Tech World

Ever have one of those days where you feel like you’re just running to stand still, like you’re on a treadmill cranked too high and can’t be shut off? Too often this is what working in IT is like now! Big data. Mobile. Cloud. These intense forces are reshaping IT environments. The result? More systems and applications to manage than ever. According to IDC research, the average number of Virtual Machines per physical server is predicted to double between 2008 and 2016. The percentage of data center IT operations costs spent on staff is up 40% in the last 5 years. On average, a substantial majority of IT budgets gets eaten up by maintenance — in other words, running to stand still. Efficiency, efficiency, efficiency The problem, of course, is that if you’re working hard to just stand still, you’ll eventually fall behind. IT organizations have become very focused on Improving IT staff productivity and operational efficiency, as well as implementing common ...

Windows 8 has spurred a lot of unusual hardware designs, but few are as intriguing as the tabletop tablet. Imagine a full-fledged all-in-one PC that lies flat on whatever surface you have handy. It's a design that offers all the screen real estate and CPU performance of a touchscreen all-in-one, along with the portability of a battery-operated tablet. With display sizes ranging from 18.4 inches to 27 inches, the new hybrids are ostensibly perfect for modernizing "family game night." And, indeed, these machines are bundled with touchscreen versions of board games, air hockey, poker, and other digital diversions. If you use these PCs as their manufacturers intended, your hybrid machine will be a family-room desktop computer by day and a living-room gaming platform by night. But is this an experience that consumers want or even need? Asus, Dell, Lenovo, and Sony sure hope so. Each computer maker took an independent path toward the invention of this novel ...

Mobile users who have gotten used to chatting with their friends via Facebook will soon have to make sure they've downloaded the social-media giant's app designed specifically for that. Facebook has begun notifying mobile users that they'll no longer be able to text via its core app. Instead, they'll need to download Messenger, the dedicated texting app Facebook rolled out in 2011. The company started notifying some users last week. The update will roll out first to Android and iOS users in a handful of European countries, according to a Facebook spokeswoman. "Messenger is a much faster and better experience and we've found that people get replies 20% faster on Messenger than on Facebook," the spokeswoman said in an e-mail. "Taking messages out of the Facebook app also lets us focus on making Messenger even better for everyone rather than working on two separate Facebook messaging experiences." Why did Facebook b...

The Next Big thing? The memristor, a microscopic component that can "remember" electrical states even when turned off. It's expected to be far cheaper and faster than flash storage. A theoretical concept since 1971, it has now been built in labs and is already starting to revolutionize everything we know about computing, possibly making flash memory, RAM, and even hard drives obsolete within a decade. The memristor is just one of the incredible technological advances sending shock waves through the world of computing. Other innovations in the works are more down-to-earth, but they also carry watershed significance. From the technologies that finally make paperless offices a reality to those that deliver wireless power, these advances should make your humble PC a far different beast come the turn of the decade. In the following sections, we outline the basics of 15 upcoming technologies, with predictions on what may come of them. Some are breathing dow...

 I just want to say one word to you. Just one word. No, fans of “The Graduate,” the word isn’t “plastics.” It’s “graphene.” Graphene is the strongest, thinnest material known to exist. A form of carbon, it can conduct electricity and heat better than anything else. And get ready for this: It is not only the hardest material in the world, but also one of the most pliable. Only a single atom thick, it has been called the wonder material. Graphene could change the electronics industry, ushering in flexible devices, supercharged quantum computers, electronic clothing and computers that can interface with the cells in your body. While the material was discovered a decade ago, it started to gain attention in 2010 when two physicists at the University of Manchester were awarded the Nobel Prize for their experiments with it. More recently, researchers have zeroed in on how to commercially produce graphene. The Amer...

The electronic systems in modern cars and trucks — under new scrutiny as regulators continue to raise concerns about Toyota vehicles — are packed with up to 100 million lines of computer code, more than in some jet fighters. “It would be easy to say the modern car is a computer on wheels, but it’s more like 30 or more computers on wheels,” said Bruce Emaus, the chairman of SAE International’s embedded software standards committee. Even basic vehicles have at least 30 of these microprocessor-controlled devices, known as electronic control units, and some luxury cars have as many as 100. These electronic brains control dozens of functions, including brake and cruise control and entertainment systems. Software in each unit is also made to work with others. So, for example, when a driver pushes a button on a key fob to unlock the doors, a module in the trunk might rouse separate computers to unlock all four doors. The evolution of automotive control electronics has been rapi...

(A young customer comes wandering in during lunchtime, fiddling with the laptops on display.) Me: “Ma’am, can I help you?” Customer: “Oh, yes, please. I’d like to buy a laptop.” Me: “Certainly. What would you be using it for?” Customer: “Facebook, Skype, iTunes, and Civilisation IV. And typing, I guess.” (I show her a sturdy Dell.) Customer: “Excellent, I’ll take it. Does it come with a warranty?” Me: “Yes, ma’am, Dell offers a standard one-year warranty.” Customer: “Uhm, would it be possible to get a… longer warranty?” Me: “We offer an additional three year full warranty for [amount] more.” Customer: “Does it cover… like… EVERYTHING? Like, maybe, falling down stairs, getting rolled over by suitcases, accidental cups of coffee?” Me: *trying not to laugh* “Yes, Ma’am. Everything.” Customer: *sighs, resigned* “I’ll have the full warranty. Something tells me I’ll need it!”