Solid State Drives (SSDs) offer several advantages over traditional hard disks, being lighter, quieter, less power-hungry and more robust because they contain no moving parts. Most of all, solid state drives are FAST. That is VERY FAST. Why is this?

Today's hard drives are advanced and theirin lies the problem. They are complex and can (as we all know) go wrong. This is because they use old electromechanical and magnetic technology. Inside a hard drive a disk (or plate) spins round by a servo motor and data is read from the magnetic tracks on the disk by a head. Sound familiar? Yes, this is how the almost extinct floppy drives of yesteryear worked.

Over time, the capacity of hard drives has increased (120 - 300Gb is standard and 500Gb - 1Tb is not uncommon now). At the same time, the rate at which data can be transferred to and from the drives has increased. After many years of slow advances with parallel ATA, data can now can be read from disks extremely quickly using the serial (SATA) standard(s). These higher transfer rates make is easier and quicker to load large files such as audio or video. But they are still not great for work such as editing or for running lots of applications at the same time on your computer (multitasking). This is because the read head has to be continuously repositioned to read data from different areas of the hard drive and moving between these can take a long time (in computer terms). Lost? Read on...

To put this in perspective, your computer (the microprocessor) only has to wait for a few microseconds (= millionths of a second) to read data from your memory (the RAM). To read some data from the hard drive typically takes milliseconds (= thousandths of a second) because a motor has to spin a physical disk round to get to the location where it can read data from the disk. The "seek time" is one technical term that relates to this delay, which is caused my the intertia of moving around mechanical parts (as opposed to "solid state" meaning nothing moves). SCSI drives used in servers and multimedia machines have been faster for some time, one reason for this is that they have a faster interface with the computer but the other reason is that they are designed to spin round faster than old IDE drives. That's why a 7,200 rpm drive beats a 5,400 rpm drive - it finds the data you want more quickly.

Finally! I hear you moan. Solid State Drive(SSD). Well, you could just call them "giant memorysticks". I have been waiting for decades (I know, it's pathetic) for these drives because I'm fed up waiting around for 1000 times longer than I have to and I am fed up of the death rattle from a dying electro-mechanical hard drive. Whilst it is not pointless spending your hard earned cash on DDR memory, dual core processors and the rest in an effort to increase performance - you are "wasting away" the dynamic performance of the system by plugging the kit into a "chug-chug" electro-mechanical drive!

This makes them an ideal upgrade for notebook manufacturers, but until recently they have been prohibitively expensive.

In the meanwhile, Dell are offering solid state drives with laptops. For example, you can get a 32Gb SSD drive to plug straight into you current laptop for

Time to keep those unruly teenagers on a leash, Skype is opening up calling to premium rate PSTN numbers in the UK. Driven by consumer demand, Skype is making premium UK 09 per minute priced numbers available to its 171 million registered users across the world.

Premium-rate numbers are used by a wide variety of businesses in the information, professional, advisory, counselling and entertainment spaces. The 09 series is particularly popular with the likes of purchasing mobile ringtones and advisory lines such as love, relationships and astrology.

When calling on Skype, UK Premium rate number prices are as follows:

Bands excl. VAT incl. VAT

Band 1

An enormous ring of superconducting magnets similar to a particle accelerator could fling satellites into space, or perhaps weapons around the world, suggest the findings of a new study funded by the US air force. Well, it saves on fuel I guess - thanks space blog?

Users of mail.com, can now choose to have emails read aloud in 11 languages thanks to cutting-edge speech synthesis integrated directly within the webmail client. The new Audio Webmail option is offered on mail.com Beta, available to all users.

A real use for podcasting?

With the introduction of Audio Webmail, mail.com offers an integrated web-based service that employs sophisticated speech synthesis to read out loud the contents of email messages. The service also lets users generate 'podmail' at the click of a button, i.e. convert an entire email message to an audio file for easy transfer to personal devices such as portable media players. mail.com is the first web-based email provider to offer such a service.

The 11 languages, include UK and US English, German, Italian, French, Japanese, Spanish, Danish, Swedish, Portuguese, and Dutch, with additional languages planned. Mail.com claim that no downloads or software installs are required because the service works directly from the web browser and is therefore available on any computer, unlike add-on software for email clients.

The Audio Webmail feature is the result of a partnership between Outblaze, the global hosted email provider, and ReadSpeaker, the leader in speech- enabling the Web.

Jo-Anne Timothy, spokesperson for mail.com, said: "Audio Webmail is appealing because it allows users to have email read to them while focusing on something else. Additionally, the convenient 'podmail' capability allows you to catch up on the day's emails while exercising, commuting, or doing any other activity that requires you to be away from your computer."

ReadSpeaker representative Roy Lindemann noted: "We are very excited about the launch of our technology on mail.com and other email services powered by Outblaze. Providing easy-to-use and useful audio services for webmail users is another step in our goal to speech-enable the Web."

A bit of a novelty, but it could work now that broadband is becoming so common. And what about blind people, it could have great benefits there if set up correctly, perhaps displacing existing specialist software with something available wherever to go.

A word of caution though, "that no downloads or software installs are required" is a shaky claim. The server was too slow when I took a look, but I suspect an ActiveX, Java, or similar download is neccessary even if not formally identified as a "download".

Comments and feedback and corrections welcome.

Hey folks and Furl-ers, here's a new one for you. Did you know that there is a whole subterranian world of space and space-related software out there. Whilst one of the first wesbites I surfed on the net when I first got connected (via 14.4 k I might add) was NASA I never looked any further once I had downloaded some pretty wallpaper.

Now, the reason for this was probably that I have a built in curiosity about the final frontier and I think that is a feeling shared by many. Google certainly think so - having bought what is no called Google Earth they have tapped into a fun and occasinally useful tool. What most people don't realise is that they also have a http://www.google.com/mars/# page in Google labs! This bit of fun enables you to use the Google Maps interface to explore the Martian landscape.

Of course they also have a mini-site about the Moon ?! Strange that the definition of Google doesn't include indexing the physical matter of space.

OK, so that's web-based stuff. And believe me there's more of that to come... what about what we call software normally, ie. stuff you download and install?

With the accesibility of the internet lots of software can update from the net when you're connected. Just like virus scanners download new virus definitions, telescope software can download updates on the position of the stars. This means less mathematics and more star gazing for the amateur astronomers amongst us. At the click of a button your super-duper (pls correct my spelling with comments) robotic telescope will re-position istself in all dimensions such that it points at the required star, or planet... of perhaps some other heavenly body.

Ignoring the urge to link to heavenly bodies at this point (girlfriend around...) I'll add a titbit that you can impress your friends with. Did you know that today, 24th August 2006 Scientists from the IAU are debating whether Pluto should be called a planet still, or demoted to the classification Pluton?

You can even download software to help you make your own telescope. That should make telescope technology less intimidating

Hello good people and welcome to a Friday summer heatwave, there can't be much to keep you in the office or drilling the road or teaching little darlings on their last day of school.

Fortunately, getting the PC or laptop to work as fast as Microsoft and the manufacturer say it should is one less thing to worry about.

The reason - Long established memory suppllier Crucial have come up with a very clever software tool that will make sure you get the right upgrade - just install it and in a few clicks you are laughing. If you don't believe me, try it yourself!




The only thing missing now the long awaited reality download to produce the required kit instantaneously in your hand. If you need tips on how to install memory when it arrives just email help@it-blog.org

Seems they are catching on ot the whole Intimidating Technology idea

Have may have noticed that many websites have a "translate this page" link, such as those provided by www.worldlingo.com and www.altavista.com (the mythical Babel Fish) - but this can lead to unpredicatable, or amusing results!

Portal software often provides a facility for multiple versions of a website, providing the basic controls (visit my blog, gallery, next page etc) but the actual content in the real challenge. Content needs professional translation and the key to that is good translation managment.

Some new software is great for communities and corporate alike, it notifies the local representitive of the need for translation by email. Only once the native and translated version(s) are translated and approved will that area go live... clever stuff.

Mind you, there is still the issue that the "uberwebbentranslationsoftware" will not adjust the length of an article's content - note that German usually needs 30% more words to explain something!

The first thing to do is to get a concept and a plan together:

• What is your website going to be about?
  
• How are you going to update it?
  
• Where will you get content from to keep your site fresh?
  
• Who is is meant for?
  

Consider your readership, your cencept and subject. Perhaps think about a name for your site and consider what the domain mighty be. Is it an off-the-wall blog, or perhaps a specilist hobby site?

Quirky names are great for blogs, but if you are looking for a more serious image you should consider a domain closely related to the subject matter. As we will see later, this will also help search engines such as Google to find you.

Don't go buying every domain you think of, but consider paying that bit extra for a good name becasue it can make all the difference in the longer term.

Tips and domains for sale

The primary objective of the GIOVE-A satellite, launched on the 28th December 2005 was to secure frequencies with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) without which the operation of Europe

BT today announced three more deals with leading rights owners to widen the range of family entertainment available on its eagerly-awaited national next generation TV offering.

Building on last month

Network solution provider D-Link and Skype(R), the global Internet communications company, today introduced the D-Link Skype USB phone adapter that allows consumers to use their existing corded or cordless telephone to take advantage of Skype's free calling features.

This latest innovation in Internet calling will be on display during CES 2006 at the D-Link booth, 35832 in the South Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), and at the Skype (eBay) kiosks located inside the LVCC grand lobby entrance adjacent to Starbuck's.

The D-Link Skype USB phone adapter (DPH-50U) lets users accept both regular telephone and Skype calls from the same phone for added flexibility. When consumers are talking on a traditional telephone line and receive an incoming Skype call, they can easily switch lines to take the Skype call or vice versa, just like a typical call-waiting feature.

Conference calls can also be connected between ordinary telephone lines and Skype. For added convenience, the D-Link Skype USB phone adapter includes a lighted display to indicate whether an incoming call is from a traditional telephone or from a Skype user.

"At D-Link, we know that the digital home is all about integration and ease-of-use," said Keith Karlsen, executive vice president, D-Link. "By extending Skype to be accessible through traditional phones, we can make the benefits of Skype even easier to experience."

Using a cordless phone unties the user from their computer while making Skype calls. Additionally, using the traditional telephone enables consumers to use their telephone's built-in features such as speed dial, redial, mute and caller ID.

"Our mission is to make Skype easy and fun to use for consumers everywhere," said James Bilefield, vice president of business development for Skype. "The D-Link Skype USB phone adapter makes Skyping even more convenient, providing flexibility to our users who want to take advantage of our free services and connect to Skype via their traditional telephone."

The D-Link Skype USB adapter enables users to:

• Use a traditional or existing phone to make Skype calls
  
• Receive or make both traditional telephone and Skype calls from the same phone
  
• Use an existing traditional phone rather than a headset
  
• Use a cordless phone and talk freely throughout the house
  
• Use convenient built in features, including call waiting, conference calling and call forwarding
  
• Take advantage of Skype's free international calling and talk to other Skype users anywhere in the world for free
  

The D-Link Skype USB phone adapter is PC compatible, and includes two RJ-11 ports and a USB port to conveniently connect an ordinary phone line, telephone and computer. Since the adapter receives power from the computer through the USB cable, it does not require an additional power supply. The included software installs in minutes and allows users to easily and completely manage their Skype contact list and calling features. The D-Link Skype USB phone adapter can be configured to forward incoming Skype calls to another destination such as a cell phone so that users never miss a call while away from their PC.

D Link

It Blog use and highly recommend Skype.

Google has announced the planned opening of the Google Video Store, the first open video marketplace enabling consumers to buy and rent a wide range of video content from a major television network, a professional sports league,
cable programmers, independent producers and film makers. This fast growing collection of videos will include prime-time and classic hits from CBS, a full slate of NBA games from this season and outstanding performances from the past, music videos from SONY BMG, Charlie Rose interviews as well as news and historical content from ITN and new titles being added everyday.

"Google video will let you watch lots of high quality video on the web for the first time. You can search and browse, and we make it fast and easy for you to watch," said Larry Page, Google's co-founder and president, Products. "For video producers and anyone with a video camera, Google Video will give you a platform to publish to the entire Google audience in a fast, free and seamless way."

Available soon, people who visit the Google Video homepage at http://video.google.com will be able to browse listings of video by category from the store or search Google's entire collection of videos by simply entering keywords into the search box.

"This is yet another exciting platform in which CBS can leverage its market-leading content to a whole new audience," said Leslie Moonves, President and CEO, CBS Corporation. "Making our programming accessible to the Google Video Store guarantees our shows significant new exposure to millions of users who are likely to access this Web service and who may not be traditional TV viewers. As the industry's most prolific generator of popular TV content, it's only natural that CBS would partner with Google on this service, which is destined to become one of the web's most popular destinations."

CBS's current primetime hits will include CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, NCIS, Survivor and The Amazing Race. Library classics will include I Love Lucy, The Brady Bunch, The Twilight Zone, MacGyver, Have Gun Will Travel, Mannix, My Three Sons, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager. All CBS programs will be presented commercial free.

Additional highlights of Google's video collection will include:

• Music videos from SONY BMG. The line-up of launch videos includes
  offerings from some of SONY BMG's global superstar artists, including
  Christina Aguilera, Beyonce, Kenny Chesney, Destiny's Child, Kelly
  Clarkson, Alicia Keys, Lil' Flip, Jessica Simpson, Shakira, System of a
  Down, Switchfoot, Usher, and many more sellout artists.
  
  
• Feature Length Independent Films from Greencine.com. Including
  works by legendary Polish director Andrzej Wajda (Zemsta), documentary
  filmmaker Ted Bonnitt (Mau Mau Sex Sex) and independent actor/director
  Caveh Zahedi (In the Bathtub of the World).
  
  
• Historic, news and educational footage from ITN. This material
  ranges from coverage of key events in 2005 such as the Pope John Paul
  II's death, back to a recording of the 1896 coronation of Tsar
  Nicholas II - one of the earliest known pieces of moving imagery.
  
  
• Charlie Rose interviews. Including interviews with Henry Kissinger,
  Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino, Martha Stewart, Martin Scorsese,
  Harrison Ford, Dan Rather, Charles M. Schulz, Steve Jobs, Jay Leno, Tom
  Brokaw, and others.
  
  
• Cartoon classics from Classic Media. Featuring many of the
  world's most famous animated series such as "Felix the Cat,"
  "Casper The Friendly Ghost," and "Rocky and Bullwinkle." The stomach churns...
  
  
• Children's educational programming from Clearvue. Educational
  video topics vary from teen education on tattoos to explanations about
  the workings of the human brain.
  
  
• Educational video topics from Clearvue vary from teen education on
  tattoos to explanations about the workings of the human brain.
  
  
• Clips from Getty Images' Archive Films Collection. A diverse
  collection of short clips that capture personalities, moments and eras
  throughout history - selected from vintage newsreels and educational
  film, as well as contemporary news and events from around the world.
  

There will be thousands of titles for sale in the Google Video Store
with more titles added everyday. The list of content producers will
also include a broad range of entertainment and educational partners
including among others, Blue Highways TV, CareTALK, Fashion TV, Here!
TV, HDNet, Hilarious Picks, Image Entertainment, iWatchNow.com, Kantola
Productions, MediaZone, Plum TV, Porchlight Entertainment, SOFA
Entertainment, Teen Kids, Trinity Broadcasting Network, WGBH, Wheels
TV, and Wilderness Film India Ltd.

Launched early last year, Google Video is the first open video
marketplace where any video producer, large or small, can upload their
content and distribute it for free or at a price. Video prices are set
by the content provider with no minimum or maximum dollar-limit. Owners
also have the choice to offer their content with or without copy
protection - enabling them greater control over its distribution.

Additionally, content from Google Video can be viewed with a new player
that can be downloaded for free from any playback page. It offers all
the traditional playback options (play, pause, stop...) as well as a
"thumbnail" navigation feature that enables users to browse through
an entire video, or frames at a time, with a simple click of their
mouse.

iPod and Sony Playstation Portable users will also be able to download
and watch any non-copy-protected content from Google Video, and even
get it specially optimized for playback on their devices. Google Video
Store will be available throughout the world, however purchasing
premium content in the Google Video Store will only be available in the
U.S !

Google has announced the "Google Pack beta" a free collection of safe, useful
software from Google and other companies that improves the user
experience online and on the desktop. In just a few clicks, users can
easily discover, install and maintain software to surf the web faster
and safer, communicate better, and effectively manage information.

"We've heard from countless new computer owners that it can take
days or weeks to install all the software they need to make their
computer useful," said Marissa Mayer, VP of search products and user
experience at Google. "We developed Google Pack to give users a way
to painlessly install all the essential software they need -
pre-configured in a sensible way - in a matter of minutes. Better yet,
users don't have to keep track of software updates or new programs
- we maintain and update all the software for them."

Google Pack offers programs that meets Google's high software
standards and are considered best in their class, including:

• Adobe Reader 7
  
• Ad-Aware SE Personal
  
• GalleryPlayer HD Images
  
• Google Desktop
  
• Google Earth
  
• Google Pack Screensaver
  
• Google Talk
  
• Google Toolbar for Internet Explorer
  
• Mozilla Firefox with Google Toolbar
  
• Norton AntiVirus 2005 Special Edition
  
• Picasa
  
• RealPlayer (!!!)
  
• Trillian
  

Google Pack also includes Google Updater, a new tool that intelligently
downloads, installs and maintains all the software in the Google Pack.
Google Updater alerts users when updates and new programs become
available and ensures each program is always up-to-date. Google Updater
can also be used to monitor the status of installation, run software
that's been installed, or easily uninstall software.

Users can easily select which programs they want to install. For
programs already installed on a computer, Google Updater checks whether
the latest version is running. If not, Google Updater will install the
latest version.

Google Pack beta is available in English, runs on Windows XP, and
supports Firefox 1.0 and higher and Internet Explorer 6.0 and higher.
More info on Google Pack is available at http://pack.google.com.

Perhaps you are getting GPS this Christmas, or perhaps you are have a unit already. They are certainly selling like hot cakes.

You may be interested to know that at the end of this month (date unconfirmed - see space.ballard.co.uk) the first test of the new, highly accuarate and reliable European equivalent, Galileo is being launched.

The first satelite will test the principles that should result in a possible 1cm accurate position fix once the remaining 29 satellites are in orbit.

SSTl GIOVE-A satellite launch blog

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A Microsoft investigation into the sale of counterfeit software on eBay has led to the closure of an online operation responsible for the sale of over