SSDs haven’t found their way into the mass market yet, but a team of Japanese researchers is already trying to make them more worthwhile. The team claims it has developed a technology that helps to shrink the size of SSDs by no less than 90%, makes them cheaper and boosts energy efficiency by 70%.

The research group is comprised of people from a handful of different institutions, i. e. Toshiba or Keio University in Tokyo (where Professor Tadahiro Kuroda is the main person responsible).

The new technology makes it possible to produce 1TB SSDs that are as small as a postage stamp. The current prototype (pictured) is sized just like that and made of 128 NAND flash memory chips and one controller chip. It boasts a data transfer speed of 2Gbps and is based on radio communication, which (according to the researchers) leads to lower production costs.

A practical version is expected to be ready by 2012.

Via The Nikkei [registration required, paid subscription]

My quarry stops and looks around confused, but makes no effort to take cover. So I resume firing until my gun yells “Arrrrrrgh!”, signifying a kill shot. The LED lights on my opponent’s head flash red and he raises his gun into the air. This little tree is proving to be the perfect spot for ambushing attackers. I maybe kind of like pretending to kill people.

——————

Today is BattleSFO, a day-long laser tag capture-the-flag tournament. The field of conflict is a hilly eucalyptus grove in San Bruno, CA, 45 minutes south of San Francisco, in Juniperro State Park. There are about 30 people here broken up into platoons of 5 to 7. Each player is dressed to the nines in varieties of camouflage, some with black war paint under their eyes. They’re not quite as geeky as I had expected them to be. Then again, this isn’t exactly the kind of laser tag everyone played as kids. The gear is bigger and badder, even if the players are not.

Almost the entire crowd of mostly men has never played laser tag outdoors before. For the most part they’re very friendly, though a little shy when I ask them about themselves. One team is made up of four guys who went to college together — an electrical engineer, a carpenter, and an options trader. Another team makes up a local rock band (they seem more interested in drinking beer and running around the woods in battle gear then actually playing to win.) Then there’s a group of three middle-aged Asian gentlemen and one of their sons who get together regularly and compete. They found the game on Meetup.com. Raymond Wan, who convinced the others to join him in the woods, explains that normally they play paintball. “The weapons and radio communication make a big difference,” he says. “I’m a strategy person. This is more fun.”

But among the beginners are some veterans of ray gun war.

The general of these mini-gorilla-armies today is Ziggy Tomcich. Earlier in the morning Tomcich performed his duties as the event’s organizer, scurrying around the picnic table area, AKA central command. He’s sort of a goofy guy, but his excitement was palpable and I couldn’t help but giggle a little bit in anticipation of getting my hands on these fake guns and peering down the sight at some unknowing adversary. As I watched Tomcich untangle headsets, distribute color-coded headbands, and make sure everyone was checking in correctly it was clear that, though his day job is as an audio engineer for the San Francisco Opera, playing laser tag is his true passion in life.

Tomcich has been playing the game since he was a teenager. Running around the Photon indoor arena in Baltimore at 15, Tomcich got hooked. After graduating college he took a job as a designer, marketer, and consultant for several arenas around the country. Then, in 2006, Tomcich took laser tag to the next level. Playing in Armageddon games in the UK and Sweden, where players compete in 3-4 day tournaments, Tomcich played outdoor laser tag for the first time. When he returned to San Francisco, Tomcich realized that the city lacked the kind of gaming he really loved. Being outdoors and playing laser tag was something, he felt, everyone should do.

“To me, laser tag is an extreme sport,” he says. For him, part of the fun and the reason why he started his event website SFLastag.org, is the idea that the game is simple to play and creates a highly social environment. “Unlike most other sports, first-time players in outdoor laser tag can do quite well against seasoned players. It’s more about strategy and tactics.”

Before the first battle “Cypher,” aka Todd Robinson, who co-owns SpecOps Live Play, a central California company that provided the artillery, gave everyone a rundown of their equipment. SpecOps imports their guns from an Australian company called Battlefield Sports, essentially an arms dealer that deals in toys. The company custom builds 10 different models of gaming weapons from sniper rifles to sub machine guns – all equipped with real-world laser sights, speakers for feedback, and sensors to keep track of game stats. Guns can emulate any of 69 models down to recoil, and fire and reload rates and muzzle flashes (LEDs, essentially). SpecOps has brought M4 assault rifles, sub machine guns, carbine rifles, and sniper rifles.

During Robinson’s speech, Tomcich chimed in: “Do not aim your gun at non-laser tag players. These guns don’t exactly look like Hasbro.” For this game every weapon has 99 clips of 50 rounds. Those with smaller guns reload in about 5 seconds, the bigger ones about 7-10 seconds, so Robinson recommended taking cover while reloading. “The ‘bullets’ will bounce off of pavement,” he says. For this game they’ve disabled friendly fire. But when they hit the laser targets velcro’d to heads that belong to enemies, the guns vocalize the action like weapons with built in sports announcers synthesizing current status of prey as “casualty”, “killed” or “already dead”.

As he went through the briefing, the look on Robinson’s face was more serious then anyone in the eucalyptus grove. Listening to him describe each weapon and how they worked made it clear to me that, though some people are here to play a game, for others laser tag is a way of life. In other words, I better take good care of his guns.

Honestly, the weapons are a little intimidating. First off, they’re huge and I’m, well, I’m little. The guns are so heavy, in fact, that I opted for the smallest one I could find. I was also one of two girls on the field. Cypher’s father, who co-owns SpecOps, told me that women actually tend to fair better at this type of laser tag then men. Women, he said, will hang back and think tactically about the game. Guys sometimes have a tendency to run out out commando-style and shoot at everything they see. My tactics were set: I’d wait for my enemies to come to me.

The game starts and I take up position. When I shoot people that happen upon my trap, they stood still, look around, and fired recklessly without making much effort to take cover. Those I shoot over 20 times are killed, sent back to the respawn area (AKA Command Center, AKA picnic tables) where Robinson will reset them, reactivate their ordinance and send them back into the fray.

The battle heats up. Despite my overall aversion in life to things that require running and exercise, the real-world feel of this whole day is bringing up the competitor in me that normally only emerges when I’m shit-talking people during video games. It is unclear who is winning at the moment; the command center tracks the flag movement via new GPS-tracking system and the PC that also handles all the on field comms.

But no one is listening back at HQ. The General Tomcich isn’t attending to the computer anymore. Instead, Tomcich’s standing across from me in the grove defending our Purple flag from capture. “We’re encountering heavy resistance,” we can hear over the radio. “Wear them down,” a player shouts. Minutes later our fellow Purple team members come running through the brush holding a flag. Our opponents are not far behind. But they’re too late. This round is ours.

Erin Biba is a San Francisco-based Correspondent for WIRED Magazine who writes about science, popular culture and beer made from primordial yeast. Follow her on Twitter.

Companies that use limo services a lot could get corporate rate packages. Car service is certainly different from the taxi service. You can easily flag down a taxi on the street but it cannot be done with car service. You can only use the car hire services after appointment with the company that offers the services. You can make the appointment over the phone and then the company lets the driver know through the radio communication. This method is often used for hiring taxis.

Limousine services are more upscale than car services. Limo services are usually hired for the most special occasions and for business purposes. Many areas that are not covered with taxi services use limo hire services. Limo hire services also differ in colors of their vehicles. You can select the limo color that will match your occasion. Taxicabs’ rates are determined by miles while limo hire services fees are determined during the appointment.

Limos hiring corporate packages differ in each company. Most limo services are usually associated with luxury, comfort and wealth. The most popular event for hiring limo service is a wedding. Many people appreciate the comfort and luxury that comes with limos. That is why every individual wishes to ride in a limo on a special occasion at least once.

Most limo services have the ability to customize their vehicles for them to fit in with any occasion. Different occasions use limo services such as birthdays, prom nights, anniversaries, airport transfers and bachelor and bachelorette parties. Limousine will add glamour and style to every occasion. Limos can also accommodate different number of people. So, depending on the number of people you plan on inviting to your event, you can then decide what type of limo to hire. You can also hire a limo service for your airport transfer. It is especially great if you are travelling in a big group and you want to be in a vehicle together on the way to the hotel. Limo services are great for people who are local residents, visitors from different states or even from different countries. In any case tourists will love the limo hiring experience whether it is in the new country or as a regular airport transfer experience.

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Great prices and propositions from the company with long term reputation. Everything you need for limo issues (and other necessary limo details).

The technology known as wireless has much in common with the technology used at the mobile phones. Such technology uses radio waves to carry data from one point to the another. Unfortunately, the only negative side of theeless technology is that the user has all te time to be in the access range. Different wireless LAN use radio communication deviceto connect to the computers of the whole network. These devices are called acess point and are very smalland lightwight. They have also an attached antenna, which sends the data over the airwaves.

Though wireless networks are usually very expensive, but at the same time it is very easy to maintain them. Such kinds of the network decrease the cost required for the setting up a wired network, which means aa usage of a huge amount of the cable through the ceiling and walls in the offfice to each computer. However, the most positive side is that the shifting is much easier with a wireless network. What is more, the productivity is higher when the wireless network is used. Besides, it is more secure, the access is faster, it is easy to set it up, the collaboration is more efficient and companies provide the industry with more solutions. Wireless network guarantee quicker access to the resources of the local network and Internet connections are also much faster. But the most important is that the laptop can be easily taken out, what increases the prodactivity.

One has to realise that the level of the security in the wireless network technology is the same as in the type of the security that exists on wired networks in connection with the security technology that exists. It is known that the type of the wireless network provide quick access to the server. Besides, it is very easy to share the files or exchange e-mails with the others. What is more, it is much easier to contact the company.

However, the user all the time needs a wireless router to connect the wireless network; the computers must be Wi-Fi and LAN capability. A lot of the wireless computers can be used everywhere: in the hotels, restaurants and airports. You do not usually have to pay for the hotspot. When one decided to use the laptops in the public place, it is better to turn off the file sharing system and avoid getting or sending the personal data. It is also recommended to activate a firewall if there is such possibility. It is better to use VPN to connect to work or for school while being in the public place.

Have you heard that you can (without any jokes) obtain free laptop? Find out how to get a free laptop on this site which is reviewing “free laptop” offers.

With Bluetooth technology on the rise, companies have created a Bluetooth transmitter that transfers electrical energy wirelessly into output devices. BT Transmitter enables your devices in a room to connect and talk with each other.

Bluetooth Transmitter comes in built with the microchip that facilitates wireless communication between devices. This microchip can be integrated in phones, iPods and computers which are Bluetooth enabled so that you can send audio to a speaker wirelessly with the help of a Bluetooth transmitter.

Based upon the configuration and range of the Bluetooth transmitter it can connect to other devices . With the help of the Bluetooth transmitter you can integerate your BT enabled phone to your notebook,your stereo system with your headphone and many other combinations.

You can send voice or data message into the device using a bluetooth transmitter. It is done by transmitting the data or audio through a radio communication link using radiowaves that are not very powerful. These waves are then demodulated and sent to the receiver which gives the required output.

For instance if you are sending an audio signal via Bluetooth, it gets converted to a digital signal by an audio decoder. It is then received by the output device in that signal which allows it to play the audio through the speakers.

The BT transmission is very commonly done between iPods and stereo speakers. Cell phones and computers are also used for data transmission. The mechanism of a BT transmitter would by difficult to understand by a layman but it does not matter as long as you know how to connect it and get what you want out of the device.

There are many iPods that are equipped with BT transmitter which makes it easier to connect them to your speakers without the need to install a separate Bluetooth transmitter device.

The audio transmission from an iPod to ear phone can be achieved,if they are enabled with Bluetooth. When it is required to transfer data or audio in to a computer or stereo speakers /earphones, ipods compatibility with BT transmitter makes it easy in using the device.

The function of control buttons is required for conveniently handling the function such as adjusting volumes, changing tracks and pausing or playing in songs is made easy by these ipods. With the BT transmitter enable iPod you don’t require any special setup or installation.

With Bluetooth technology on the rise, companies have created a Bluetooth transmitter that transfers electrical energy wirelessly into output devices. Because of this devices in a room integerate and talk with each other with out any wires.

Bluetooth Transmitter has a microchip that allows wireless communication among devices. This microchip can be integrated in phones, iPods and computers which are Bluetooth enabled so that you can send audio to a speaker wirelessly with the help of a Bluetooth transmitter.

Based upon the configuration and range of the Bluetooth transmitter it can connect to other devices . You can connect your BT enabled phone to a notebook type computer, stereo system to a headphone and other combinations with the help of a Bluetooth transmitter.

You can send voice or data message into the device using a bluetooth transmitter. It is done by transmitting the data or audio through a radio communication link using radiowaves that are not very powerful. These waves are then demodulated and sent to the receiver which gives the required output.

If an audio signal is sent via Bluetooth, an audio decoder will convert it to a digital signal. The out put device allows to play the audio through the speaker after receiving in that signal.

The most common usage of BT transmission is done between iPods and stereo speakers. Cell phones and computers are also used for data transmission. The mechanism of a BT transmitter would by difficult to understand by a layman but it does not matter as long as you know how to connect it and get what you want out of the device.

There are many iPods that are equipped with BT transmitter which makes it easier to connect them to your speakers without the need to install a separate Bluetooth transmitter device.

The audio transmission from an iPod to ear phone can be achieved,if they are enabled with Bluetooth. When it is required to transfer data or audio in to a computer or stereo speakers /earphones, ipods compatibility with BT transmitter makes it easy in using the device.

Plus these iPods also have easy to use control buttons making it convenient to handle functions such as adjusting volume, changing tracks and pausing or playing songs. No special set up or installation is required if BT transmitter enabled ipod is provided.

The URC MX-5000 universal remote looks like a typical universal remote control. But this $1,500 clicker is a rare gem packed with a 2.7-inch haptic feedback touch screen, Wi-Fi, and radio frequency communication. Haptic? Think of it as making onscreen keys behave like real buttons with …