Fastest magnetic read/write ever is incredibly energy efficient

Tiny magnets in transparent garnet can be read and written with light.

Enlarge / Magnets, how do they work? (credit: Paul Downey (Flickr))

Magnetic media, in the form of disk and tape drives, has been the dominant way of storing bits. But the speed and low power of flash memory has been displacing it from consumer systems, and various forms of long-term memory are in development that are even faster. But a new paper suggests that magnetic media may still be competitive—you just have to stop reading and writing it with magnets.

Using a specific form of garnet and some ultrafast laser pulses, a Dutch-Polish team of researchers performed what they suspect is the fastest read/write of magnetic media ever. And, for good measure, the process was extremely energy efficient.

Heat is actually a problem for both hard drives and flash. Although it doesn't create a problem in most consumer systems, dealing with excess heat is a major issue in data centers. The problem, according to the authors of the new paper, is one of scale. While we can calculate the minimum energy needed to flip a magnetic bit, we use much more than that to ensure that every bit gets written as intended. Eight orders of magnitude more, in fact. Most of that excess energy ends up dissipating into the environment, where it ends up as heat.

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Privatsphäre: Verschlüsselter E-Mail-Dienst Lavabit kommt wieder

Verschlüsselt kommunizieren, und das noch besser als zuvor: Der 2013 geschlossene E-Mail-Dienst Lavabit ist wieder verfügbar – am Tag der Amtseinführung von US-Präsident Donald Trump. Lavabit soll die Privatsphäre seiner Nutzer noch besser schützen. (Lavabit, E-Mail)

Verschlüsselt kommunizieren, und das noch besser als zuvor: Der 2013 geschlossene E-Mail-Dienst Lavabit ist wieder verfügbar - am Tag der Amtseinführung von US-Präsident Donald Trump. Lavabit soll die Privatsphäre seiner Nutzer noch besser schützen. (Lavabit, E-Mail)

ZTE considers spec bump for “Hawkeye” eye-tracking phone following lukewarm Kickstarter performance

ZTE considers spec bump for “Hawkeye” eye-tracking phone following lukewarm Kickstarter performance

It’s hard to make a phone that truly stands out from all the other rectangular slabs of glass and metal (or plastic). But ZTE’s Hawkeye phone certainly fits the bill. It’s a phone with an adhesive back and eye-tracking technology that allows you to scroll through web pages and apps without touching the device.

The ZTE Hawkeye concept came from a contest last year, where ZTE asked people to come up with unusual ideas for new products and then vote on their favorites.

Continue reading ZTE considers spec bump for “Hawkeye” eye-tracking phone following lukewarm Kickstarter performance at Liliputing.

ZTE considers spec bump for “Hawkeye” eye-tracking phone following lukewarm Kickstarter performance

It’s hard to make a phone that truly stands out from all the other rectangular slabs of glass and metal (or plastic). But ZTE’s Hawkeye phone certainly fits the bill. It’s a phone with an adhesive back and eye-tracking technology that allows you to scroll through web pages and apps without touching the device.

The ZTE Hawkeye concept came from a contest last year, where ZTE asked people to come up with unusual ideas for new products and then vote on their favorites.

Continue reading ZTE considers spec bump for “Hawkeye” eye-tracking phone following lukewarm Kickstarter performance at Liliputing.

A really obscure forgotten audio format: “Talking rubber”

Iron oxide was mixed with rubber and molded into a 1/8″ band that could be reused.

“Hi, you’ve reached Eran. Please leave a message, and I’ll get back to you.”

That’s my voicemail message on my cell phone that I recorded in high school and can’t figure out how to change. Although I’m still a loyal proponent of phone calls themselves, I have to admit, I probably don’t check my voicemail as much as I should.

And it’s not just me. As young people shy away from leaving voice messages when an e-mail or text message can instantly reach business colleagues, we may have moved beyond the simple answering machine.

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Potus: Donald Trump übernimmt präsidiales Twitter-Konto

Amtsübergabe auch im Internet: Donald Trump hat die offiziellen Social-Media-Konten des US-Präsidenten mit einer leeren Timeline übernommen. Die Tweets der Obamas werden archiviert. (Donald Trump, Soziales Netz)

Amtsübergabe auch im Internet: Donald Trump hat die offiziellen Social-Media-Konten des US-Präsidenten mit einer leeren Timeline übernommen. Die Tweets der Obamas werden archiviert. (Donald Trump, Soziales Netz)

UK Police Threats Fail to ‘Impress’ Pirate Site Operator

City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit is targeting online piracy on multiple fronts. Besides pressing advertisers and hosting companies, pirate site owners are also being contacted directly. This week some fresh letters were sent out, urging operators to shut down or go legit. However, not all recipients are impressed by the latest enforcement action.

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

city-pipcuFor most police departments, online piracy has no priority, but in recent years City of London Police have made copyright infringement one of their main targets.

In September 2013, the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) was founded, marking the start of a broad enforcement campaign to decrease traffic to online pirate sites.

To achieve this goal PIPCU has targeted hosting services, advertisers and payment processors, asking them to cut ties with allegedly infringing sites. In addition, police also sent out warning letters to pirate site owners directly, asking them to go legit or shut down.

In recent years, hundreds of sites have been approached. This week it appears that another batch of letters was sent out which, compared to earlier versions, are extended with added references to UK legislation and increased threats.

One of the websites that was targeted is DNJ.to (DailyNewJams), a music portal that allows users to stream and download a wide variety of tracks.

In their letter, PIPCU accuses the site of facilitating copyright infringement. They state that the operator may be liable to prosecution for conspiracy to defraud, offences under the Fraud Act, the Copyright, Design & Patents Act, as well as the Serious Crime Act.

“Should a conviction be brought for the above offences, UK courts may impose sentences of imprisonment and/or fines,” the letter reads, adding that “PIPCU has criminal and civil powers in UK law to seize money, belongings and any property in connection with these offences.”

Part of PIPCU’s recent letter

pipcu2017

The new letter, which comes in the form of a flashy PDF, also references a recent ruling from the European Court of Justice, which clarified that knowingly linking to infringing material for profit is against the law.

PIPCU suggests that DNJ.to is making copyright-infringing material available with a profit motive, and urges the site to stop doing so. If no action is taken in a few weeks, they may become subject to various enforcement efforts.

“If no contact is made before 3rd February 2017, then you and/or the DNJ.TO website may face further police action. This may include steps to disrupt revenue made from advertisements and/or payment services; alongside internet infrastructure disruption,” PIPCU writes.

TorrentFreak spoke to one of the people behind DNJ.to, who doesn’t appear to be impressed by the threatening language. Since the site has no direct ties with the UK, they plan to disregard the letter.

“They accuse us of breaking the UK Law but we have no relation to the UK nor do any of us live there. We don’t even try to actively drive UK traffic to the blog. In fact we completely don’t care about the UK,” DNJ.to’s operator says.

The various enforcement threats also fail to make an impact. While PIPCU had some success in convincing advertising networks to ban ‘pirate’ sites, there are many lined up who are still eager to take the traffic.

Similarly, there are also plenty of webhosting providers who are more than happy to service these type of sites as long as they pay, despite the enforcement efforts from PIPCU and others.

“It’s not like they haven’t already been trying this for years. Is it working? Nope, its not. Did they ever take a look how many new advertising companies are opening every month? They would be happy if PIPCU would close some of the big [advertising networks].

“We get like five advertising offers a week from ad networks who beg us to join them. There are tons of hosting providers who absolutely don’t care about so-called ‘copyright infringement’,” DNJ.to’s operator adds.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that the letters are entirely useless.

It’s certainly possible that some smaller sites that will fold when facing PIPCU’s strong language. However, it’s clear that DNJ.to plans to keep its site running as usual.

A full copy of PIPCU’s letter is available here (pdf).

Source: TF, for the latest info on copyright, file-sharing, torrent sites and ANONYMOUS VPN services.

Die Woche im Video: B/ow the Wh:st/e!

Ein Whistleblower begnadigt, einer länger im Exil – und ein Australier, der Aufmerksamkeit sucht. Dazu fröhliche Konsolenspieler mit neuem Nintendo-Spielzeug und aus Mozilla wird Moz://a. Sieben Tage und viele Meldungen im Überblick. (Golem-Wochenrückblick, Internet)

Ein Whistleblower begnadigt, einer länger im Exil - und ein Australier, der Aufmerksamkeit sucht. Dazu fröhliche Konsolenspieler mit neuem Nintendo-Spielzeug und aus Mozilla wird Moz://a. Sieben Tage und viele Meldungen im Überblick. (Golem-Wochenrückblick, Internet)

CyanogenMod successor LineageOS to support 80+ devices with weekly releases

CyanogenMod successor LineageOS to support 80+ devices with weekly releases

The former developers of CyanogenMod are getting ready to start releasing their new Android-based operating system called LineageOS. There are already a number of unofficial builds, and more than 50,000 devices are running some of those builds.

But soon you’ll be able to get official versions of LineageOS for more than 80 different phones and other devices, with updates coming about once a week.

The developers suggest performing a clean install, which means wiping data on your device before loading LineageOS.

Continue reading CyanogenMod successor LineageOS to support 80+ devices with weekly releases at Liliputing.

CyanogenMod successor LineageOS to support 80+ devices with weekly releases

The former developers of CyanogenMod are getting ready to start releasing their new Android-based operating system called LineageOS. There are already a number of unofficial builds, and more than 50,000 devices are running some of those builds.

But soon you’ll be able to get official versions of LineageOS for more than 80 different phones and other devices, with updates coming about once a week.

The developers suggest performing a clean install, which means wiping data on your device before loading LineageOS.

Continue reading CyanogenMod successor LineageOS to support 80+ devices with weekly releases at Liliputing.

Instant Tethering comes to Android, shares internet connection between devices

Instant Tethering comes to Android, shares internet connection between devices

Android has a baked-in tethering feature for a while, allowing you to use your phone as a WiFi hotspot so you can use your mobile data with your laptop, tablet, or other devices. But you have to set up a hotspot and connect to it manually, and who has time for that?

Now Google is starting to roll out a simpler solution called “Instant Tethering.”

First spotted by Android Police, Instant Tethering allows any device connected to your Google account to share its cellular connection or look for cellular connections on other devices.

Continue reading Instant Tethering comes to Android, shares internet connection between devices at Liliputing.

Instant Tethering comes to Android, shares internet connection between devices

Android has a baked-in tethering feature for a while, allowing you to use your phone as a WiFi hotspot so you can use your mobile data with your laptop, tablet, or other devices. But you have to set up a hotspot and connect to it manually, and who has time for that?

Now Google is starting to roll out a simpler solution called “Instant Tethering.”

First spotted by Android Police, Instant Tethering allows any device connected to your Google account to share its cellular connection or look for cellular connections on other devices.

Continue reading Instant Tethering comes to Android, shares internet connection between devices at Liliputing.