Alphabet’s secretive research lab X is developing a new way to store renewable energy that otherwise might be wasted — by using salt and antifreeze, reports Bloomberg. Researchers are developing a system that can be located anywhere, has the potential to last longer than lithium-ion batteries, and competes on price with new hydroelectric plants and other energy storage methods. "If the moonshot factory gives up on a big, important problem like climate change, then maybe it will never get solved," Obi Felten, a director at X told Bloomberg. "If we do start solving it, there are trillions and trillions of dollars in market opportunity." The project is codenamed “Malta,” but it isn’t an official X project yet, so it doesn’t currently enjoy the benefits of a full-blown undertaking like Project Loon. The Malta team is currently working on an early test prototype in Silicon Valley. In renderings cited by Bloomberg, the system features four cylindrical … [Read more...] about Alphabet could soon be competing with Tesla in renewable energy storage
Storage
Microsoft drops Surface Book 2 price to $1,199 with less storage
Microsoft introduced a new Surface Laptop model earlier today to bring its pricing down, and now the company is doing the same to its new Surface Book 2. While the Surface Book 2 only launched in November, the new base model price is $1,199 for the 13.5-inch version. That includes an Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB of storage. The previous cheapest Surface Book 2 was $1,499 with more storage (256GB), so Microsoft has cut some space to bring the price down by $300. Microsoft has consistently marketed the Surface Book 2 as a powerful laptop, and 128GB of storage will mean some people will have to consider external storage solutions for photo or video editing tasks. Still, a $300 saving for less storage could appeal to a lot more people now. One of the big criticisms of Microsoft’s recent Surface devices has been price, and the company is now making its Surface Laptop and Surface Book 2 more affordable if you’re willing to compromise on specs. No changes are … [Read more...] about Microsoft drops Surface Book 2 price to $1,199 with less storage
Add 6TB of storage and a USB hub to your desktop for $114.99
CNET's Cheapskate scours the web for great deals on PCs, phones, gadgets and much more. Questions about the Cheapskate blog? Find the answers on our FAQ page. Find more great buys on the CNET Deals page and follow the Cheapskate on Facebook and Twitter!"Oh, boy, here goes Rick again, telling crazy stories about what life was like back in his day...."Back in my day, when I worked for a mail-order computer company (which was a thing), it was a pretty big deal when you could buy a 250MB internal hard drive for $250.That's megabytes, people. For those unacquainted with the measurement, 250MB is equivalent to one-fourth of a gigabyte. Today, for a limited time and while supplies last, Amazon has the Seagate Backup Plus Hub 6TB external USB 3.0 hard drive for $114.99 shipped. That's terabytes, people.That. Is. Incredible.Six terabytes for $115! (It's regularly $200, and priced at $160 most other places.) Personally, I don't know what a person does with that much space, though … [Read more...] about Add 6TB of storage and a USB hub to your desktop for $114.99
Samsung begins mass production of 256GB embedded Universal Flash Storage for automotive applications
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced that it has begun mass production of a 256-gigabyte (GB) embedded Universal Flash Storage (eUFS) solution with advanced features based on automotive specifications from the JEDEC UFS 3.0 standard, for the first time in the industry.Following the memory breakthrough of the automotive industry’s first 128GB eUFS in September, 2017, Samsung’s automotive 256GB eUFS is now being shipped to automotive manufacturers preparing the market for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), next-generation infotainment systems and new-age dashboards in luxury vehicles.As thermal management is crucial for automotive memory applications, Samsung’s 256GB eUFS extends the temperature range to between -40°C and 105°C for both operational and power-saving modes. Warranties for conventional embedded multimedia card (eMMC) 5.1 solutions generally cover -25°C to 85°C for vehicles in operation and -40°C to 85°C when … [Read more...] about Samsung begins mass production of 256GB embedded Universal Flash Storage for automotive applications
Ultra-thin memory storage device paves way for more powerful computing
Engineers worldwide have been developing alternative ways to provide greater memory storage capacity on even smaller computer chips. Previous research into two-dimensional atomic sheets for memory storage has failed to uncover their potential — until now.A team of electrical engineers at The University of Texas at Austin, in collaboration with Peking University scientists, has developed the thinnest memory storage device with dense memory capacity, paving the way for faster, smaller and smarter computer chips for everything from consumer electronics to big data to brain-inspired computing.“For a long time, the consensus was that it wasn’t possible to make memory devices from materials that were only one atomic layer thick,” said Deji Akinwande, associate professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “With our new ‘atomristors,’ we have shown it is indeed possible.”Made from 2-D … [Read more...] about Ultra-thin memory storage device paves way for more powerful computing