts from this week, with a street-level look at iPhone's MobileMe, a prediction of choppy waters for Microsoft's Vista charm offensive, and Linux on holiday.
Traveling Success with Linux
blog J.A. Watson fires up Ubuntu, Kubuntu and Mandriva on his laptop on a trip to Piedmont in Italy. You can guess the ending.
Will a recession impact security spending?
blog (ISC)2's John Colley on which way companies will jump when making budget decisions.
Let's get Physical ! (sorry couldn't resist...)
blog Security consultants scare ryanpothecary. Find out why.
Vista vs XP
blog Are Vista sales going as well as Microsoft reports say? ator 1940 wonders.
pjc158, your reply shows how badly you miss the point
talkback Open source provides millions of jobs and cooperative work helped lay the foundations of today's industry, 1000132644 argues.
RE:Microsoft's pre-modern message puts a new face on Vista
blog comment Xwindowsjunkie believes that Microsoft could win a lot of friends, if only it would abandon its OS strategy.
MobileMe
member review David Long says that Apple expects users to do their beta testing for them again.
Hush hush
review Remote worker Jake Rayson has some tips on protecting data on an Ubuntu system.
Friday 11 July 2008, 6:15 PM
ZDNet UK blogger Adrian makes awards shortlist
The people have spoken. Our app dev blogger extraordinaire, Adrian Bridgwater, has reached the final shortlist of the Computer Weekly IT Blog Awards 08. We're very happy that the (ahem! rival) publication has recognised Adrian's work as among the "pick of this year's must-read blogs for IT professionals in the UK".
Adrian is one of ZDNet UK's Core Techs expert bloggers, and over the months he's kept his eye on emerging techniques, the daily demands and the big industry players in applications development. He's travelled the world--including VMWorld--to report back from events such as the IBM Rational Software Developer Conference for people who couldn't get there. And his posts often have a trademark quirk to them--who could forget "Seven reasons to love developers on Valentine's Day"?
So if you enjoy his blogs, why not take a moment to cast a vote for Adrian? He's up for an award in the Programming and technical blogs category. We wish him good luck.
Thursday 26 June 2008, 11:26 AM
ZDNet.co.uk is upwardly mobile
ZDNet.co.uk has updated its mobile site to make it even easier to find the latest tech news, blogs, reviews, and features as well as comment from other IT professionals on the hottest issues.
To access the service, text ZDNET to 63320 (standard operator data charges may apply) and you'll be texted a link to click on, or type www.zdnetuk.mobi into your mobile web browser.
Monday 2 June 2008, 11:45 AM
Join the server discussion on Uptime
Today we're launching a new group blog dedicated to servers--those essential but maybe unglamourous workhorses of the enterprise. It's called Uptime and you can find it here. (We reluctantly rejected 'Farmers Weekly' as someone had already nabbed that title...)
We're sure that many of you are dealing with server management as a part of your job, that you are thinking hard about which trends you need to keep on top of, and that you'd like to know what others are thinking. The Uptime blog is a place to share those thoughts and decisions, whether you're running two machines or two thousand.
We got a snapshot of what's going on in server rooms in a couple of recent ZDNet UK surveys — take a look and see what you make of the results. Make a blog post, and tick the checkbox for the Uptime server management blog. The post will appear in the group blog as well as in your personal blog.
To get the ball rolling, we'll give an iPod to the member who makes the most useful contribution in the first few weeks. That's not bad, is it?
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