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…
Windows 7 RTM in 36 Languages
October 2009 will mark the general availability of Windows 7 at a global scale. Starting on October 22, 2009, Microsoft will release the next iteration of the Windows client in no less than 36 different localized versions across just as many markets around the world. In this regard, the Redmond company explained that the GA of Windows 7 would come in two separate stages. The first will take place on October 22, as previously announced, and is planned to involve almost half of the localized flavors of the operating system.
According to Microsoft, the English, Spanish, Japanese, German, French, Italian, Dutch, Russian, Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Chinese (Hong Kong) languages of Windows 7 will all be offered to consumers in their respective markets on October 22. Read more
