facebook – Page 382 – Tech Today w/ Ken May

BT Runs an 800Gbps Channel On Old Fiber

judgecorp writes “BT has demonstrated an 800Gbps ‘superchannel’ on a 410km fiber in its core network, which was not able to carry 10Gbps channels using older technology. The superchannel is an advanced dense wave division multiplexing (DWDM) technique, created by combining multiple coherent optical signals into one channel, which had previously been shown in laboratory tests. BT ran the test on a fiber with optical characteristics (high polarization mode dispersion) that made it unsuitable for 10GBps using current techniques. That’s a good result for BT, because it means its existing core fiber network can be upgraded to handle more data. It’s also a good customer story for Ciena, which makes the optical switches used in the test.” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

Original post:
BT Runs an 800Gbps Channel On Old Fiber

AT&T adds 61-cent 'mobility' fee to wireless bills

AT&T’s new “Mobility Administrative Fee” is raising wireless bills by 61 cents a month — a move that could reportedly raise half a billion dollars for the company. [Read more]

See original article:
AT&T adds 61-cent 'mobility' fee to wireless bills

College Students Invent a Shoe That Generates Electricity with Every Step

Undergraduate mechanical engineering students at Rice University built a shoe that recovers and stores energy generated by walking. This energy could be used to power small electronic devices, such as cell phones: The Agitation Squad – Carlos Armada, Julian Castro, David Morilla and Tyler Wiest – decided last fall to focus their attention on where the rubber meets the road to create a shoe-mounted generator. Another device to draw energy from the motion of the knee had already been developed and patented and led them to analyze other sources of energy. Working with the Motion Analysis Laboratory at Shriners Hospital for Children in Houston, the team determined the force at the heel delivered far more potential for power than any other part of the foot. “We went to the lab and saw the force distribution across the bottom of your foot, to see where the most force is felt,” Morilla said. “We found it would be at the heel and at the balls of your toes, as you push off. We went with the heel because, unless you’re sprinting, you’re letting gravity do the work.” […] The prototypes deliver an average of 400 milliwatts, enough to charge a battery, in benchtop tests (and a little less in walking tests, where the moving parts don’t move as far). They send energy through wires to a belt-mounted battery pack. A voltage regulator keeps it flowing steadily to the battery. The PediPower hits the ground before any other part of the prototype shoe. A lever arm strikes first. It is attached to a gearbox that replaces much of the shoe’s sole and turns the gears a little with each step. The gears drive a motor mounted on the outside of the shoe that generates electricity to send up to the battery. You can watch a video of their device at the link. Link -via Inhabitat

See more here:
College Students Invent a Shoe That Generates Electricity with Every Step

LEDs in an Engagement Ring

Ben’s engagement ring is awesome not only because it lights up, but because it lights up when he and his girlfriend hold hands: Putting a battery of capacitor inside a ring is nigh impossible, so [Ben] decided to power the LEDs with an inductive charging circuit. A coil of wire wound around kapton tape serves as the inductor and a small SMD capacitor powers three very bright and very tiny LEDs. The inductive charging unit itself is a masterpiece of hackery; [Ben] wanted the ring to light up whenever he and his ladyfriend were holding hands. To do this, [Ben]‘s inductive charger is also a wearable device: a large coil of wire is the charger’s transformer and was would to fit around [Ben]‘s wrist. The entire charging circuit can be easily hidden under a jacket sleeve, making for a nearly magical light-up ring. You can watch a video of the ring at the link. Link

Continue reading here:
LEDs in an Engagement Ring

Windows’ role at the core of Microsoft’s Xbox One

Microsoft’s Xbox One home-entertainment console, available later this year, has ties to Windows 8 and Windows Azure. [Read more]

Visit link:
Windows’ role at the core of Microsoft’s Xbox One

Goodbye, Lotus 1-2-3

walterbyrd writes “In 2012, IBM started retiring the Lotus brand. Now 1-2-3, the core product that brought Lotus its fame, takes its turn on the chopping block. IBM stated, ‘Effective on the dates listed below, [June 11, 2013] IBM will withdraw from marketing part numbers from the following product release(s) licensed under the IBM International Program License Agreement:’ IBM Lotus 123 Millennium Edition V9.x, IBM Lotus SmartSuite 9.x V9.8.0, and Organizer V6.1.0. Further, IBM stated, ‘Customers will no longer be able to receive support for these offerings after September 30, 2014. No service extensions will be offered. There will be no replacement programs.'” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

View article:
Goodbye, Lotus 1-2-3

Over 100 Hours of Video Uploaded To YouTube Every Minute

jones_supa writes “Google’s YouTube is celebrating its 8-year birthday, and at the same time they reveal some interesting numbers. ‘Today, more than 100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. That’s more than four days of video uploaded each minute! Every month, more than 1 billion people come to YouTube to access news, answer questions and have a little fun. That’s almost one out of every two people on the Internet. Millions of partners are creating content for YouTube and more than 1,000 companies worldwide have mandated a one-hour mid-day break to watch nothing but funny YouTube videos. Well, we made that last stat up, but that would be cool (the other stats are true).'” Read more of this story at Slashdot.

View article:
Over 100 Hours of Video Uploaded To YouTube Every Minute

Disney making ‘Star Wars Rebels,’ a new animated show

The show will air in 2014, first as a one-hour special and then as a regular series. It’s set chronologically between the third prequel film and the original “Star Wars” movie. [Read more]

Continued here:
Disney making ‘Star Wars Rebels,’ a new animated show

Indie games made with Unity

Make Games! published a huge list of indie titles , many of them free or trivially inexpensive, made using the wildly popular game-making software Unity —I know what I’ll be doing next weekend! If you’re feeling inspired, Make Games!’ getting started page, links to essential article and Unity alternatives for developers of any skill level.

Medical Firm Sues IRS For 4th Amendment Violation In Records Seizure

cold fjord writes “A healthcare provider has sued the Internal Revenue Service and 15 of its agents, charging they wrongfully seized 60 million medical records from 10 million Americans … [The unnamed company alleges] the agency violated the Fourth Amendment in 2011, when agents executed a search warrant for financial data on one employee – and that led to the seizure of information on 10 million, including state judges. The search warrant did not specify that the IRS could take medical information, UPI said. And information technology officials warned the IRS about the potential to violate medical privacy laws before agents executed the warrant, the complaint said.” Also at Nextgov.com. Read more of this story at Slashdot.