Computer Technology Support

One company that’s been a big name in video games for years is Nintendo. In many ways Nintendo revived interest in video game systems that can be hooked up to televisions (as opposed to video games played on home computers). It put out a number of good systems in the late eighties and throughout the nineties.

The Nintendo GameCube is the current iteration of this long line of video game platforms, but unfortunately it doesn’t really measure up compared to other modern video game platforms like the new Sony PlayStation 3, and Microsoft’s Xbox 360. For example the GameCube has a processor with a speed of 485 Megahertz while the PlayStation 3 has a central processor with a clock speed of 3.2 Gigahertz which controls eight other processors, and the Xbox 360 has three processors running at 3.2 Gigahertz each! The differences in memory are just as large with the GameCube having a system memory of 40 Megabytes, while the Xbox 360 has 512 Megabytes of RAM. One thing that might offset the GameCubes slow processor and small memory to some extent is the fact that the processor itself is a 128 bit unit.

The GameCube also lacks a hard drive which both the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 feature. While apparent deficiencies in hardware can be made up for to some extent by the unique hardware architectures and software, the lack of a hard drive put the GameCube at a stark disadvantage because of the way being able to store various data allows the user of a video game platform to customize the video gaming experience. For example the Xbox 360 allows users to create their own sound tracks to go along with games and then store that music on the hard drive. Apparently with the GameCube, there isn’t that option, so the user is stuck with whatever sound comes with the software.

The GameCube does have a decent amount of networking capability. Besides the ability to support four players on a single unit, the GamCube has an optional 56 Kbps modem adapter and a separate broadband adapter. The broadband adapter allows for playing over DSL and cable modems, with Local Area Network play an option on some game titles. It also has parallel and serial ports as well as two Digicard ports and one Type III PCMCIA expansion slot.

Another thing that puts the GameCube at a huge disadvantage when compared to the PS3 and the Xbox 360 is the fact that it’s disk drive is designed for Nintendo’s proprietary eight centimeter mini DVD. Each mini DVD only holds 1.5 Gigabytes of data which is severely limited compared to the Blu-ray drive that comes on the PS3 which can access discs holding 54 Gigabytes and the Xbox 360’s optional HD-DVD drive which can access discs holding 30 Gigabytes worth of data.

The fact that the disk drive only takes the eight centimeter discs also means that the GameCube 360 is not a multifunctional platform the way the other systems are. The inability of this platform to play CD’s DVD’s and other media limits it to the realm of strictly being a video game platform while the PS3 and Xbox 360 are also CD and DVD players.

In all, while the Nintendo GameCube can’t really compete with the other video gaming platforms on the market today, it seems to serve well as strictly a video gaming device.

J. Hall writes articles for consumers who want to find the best newtechnologytv.com/” target=”_blank new technology currently available. She has written for many major publications about the latest newtechnologytv.com” target=”_blank television deals and promotions and how buyers can find the best discounts.

We all get excited every time new computers get more powerful and hold more stuff. Just hold tight as computers take the next giant step in a few short years. We’ve seen the computer shrink in size as the ‘microchip’ becomes smaller and smaller. Now, scientists know that we can reduce the size of the same tasks down to the size of single atom! These are some of the more interesting developments in computer technology.

Quantum Computers are the future…
The weird world of quantum mechanics doesn’t follow the laws of classical physics at all. A quantum bit (qubit) doesn’t exist in the typical 0 or 1 binary state of today’s computers - a qubit can exist in either, plus a blend of both states. This subtle-sounding difference is the reason quantum transistors will enable a computer to operate 1,000,000,000 times faster than current computers! If you think a computer running at 4 GHz is fast, try one running at 40,000 GHz as predicted. While there are many hurdles to overcome, new techniques and discoveries are being made every day. Many people think that quantum computers could be a reality within just 5 to 10 years.

Optic Computers and Photonics are making progress…
Optic Computers take advantage of the speed of light rather than the speed of electricity, which makes them a good choice for data transmission. Electricity only flows at about 1/10 of the speed of light, but optic or photonic transistors should be able to operate thousands of times faster than today’s computers. Already, fiber optic cables are common, but optics will soon be used for switches in computers. Individual photons can be directed to create the off/on switch used in transistors. But, unlike electricity, light beams can travel ‘through’ each other, eliminating the need for the bulky paths of conventional wiring. This will enable the optic computer to be as small as needed for any application.

Nanodot Storage could be the new hard drive storage…
A nanodot can be 50 nanometers wide and has north and south poles like a magnet. It can respond to outside changes, which makes it a prime candidate for storage. Current research shows that a nanodot drive could hold more than 100 times the capacity of a current hard drive in a much smaller space. Nanodot storage is not too far away, and will revolutionize the way we look at information storage.

Spintronics - another promising yet weird type of storage…
Current computer memory has limitations now that manufacturing processes are approaching limits on the size of transistors. Besides that, computer RAM (temporary memory storage) loses information when the computer is switched off. Now that things are at the quantum level, new possibilities are emerging. One field, called ‘Spintronics’, measures the ’spin’ on an electron. Better yet, even when the computer is shut down, the information is not lost. Spintronic memory works with just a few atoms, probably on a surface created by ingaas fabrication (indium gallium arsenide), a promising new material.

Nanotubes and Graphene instead of silicone chips…
Today’s computer chips sit on a silicone wafer, but the future computer may use nanotube fabrication or graphene fabrication instead. A graphene sheet is only one atom thick, and a nanotube is a ‘rolled up’ sheet of graphene with a diameter of one nanometer. These are considered the future of transistor manufacturing because these structures have excellent properties, such as electrical conduction, good strength and efficient heat properties, plus they can be used for many other types of materials as well.

Going Ballistic - deflecting electrons like a pinball game…
The ballistic deflection transistor bounces atoms around to create a new type of computer transistor. This atomic transistor can operate at terahertz speeds, over a thousand times faster than today’s computer, as suggested by a Rochester team developing the technology. Computer chips made with BDT technology would be easy to manufacture and could just be the next wave in computer technology.

While not comprehensive, these are some of the coming trends of the future computer. They may sound like distant dreams, but they are all real, they are all being developed, and will be in your computer store sooner than you imagined.

Wayne Gathright is a programmer and avid student of technology. He is developing web sites for information about future computers, such as OpticComputer.com OpticComputer.com and QuantumTransistor.com QuantumTransistor.com

I can remember when I had my first run in with spy ware programs on my computer. I had just bought a new computer and set it up when I was called downstairs for some reason or another. My teenage son decided to sit down and look up some song lyrics, and in the few moments that I was gone the spy ware struck. When I came upstairs some time later the entire computer screen was covered in popups and they were showing up, one right after another, and I just couldn’t get ahead of them. I shut my computer down and that seemed to help for a while. After I restarted I stayed off the Internet as much as possible, as soon as I would log on they would go active, but I had to log on to get rid of them.

The next thing that I did was to go looking for some spy ware removal programs. I found a good one that did a free spy ware scan and I was shocked to find out that I had dozens of traces of spyware programs on my brand new computer. This was because the first program just opened the floodgates and let all the rest in. It took me a long time to remove all the traces, and without the spy ware removal programs that I had bought I would not have been able to get them all. Now when I buy a new computer I install my favorite spy ware removal programs even before I log onto the Internet, that way I have them working for me before any junk programs can come into the picture.

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