Future Computers

-> Graphite Computers

A researcher in the University of Newcastle has found that elecctrons travel a thousand times faster over the surface of a single molecule thick layer of graphite than it does on pure silicon which is the standard for current day motherboards. This will essentially allow all data to flow and be processed at a speed a thousand times faster than it is in most computers today.
Anyone can extract a single molecule thick layer of graphite buy wrapping sticky tape over a pencil tip and
then unwrapping it. Also, as silicon though it is abundant in supply but difficult and expensive to purify, a shift to graphite as the raw material, prices for computers whould drop phenomenally. So, next time you shell out to buy a 2400GHZ processor, it will come at a price lower than most 2.4GHz processors today.

-> Salt Hard Drives

Current day hard drives have hit the maximum capacity at 1TB per platter. This is because data storage relies on unevenly distributed cluster nanoscopic magnetic grains each about seven nanometers wide. Dr. Joel Yang of the Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE) has discovered that by integrating
common table salt (NaCl) into the platters, a single bit of data can be stores on a single 10 nanometer grain of salt thereby increasing potential storage to 3.3TB/square inch bringing the total platter capacity upto 18TB. Dr. Yang's research aims at improving upon the current achievements and increasing platter capacities first up to 6TB/square inch and then finally 10TB/square inch bringing the individual total platter capacity upto 54TB!

-> Quantam Computing

Every time we hear the word "quantam" our ears perk up. Chances are "quantam"-anything is related either to extremely complex science which we will all struggle to understand (except a few superhuman intellects out there) or, it's related to some extremely awesome science fiction. In my opinion, good science fiction is the second best thing to good science.
Quantam computer however, is definitely a science and a highly complex one at that. In this, direct use is made of quantum mechanical phenomena, such as superposition and entanglement, to perform operations on data. Quantum computers are different from traditional computers based on transistors. The basic principle behind quantum computation is that quantum properties can be used to represent data and perform operations on these data.The field of quantum computing was first introduced by Richard Feynman in 1982.

Although quantum computing is still in its infancy, experiments have been carried out in which quantum computational operations were executed on a very small number of qubits (quantum bits). Both practical and theoretical research continues, and many national government and military funding agencies support quantum computing research to develop quantum computers for both civilian and national security purposes, such as cryptanalysis.

Large-scale quantum computers could be able to solve certain problems much faster than any classical computer by using the best currently known algorithms, like integer factorization using Shor's algorithm or the simulation of quantum many-body systems. There exist quantum algorithms, such as Simon's algorithm, which run faster than any possible probabilistic classical algorithm. Given unlimited resources, a classical computer can simulate an arbitrary quantum algorithm so quantum computation does not violate the Church–Turing thesis. However, in practice infinite resources are never available and the computational basis of 500 qubits, for example, would already be too large to be represented on a classical computer because it would require 2500 complex values to be stored. Nielsen and Chuang point out that "Trying to store all these complex numbers would not be possible on any conceivable classical computer."

-> Faster RAM

Everybody likes having as much RAM as possible and for good reason too. However, having more is not much good, if it is not fast enough. For example, 8 gigs of 133MHz RAM will be beaten into the dust by 4GB DDR3 RAM at 1333MHz. If recent reports are to be believed, then by this time next year, we'll al be looking at RAM working at 2333MHz or higher which is way faster than the fastest commercially availale RAM today.

-> Artificial Neural Networking

Ever wonder why our brains work faster than supercomputers. For example, if I take an average gaming rig and my brain and observe them, the computer can run a 3.5GHz processor and my brain still beats it working at a paltry 100MHz. The gaming rig can have 4TB of internal memory while my brain has only about 3TB (approximate), so why is it that my brain can achieve much greater things than a deaf and dumb computer? Well, in the case of the brain each and every memory element is also a processing element and each element is interconnected allowing data to be accessed, passed and processed at phenomenal speeds. On the other hand, computers have to send data all over the place to get stuff done. They have internal memory and RAM, processors, motherboards and what not allowing bottlenecks to be created quite easily. Also, only a limited number of paths for the passing of data exist, whereas in the average human brain (and I assure you, my brains is VERY average), there exists millions of paths for the passing of data.
The solution lies in artificial neural networks. This is a paradigm which attempts to replicate biological neural networks. First created in Holland in 1975, currently much work is being done in the software application of artificial neural networks. Things such as data mining, pattern recognition, density function analysis, calculation of Gaussian functions, etc. is bringing forth programs with capabillities such as voice, handwriting and fingerprint recognition (e.g Apple Siri) and more complex ones which take on nearly AI (Artificial Intelligence) capabilities.


I hope you all enjoyed this article.

These are some of the innovations that embody the near future of computers world-wide.

A Reservoir of Humour : Santa Claus and the Great Hydrocarbon Conspiracy

[Humour is a pre-requisite to health. If you're not happy, you're not healthy. To ensure that me and my readers live a long and healthy life, here is a piece that I hope will tickle your funny bone.]

[Disclaimer : I am an X-Files fan. Always have been. So weird conspiracies are like music to my ears! Long live Mulder and Scully!]

From time unknown the tradition of the celebration of Christmas is marked by the presence of a strange yet highly jolly old man. Yes, I'm talking about Santa Claus. In most western superpowers, children are taught to love, respect and trust this figure from a very tender age. No matter which way the economy turns, Santa Claus remains a constant in the lives and hearts of people world-wide. However, what no one suspects is that Santa Claus is at the centre of a diabolical scheme to premanently shift the focus of the power balance in the favour of a select few. There is after all, a very good reason why he is jolly. Today (or tonight, depending on your time zone), I will reveal to you the machinations behind this arctic megalomaniac.

Over the years, the biggest, most powerful companies in the world have always been energy companies. In older times, it was the coal companies and now it is the oil companies. These companies have always had the need to deal with people of disrepute to ensure that their position at the top of the power ladder remain a constant while still appearing to be legitimate businessmen. The man who makes it all possible, Santa Claus. What is the modus oeperandi of this criminal mastermind you ask? Read on, and all will be revealed......

Santa Claus begins to scout out all the bad children from early on. Every Christmas, he sends them coal to make them associate themselves with the hydrocarbon industry. So, through this yearly conditioning, he has a group of people who know themselves to be 'bad' entering the petroleum industry every year. After all, the petroleum industry does have a lot of dirty work to be done. Also, it might be noted that Santa Claus preys on religious association. As he could not be associated to any religion in communist Russia, Santa Claus takes on the state - approved avatar of "Father Frost" in Russia. He extended his operations there sometime after large deposits of natural gas was found there which turned out to be largest deposit of natural gas in the entire world! By keeping himself out of the religions thriving in the middle east, he ensures that he does not have to send their children any coal. So, every 26th December, the middle east nations wake up to find that their coal reserves have been significantly depleted and this coal has already been laundered all the way to European and American energy superpowers. Now, the children who have no actual use for the coal they receive, readily sell them at low rates to hydrocarbon companies. Every winter, like clockwork, these nations which usually have extremely cold winters suddenly have a surplus of fuel to burn allowing them to make large profits from combined cycle power plant operation. The companies not only make a huge profit, but also get around all the energy trade embargoes. This entire smuggling operation is remotely controlled from Santa Claus's communications nerve - centre hidden somewhere near the Arctic reaches of the North Pole. This is because the electrical disturbance from the Aurora Borealis will foil any attempt to trace his command - centre.

So, where does all this profit go? Well, the money to buy presents for all the good kids in the world has to come from somewhere, right ? These good kids grow up unaware of the oil industry and become upstanding members of society. After all, everyone can't be 'in' on how things work. Santa Claus's 'sleigh' large enough to carry enough presents for every good child in the world indicates the presence of one or more massive oil tankers directly under his operation which are guided along ocean routes by ten tug-boats. The tug - boats are present so that the tanker itself can switch off its massive turbines if required and fool sonar.

The full extent of Santa Claus's diabolical plans are unknown to one and all including me unfortunately. However, I think I can make a good guess. With the rapidly increasing American debt to foreign economies, America will soon have to dig into their strategic oil reserves to pay off the debt with the accrued interest. However, if the gulf countries are still flooding the market with high quality crude at that time, America will get only a fraction of the price for its crude as compared to if the OPEC (Oil and Petroleum Exporting Countries) stopped supplying the global oil market. So, in an effort to decrease the reserves of OPEC and simultaneously increase the American big oil companies reserves, Santa Claus smuggles oil from one country to another. Santa Claus may not have any vested interest in saving the American economy in particular, however, if the American economy goes down, a number of multinational oil companies go down with it. These very companies are the lifelines on which Santa Claus bases his entire operations. He cannot risk them suffering such a fatal blow.

So, at the end of the day, Santa Claus is happy because he's making huge profits, the oil companies are happy because they are making huge profits, the Gulf is happy because.......come to think of it, I don't know why they're happy. Maybe its because they still have most of the oil in the world and with it a huge load of money. Or, maybe they're in the process of cutting a back - door deal with Santa Claus in which he will defect over to their side. Who knows? The truth is out there!

A Reservoir of Humour

[Written and presented by Jyotishka Misra in Soul Pepper's "Proscenium 2011" under the category of 'Stand-Up Comedy'.]
[Disclaimer : The author will not be held responsible, read at your own risk as this piece may contain views and present ideas in a manner that IS NOT savory to some people. To those people, you have my utmost apologies but you are way too much fun not to make jokes out of. Embrace it and learn to live with it.]

Good evening everyone, I am a Bengali. Many people believe that the renaming of West Bengal as Poshchim Bongo makes it more Indian somehow. However, I resent this change because it essentially turns me into an African drum. I am now a Bongo!

The world is going crazy. The best rapper is a white guy, the best golfer is a black guy and the tallest NBA player is Chinese. Let me tell you, there is a little bit of insanity in all of us. I’m Schizophrenic, and so am I! Truth is, we don’t exactly suffer from insanity, we enjoy every minute of it. Recently, we even went to the National Schizophrenic’s Convention, anybody who was everybody was there. There were some cases where the different personalities of the same person were all following different religions and that’s when things really start getting messed up. Thank god I’m an atheist.

Do you want to know what’s really insane ? Vegetarianism. I think that the human race is going backward. We did not fight our way up the food chain just to eat the stuff at the bottom. If you really like animals so much, eat them. It gives them a quick merciful death. Instead, you guys are starving them slowly by eating up their food !

Anyway, other than being a dedicated non-vegetarian, I’m a petroleum engineer. One of the most important parts of petroleum engineering is geology. Now, I’ve met quite a number of geologists in my time and the most important thing that I learnt is; whatever you do, never, ever lend a geologist money. He may say that he’ll return it after a short time, but remember, a geologist thinks in the geological time scale. A few millions years is nothing to him. Some people keep on mixing up geologists and archaeologists. A Geologist has the safest job in the world. If he’s wrong, it’ll take a couple million years of tectonic movements to prove it. On the other hand, an archaeologists, well his career always lies in ruins.

Scientists never stop thinking scientifically. If you go up to a physicist and ask him “Hey, what’s new?” he’ll probably say “New is one of the Greek alphabet and is used as symbol of mechanical efficiency”. No matter what, you can never isolate the science from a scientist. Even if a scientist is reading a Harry Potter book, they’ll be thinking about corrosion chemistry because both are about sacrificial protection. The worst thing possible is a drunk scientist. You should never drink and derive. It’ll end up as a summation of disaster.

I believe that the greatest engineering achievement till date is the computer. One of the things which fascinates me is artificial intelligences working on the human genome project. They are essentially robots designing new and improved human beings. Pretty soon, we’ll have Human version 2.0 and then Apple will release their own i-man. Many people believe that if artificial intelligences became any more human – like, they would try to take over the world. I just think that they would get lazy just like us and refuse to live up to their true potential. What we do by procrastination, they will do through processor latencies.

Some people prefer windows, some Linux and yet some others go for a Mac. They may all have great GUI support, but my favourite “Point-and-Click” device will always remain an AK-47 !

Thank you and Good night.

Demise of a Legend

All those who know me will automatically tell you that I am NOT an Apple-maniac. Quite the opposite really, I have always held this modern day computer elitist oligarchy at an arm's  length and looked upon their products with unfeigned disdain. I never have and never will own an Apple product as I have always found them to be lacking in power. Yes, sure they look good, but being the staunch supporter I am of the open - source revolution, I can never bring myself to align with the Apple overlords. Yet, now that Steve Jobs has left the earthly plane and many open - source fanatics the world over are celebrating his demise, I can't help but acknowledge that he was a great man who brought about a revolution worth noting. A digital toast if you will to Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak who forever changed the modern - day computer bringing to us the first personal computers and the first GUI based computers mice and all.

May rest in the peace he so desperately sought while still attached to the mortal coil.

He truly was a legend both in life and now in death who championed the need for aesthetically pleasing clutter - free electronics with an easy to use interface, which at some point of time far in the past also held cutting edge technology backed up with an OS to be proud of.