It’s happened to everyone: You have a repaired (or even new) drive on the shelf, a problem develops with the one in service, you pull out the new/repaired one, and “uh oh?” it doesn’t work. One suggestion we often make regarding critical applications is: keep your spare drive powered up! While it wouldn’t be very energy conscious to keep a drive fully loaded off-line, it is possible to construct a fairly efficient load test to intermittently pull current from spare units. Here are a couple of ways to do this. (more…)

Toys “R” Us on Thursday said it purchased eToys and several other Web sites from the Parent Co., which filed for bankruptcy protection in December.
Financial terms weren’t disclosed. The purchase of eToys by Toys “R” Us makes for at least the fourth owner of the online toy retailer, which was founded in 1997 and became one of the superstars of the dot-com era before filing for Chapter 11 in 2001. (more…)

It was fairly clear that Eagle, LLC was connected to Toys ‘R’ Us during the eToys bankruptcy auctions. Toys ‘R’ Us confirmed the suspicion today in an Associated Press article. The article says the purchase price was not disclosed. Domain Name Wire already reported the purchase price of $2.15 M. This included a number of domain names and customer lists. (more…)

Key Words robot, manipulator, minimally invasive surgery, image-guided surgery, registration Abstract Robotic technology is enhancing surgery through improved precision.Over the past decade, robots have been appearing in the operating room. Robotic technology is now regularly used to aim endoscopes in minimally invasive surgery and to guide instruments to tumors in brain surgery. The use of a robot to shape bones in hip replacement surgery was one of the groundbreaking applications (2,3,36). Based on three-dimensional (3-D) computed tomography images, the surgeon plans the location of the prosthetic replacement joint within the femur. In surgery, the robot moves a high-speed cutting tool to form the precise shape specified in the presurgical plan. The result is afar better fit between the bone and replacement joint than has been possible with conventional hand-held cutting instruments. One reason surgical (more…)

I thought I’d do a quick roundup of the wireless broadband enabled (aka wireless WAN (WWAN) aka 3G) netbooks in Malaysia for people who may be interested.  These are netbooks with built-in/embedded wireless modems where you simply slot in a SIM card from your favourite wireless operator and use it to get online without dangling bits and pieces associated with a USB solution. (more…)

If you’re one of the two people (apart from FTEC’s own CEO) who were remotely interested in getting an FTEC eeBook,  you may be pleased to know that the eeBooks have dropped in price.  Both models have dropped in pricing, in a sign of the increasingly cut-throat business that is the netbook market.  I strolled around in FTEC’s flagship store on the top floor of Lowyat Plaza today and discovered that the eeBook G10X now sells for RM 1,499, while the eeBook G10X-3G which comes with integrated 3G, is now selling for RM 1,899. (more…)

SAN FRANCISCO — An undercurrent of disquiet at Semicon West this week sprang from deep uncertainty in the roadmap for advanced lithography.
As with a royal succession, uncertainty in this vital area threatens the future with cost, chaos, and bloodshed. But despite brave pronouncements by vendors and users, it appeared that the industry was bracing for the worst: beset users buckled down for a hard time, and unlikely claimants marshaled their forces to press for a spot on the throne. (more…)

PORTLAND, Ore. — Graphene electrodes used in lithium-ion batteries could reduce recharge times from two hours to about 10 minutes, according to government and Princeton University researchers.

The new graphene-based electrode fabrication process, also developed by researchers at the Energy Department’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), has been licensed to Vorbeck Materials Corp. (Jessup, Md.) for commercialization. (more…)

The Interoperable PDK Libraries (IPL) Alliance recently released its open standard for interoperable process design kits (iPDKs). It uses a p-cell library from Ciranova’s PyCell Studio.The technology competes against Cadence’s Virtuoso tools. The problem is that when end-users call up an iPDK at a customer site, a warning message automatically pops up. It reads as follows: “WARNING* (DB-220704): The usage of non-SKILL Pcells in Virtuoso is not a supported feature.” (more…)

Advanced Circuits, the country’s leading source for quick-turn printed circuit boards, today announced a five day guaranteed lead time for flexible circuit board delivery. In an industry that is rapidly growing, Advanced Circuits is working to meet the increased demand with optimal customer satisfaction. According to DKN Research, the global flex board market will see a 12.6 percent annual volume growth and a 10.9 percent revenue increase through 2010. (more…)