Category: Technology

These days’ computers tout more memory to woo customers. How much memory especially random access memory (RAM) do you need?

Today computer systems come in as 32-bit and 64-bit systems. Some suggest 1GB of RAM for 32-bit and 2GB for 64-bit systems. Then why some lower end PCs comes with 4GB of RAM. Mid-sized PCs are even loaded with double that of RAM while the higher end goes as high as 16GB. Memory is not expensive as it used to be.

Many believe having more memory makes the computer run faster. In certain cases it may. But it does not make the processor that executes codes run faster. Virtual memory, a file that sits in the hard drive of the PC acts as temporary storage when the “actual” one is full. For this reason it is also called swap file. Data travel between swap files could slowdown a computer. This is especially true for older computers that came in with 256MB in 1990s and 2000s. But today, Windows and others do not rely on virtual memory due to multiple gigabytes of available RAM. Flash memory technology and SSDs can read while writing. The bottom line is adding memory beyond 4GB may give you diminishing return.

Laptops came in four years ago had a mechanical hard drive. But today many laptops come with solid-state drives (SSDs). They are 300 percent faster than those mechanical hard drives and give the user a thrilling ride for their money. It doesn’t stop there. They boot your laptop faster, wake up from sleep instantaneously and open your applications in a fraction of time it took by mechanical hard drives. Reportedly today’s laptops with SSDs open Microsoft Word and Chrome browser in less than one second. How about that?

Even though SSDs are also called solid-state disk, there are no actual disk or drive motor to spin it. There are no moving mechanical parts in it, major difference from hard disk drives or floppy disk drives. It is an integrated circuit that is used for data storage device that uses electronic interfaces that are compatible with traditional hard drives. This makes SSDs resistant to shocks and run silently. Even though the new technology cost more at the beginning, prices are coming down steadily. NAND-based flash memory SSDs retains data even without power due to separate power source use by some. Hybrid versions are available with SSD and hard disk drives.

Silicon has been the predominant material in semiconductors and since the industry began using it some 60 years ago, it had a good long run. Silicon is the eight most common element material in the universe. Industries use it with little to no processing. Due to its value as an electric conductivity, silicon and germanium are the two most commonly used element material in semiconductors today. Together they increase the complexity and speed of microprocessors and memory devices.

Technology is changing so rapidly and as a result now there is a new material gaining traction when it comes to semiconductors. It is gallium nitride known as GaN in the technology community. This element material helps to turn on and off things mush faster and can withstand higher voltage than silicon. Semiconductors made of GaN and other compounds appearing in size no larger than a grain of salt can be placed on circuit boards that can make the board smaller, faster, smarter and more power-efficient. GaN is being used in self-driving vehicle prototypes at the moment and soon it will be tested in consumer products and medical equipment. It may not be that long for GaN to be introduced into PCs as well as other mobile devices.

Providing content for non-English language users have been a bigger problem for many Internet companies. This problem is more visible in India than any other place in the world. China is taking concrete measures to combat the issue. The number of Internet users in India is expected to grow to more than 500 million users in the near future and more than 300 million of them will be non-English users.

Mozilla that controls the open source browser, Firefox notice the need to create content in other than English. It is using India as a test case and developing software using local languages for Firefox based smartphones. Indian e-commerce giant Snapdeal.com is introducing Hindi and Tamil versions of it. They are two main languages used in India. Indian government is also investing heavily to make broadband available to more Indians and planning to spend more than $18 billion. The government expects to connect more than 250,000 villages to the Internet by 2016. Even with the government support it will be up to the private companies to make the Web available in local languages. It will not only benefit them but also helps to strengthens Web technology all throughout the vast and diverse India.

Whether it is a watch or a digital peripheral, the much anticipated Apple Watch is going to be an amazing technological advancement. The Watch, Watch Sport and the Watch Edition are due to hit the market in April 2015. It will be a timekeeper, provide a new way to connect, help with your health and fitness, and perform many other functions while providing more services. Introduced to the world at the Apple’s fall 2014 event at the Cupertino, California the watch is expected to be priced at $349. The higher end tiers may cost more but not a bad price for all that technology.

It will only work with your iPhone. So it has to stay connected to your iPhone. But it will do some work independently. It comes with a bright color touch screen and a scroll down button on the side similar to a regular watch. You can also speak to it using the built in microphone. It will play your music like an iPod. It will tell you your heart rate and track your fitness program, send and receive messages, make your calls and work as an audio recorder, and will allow connection to apps. You can pay with your Apple Pay and watch Apple TV with it.