2009/06/30
TheRegister: Intel to double SSD capacity
by Chris Mellor
Intel is expected to bring forward the projected doubling of its SSD capacities to as early as next month.
The current X18-M and X25-M solid-state drives (SSDs) use a 50nm process and have 80GB and 160GB capacities with 2-bit multi-level cell (MLC) technology. A single level cell (SLC) X25-E has faster I/O rates and comes in 32GB and 64GB capacities.
Click here to find out more!But reports say that, as indicated in January, Intel will move to a smaller 34nm process and double the capacities with the 1.8-inch form factor X18-M and 2.5-inch form factor X25-M (M meaning Mainstream) moving to 160GB and 320GB capacities. The X25-E (E meaning Extreme) will grow to 64GB and 128GB capacities.
Back in 2008 when Intel first launched its SSD range it said it could hit a 256GB capacity this year. That looks to be exceeded.
The upgrades, if they happen, should be reflected by Intel's SSD OEMs, and resellers in their products, meaning Dell/EqualLogic, Hitachi GST, Infortrend, Pillar Data, Panasas and reseller Kingston Technology. There's no indication of what will happen to pricing. ®
InfoWorld: JetBrains adds to Java IDE
by Paul Krill
JetBrains is offering a milestone release of the upcoming IntelliJ Idea 9 IDE for Java application development, featuring capabilities ranging from OSGi backing to improved performance and PHP support.
The Milestone 1 release, unveiled late last week, is a precursor to the general release due this fall, JetBrains said. OSGi application development support includes automatic project configuration, coding assistance and inspections, and syntax and error highlighting.
Other capabilities in the IDE include on-the-fly detection of dead code, Java Enterprise Edition 6 support, and capabilities for Google's Android mobile platform and the Google App Engine cloud platform. Applications can be deployed from IntelliJ Idea to App Engine.
Usability also has been improved. Also featured is initial support for the PHP language and improvements for using UML (Unified Modeling Language).
"We want to demonstrate the progress we've made toward IntelliJ Idea 9 and show developers what it has in store for them," said Max Shafirov, IntelliJ IDEA project lead, in a statement released by the company. "A milestone release is also a great chance for our users to voice their opinions and provide input on areas that still need improvement. We will carefully evaluate and utilize all feedback. Developers, in turn, can already start using the latest features we've implemented."
JetBrains offers capabilities for Adobe Flex, including offering Adobe AIR support. Google Web Toolkit 1.6 is supported as well. A JavaScript debugger in the IDE is implemented as a Firefox plug-in, for debugging from within the Firefox browser.
The latest build can be downloaded at the JetBrains Web site. It can be downloaded for a free trial for 30 days.
CNet: How green are you? Ecobot knows...
by Matt Asay
The Wall Street Journal recently opined that "the inconvenient truth is that the earth's temperatures have flat-lined since 2001, despite growing concentrations of CO2," causing a greater number of scientists to question the science behind global warming. Whatever your opinion in the matter, it's certainly true that the world would be better off if we wasted less energy, which is what makes open-source Ecobot so useful.
While programs like Amee help businesses measure their carbon footprints, Ecobot offers a personal "carbon trainer" for Mac users.
Designed by Taxi, a Canadian corporation, Ecobot is derived from Taxi's participation in the "Green for Green" competition. The program "calculates your carbon footprint by measuring the fuel, power, and paper you use," and, importantly, does a lot of this data aggregation automatically. ("Automatically" is good - heck, if we weren't so lazy, we probably wouldn't need all these vehicles to power us from Point A to Point B.)
Not only does Ecobot keep track of how many pages you print from your laptop, but it also tracks the wireless networks to which you connect and works with you to figure out how you got from one to the other, and calculates the carbon emissions required to make the journey.
Pretty slick.
Even if you're not a tree-hugging, carbon-footprint-obsessed member of the Greenimati, Ecobot is an easy-to-use, unobtrusive way to monitor how much carbon your lifestyle requires. Of course, it only works if you're a Mac user.
Even so, despite Dell's insistence that Apple's Macs aren't as green as Apple claims, Ecobot lets you be as green as you want to be...and brag about it to anyone patient enough to listen to you.
