Miniature Tech -- Part 3

Even in complex areas such as DNA, nano technology is paving the way for what could become a revolutionary way to look at health care whereby DNA might soon be replicated in the laoratory and then implanted into a human as if it were always there. The first stages of rebuilding DNA are described in a paper by Shawn Douglas (titled "Self-assembly of DNA into nanoscale three-dimensional shapes") and his colleagues at William Shih’s lab.

It will be interesting to see what is put forth next in this new world of nanotechnology.

Miniature Tech Part 2

As promised, this is part 2 of a series of posts about technology in computing getting smaller and smaller. If you thought the Sony Vaio P was small, wait 'till you hear about this. Imagine a full fledged computer on your hand. I'm not talking about smart phones or the iPhone, but rather, a complete computer, with all the graphics power and speed of a desktop, into the palm of your hand. Imagine being able to carry around your computer in your wallet (hopefully you don't sit on it).

A company called Toradex has made that happen with their credit-card sized motherboards where most of the contents of a full sized motherboard are placed onto a board the size of a regular credit card. All this became possible only after Intel released their Atom processor and it looks like that tiny chip is revoluionizing the mobile computing industry. With all the regular amenities one would expect on a general motherboard, including usb ports, gigabit ethernet, sound card, and video card support, we could be looking at a motherboard that can be fitted almost anywhere.

If that wasn't reason enough to check out what the future holds in store for us, then maybe this will tickle your fancy. Its not just a plug that happens to have no wires. It is a plug-in computer that needs no wires. The concept behind this little magic box is that you can have an entire server that you can plug into a wall socket and be ready to receive whatever content is in it. A basic operating system, linked to solid state storage and a wireless crad all housed in the socket will make this the ideal media center service there is.

In addition, the company, Marvel electronics is touting this device to be green compliant since it will use as little as 5 watts of power.

The future of computing looks promising to say the least and it will only be a matter of time before some new invention comes along that revolutionizes the industry that the Intel Atom chip has done. You could almost say that now smaller is better.