Ok, maybe I’m a little too excited about the next generation of storage, but CES 2009 has revealed a SanDisk Solid State Drive that promises a reasonable leap in laptop technology:
The SanDisk G3 SSDs are more than five times faster than the fastest 7,200 RPM HDDs and more than twice as fast as SSDs shipping in 2008, clocking in at 40,000 RPM and anticipated sequential performance of 200MB/s read and 140MB/s write.
The G3 SSDs provide a Longterm Data Endurance (LDE) of 160 terabytes written (TBW) for the 240GB version, sufficient for over 100 years of typical user usage.
Throw one of these in a dying laptop and watch the amazing benefits. Awesome for energy consumption as well as speed. On the other hand, these of course represent a new level of threat as dumping and running with massive amounts of data will be so much easier…
BBC News reports that Air New Zealand has followed Virgin Atlantic in biofuel tests:
A passenger plane has successfully completed a two-hour test flight partly powered by vegetable oil.
Interesting to note that the test used fuel derived from jatropha fruit, whereas Virgin used oil from babassu nuts and coconuts. Jatropha is considered a superior oil, with zero impact on food-grade products:
…jatropha can be grown in soil that is not suitable for most food crops.
“Even under harsh drought conditions with minimal amount of water or moisture, it will survive,”…
The State of Hawaii and the Hawaiian Electric Company on Tuesday endorsed an effort to build an alternative transportation system based on electric vehicles with swappable batteries and an “intelligent” battery recharging network.
[…]
“We always knew Hawaii would be the perfect model,” [Shai Agassi] said in a telephone interview. “The typical driving plan is low and leisurely, and people are smiling.”
Cute. San Francisco and other Bay Area cities already have endorsed the same electric car network, perhaps with even more smiles.
I spoke with a representative from an electric company recently, as I was working on NERC Cyber Security, and he bemoaned the fact that electric cars are starting to burnout the electric grid. A Tesla roadster, for example, pulls at 240V and a few in a neighborhood could be a major problem for the infrastructure. This reminded me of a house I owned in 1996 where we tried to install a T1 and were told by the phone company that they would have to pull a new line from four states away to provide the bandwidth.
Ok, I’ll just say it. I am a huge fan of regulation of diesel. One only has to look at the amazing new diesel technology developments coming from companies like Caterpillar, Audi, VW, Subaru, Honda, and Mercedes to realize that regulation is the environment and consumers’ friend.
Although there are serious economic impact considerations and the wording of regulation should not be taken lightly, California’s new On-Road Heavy-Duty Diesel Vehicles (In-Use) Regulation is a HUGE step in the right direction. This needs support:
The Air Resources Board (ARB) staff is developing a regulation to reduce diesel particulate matter (PM) and other emissions from in-use heavy-duty diesel powered vehicles operating in California. A proposed regulation is planned to be presented to the Air Resources Board in December 2008. The proposed regulation would apply to diesel shuttle buses, vehicles greater than 14,000 pounds Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR), and does not include pickups.
If you disagree, then I would suggest you explain why/how to improve the regulation. Lack of regulation is a mistake and fear of poor regulation is a weak/lazy excuse.