Posted by Kyle James on Sun, Feb 01, 2009
Move over resistors, inductors, and capacitors a fourth circuit component has finally been introduced. The memristor has been theorized since UC Berkeley Leon Chua brainstormed the idea back in 1971, but until recently it's only been theory. Hewlett-Packard has finally built one and the future of electronics will be unquestionably changed by this discovery.
So what is a memristor?
A memristor is a circuit that remembers how much current has passed through it. Why is this important, well let me tell you. A memristor can save its electronic state even when there is no current flowing through it, aka it's turned off. It can also remember a current flow so it's a little bit more than just a binary one or zero which in electronics is denoted by on or off. Getting any ideas of why this is revolutionary yet?
Why this is a Gamechanger
A circuit that can remember more than one state allows for much more complicated computations first of all. Instead of something on a binary level processing a one or a zero the computational power of having more options provides exponential more options. As we reach the limit of decreasing computation pieces footprints and multicores continue to increase this offers a whole new direction for keeping Moore's Law moving and computational power increasing.
Also memristors make an excellent replacement to flash memory. Think about the advantages of flash memory. You can take it anywhere and quickly access it. Also memristors could be used by computers for instant boot times. No more waiting for a computer to boot up while it reads all the instructions of where it shut down from the hard drive. Everything could be stored in a memristor RAM stat and instantly turned back on exactly where it was turned off. Also they use less power than todays flash memory.
The Future
Right now HP has a shorter goal of 2012 for memristors to start replacing flash memory. After that we are probably looking at 2014-2016 window of memristors begin to replace DRAM and hard disks all together.
Additional Readings about Memristors
Posted by Kyle James on Sun, Nov 23, 2008
So here we go. Let's get this Blackberry Storm review underway. I've had the phone a few days now and spent hours tweaking it and trying to really figure out the system.
Pros
- 8GB microSDHC memory card expandable up to 32GB from the best report I could find, but the largest cards I could find online were 16GB for around $100
- Click Screen and visual indicator about what you are clicking before clicking
- Gorgeous 480x360 screen
- Rock Solid Blackberry OS
- 3G Network Speeds
- Handles Email like a champ
- Beautiful 3.2MP Camera (See a Flickr example) and Video Recorder
- Preconfigured Facebook, Flickr, Instant Messaging clients (Windows Live Messenger, Yahoo! Messenger, Gtalk, AIM, Blackberry Messenger)
- Works as a tethered modem for your laptop (no more airports without WiFi!)
- You can swap out a dead battery
Cons
- NO Wi-Fi WTF
- Typing definitely not as fast as a regular keyboard, not a normal blackberry
- Rather steep learning curve. A few hours of playing is required.
- Minor delays in response time in programs from time to time.
Recommended Apps for the Blackberry Storm
Create your own free RingTones from your MP3 with Audacity. Here are some example RingTones I created.
My Verdict
Blackberry Storm is the hands down the best phone on the Verizon Network and the Verizon Network, in my opinion, has the best wireless coverage in America. Therefore Blackberry Storm = Winner. It might not be an iPhone killer, but it holds it's own. People will be comparing the Storm to the iPhone like they compare the XBox 360 to the PS3 or Windows to OSX. They each do 95% of the same thing just a little different and each have 5% exclusives. That is how I see this battle panning out in the long run.
Some might say the iPhone has a head start, but does it really? RIM and the Blackberry OS have been around for years and it already is integrated in corporate networks around the world. The iPhone does already have it's App Store launched, but Blackberry is in the process of launching their own and they already have hundreds of software applications already that run on the Blackberry OS without the Store.
Bottom line it's the best phone on the best wireless network.
Other Blackberry Reviews