Solar Nanotubes Make Light Work?
I have been reporting on developments in photovoltaic cells for as long as I can remember and there’s always some new technology or fabrication method that’s going to improve upon the woeful efficiency of today’s silicon based solar cells. I’m still waiting and outside the labs most commercial cells still only manage a fairly miserable 20 – 30 percent efficiency, which basically means that during their lifetime very few solar cells ever recover the enormous amount of energy put into their manufacture, let alone live long enough to generate ‘free’ electricity. I have no doubt that one day the problem will be licked and this might just be the development to do it. It’s a rolled up graphene layer nanotube and it’s the brainchild of a team of researchers at Cornell University. The first problem, though, is that it’s tiny, no larger than a DNA molecule, which means you’ll need an awful lot of them to do anything useful. The good news is that it’s very efficient and when exposed to light the tubular structure creates more electrons, and the cylindrical structure makes it easier for them to flow. I know, we’ve been here before so don’t hold your breath, but one day, it will happen, and maybe, just maybe this is where it started…
Free Microsoft Web Tools and Web Hosting
In collaboration with its web hosting partners Microsoft has debuted a new promotion designed to offer customers not only free web hosting but also free web development tools. Provided that customers will be willing to host their websites, and additional content, including Internet-based applications, on the Microsoft web platform, the Redmond company in collaboration with its partners is ready to offer them free hosting for a total of 60 days as well as the Microsoft Expression Web ($299 value) for free and the Microsoft Visual Web Developer 2008 Express Edition.
“This is a good example of our commitment to Interop and more importantly validation of our Software Plus Service strategy for providing customers to building consistent rich applications and with choice of hosting with our partners or in our cloud,” Read more
Live Search Gets Wallpapers
Microsoft is constantly evolving the products and services under the Windows Live brand umbrella, and one of the main focuses of the company is, of course, Live Search. Chris Rayner, Senior Product Manager, and Zach Gutt, Senior Program Manager Live Search User Experience team, revealed that the redesigned Live Search homepage would from now on feature background images. The Redmond company will ensure that the Live Search “wallpapers” will alternate frequently, but this process won’t be random, and it won’t happen on every refresh. Additionally, the Live Search backgrounds will have hotspots implemented, offering users a search item in accordance with elements contained in the image. Read more
Build Your Own Android
If you’ve been following the goings-on in the mobile phone industry you will know that the Next Big Thing is likely to be Google and its Android operating system. Android is Open Source software and Google gunning hard for the big boys, namely Microsoft, Nokia and Apple, and actively encouraging users to contribute to its development, hence the Android Software Developer’s Kit (SDK), which you can now download and try for yourself.
Of course, it’s mostly aimed at programmers and developers, but there’s something for everyone and it contains a full Android Emulator, which basically means you can simulate the workings of an Android phone on your Windows Mac or Linux PC. Read more
XP Gets All the Love, Just Leftovers for Vista
It’s nothing but love for Windows XP and all scraps, crumbs and leftovers for Windows Vista. One inherent consequence of having an operating system dig its roots into the market for five years, is the creation of not only a loyal user base, but also of a community of developers that find it equally difficult to transition to a new platform. Additionally, Windows Vista has virtually changed the rules for software developers with the introduction of the User Account Control, forcing them to rethink products in order to run with standard user privileges. This has caused developers to steer clear of Vista, as long as XP still has a strong grip of the operating system market, a situation illustrated amply by Evans Data’s Spring 2008, North American Development Survey. Read more
Introducing the New Windows XP
On April 25, 2008, Microsoft introduced the next version of its Windows XP operating system, detailing revamped plans for the business built around the platform, a brand overhauling and the road map for upcoming products. However, the desktop version of Windows XP got no play as the Redmond company focused entirely on the embedded version of the platform. The Embedded Systems Conference Silicon Valley 2008 in San Jose was also synonymous with the introduction of the Windows Embedded Ready, a brand umbrella for the company’s forthcoming key device products. Read more
