Tag: Chips
US Army creates cyborg beetles to fight future wars
The University of California is undertaking research, funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, that will allow the creation of remote-controlled beetles. The beetles remain alive, but unable to control their bodies as the chips take control of their wing muscles via their optic nerve.
I don’t know what it is about this story that terrifies me most. It could be the fact that beetles are so easy to mind-control that you can just stick a chip on them and they’ll do your bidding. It could be that it would be incredibly cheap and easy to build a vast cloud of evil cyborg beetles and send them at your foes.
I might even be that there’s these poor beetles in California, alive, and unable to do anything but passively observe the remainder of their pitiful existence as their muscles spasm upon commands from military generals. I think it’s a combination of all three, so how about we end this post right about now, before I start shivering helplessly.
Remote Controlled Beetles (via Hackaday)
More beetle news: Forest fire fighting beetle-like robots in development | Scientists invent human gills after studying beetles
AMD to split into two companies
Business news anyone? It might not be very exciting, but if you don’t have an Intel chip in the PC you’re reading this on, then you’ll almost certainly have an AMD chip in there, so pay attention.
AMD are splitting their business into two companies. The first will be focused on designing microprocessors, and the second will actually manufacture them – a process which is expensive and debt-laden. The new manufacturing company will be called the Foundry Company, and AMD will own 44.4 percent of it, with the rest being owned by a Abu Dhabi company called Advanced Technology…
Intel announce "Dunnington" – the beast with six cores
I can understand why Intel aren’t following their “dual” and “quad” naming conventions religiously. If they were then this would be a “sex-core” chip. Maybe they’ll switch from Latin to Greek and refer to it as a “hex-core” chip. That might sound a bit pagan though, so they’ll probably just stick with “six”. Opportunity missed…
Dual core Atom chip in the works at Intel
The Atom chip is a low-power chip that powers the vast majority of the rapidly expanding netbook market of tiny, cheap computers, and Intel have just announced the arrival of a dual-core version…
AMD jumps into the mini notebook PC game
Hoping to keep up with the likes of the Via Openbook, Intel’s Atom processors, and countless Eee PC wannabes, AMD is now working with PC manufacturers to build a new breed of small form factor PCs (you can call them what you like)…
Oh no! iPhone 3G could be delayed until… later. Plenty more time for rumours
I can’t really be too harsh on the iPhone rumourmongers — after all, it gives us a lot to write about particularly on Friday afternoons when there’s nothing else going on outside pubs — but it does seem that a few analysts have too much time on their hands.
Every time a company with even a tentative link to Apple says anything at all, at least one person will draw a conclusion that the iPhone is coming now, or next week, or next month, or in 2009, or never (well, OK, maybe not “never”)…
AMD announces triple core Phenom processors
Yes, I know that we’re already looking at quad core processors and beyond, but AMD hopes that its Phenom triple core offering will encourage the mainstream adoption of processors more powerful than the popular dual core chips, without breaking the bank.
The new Phenom X3 models include the 2.1GHz 8400, 2.3GHz 8600, 2.1GHz 8450, 2.3GHz 8650, and 2.4GHz 8750, arriving over the coming months…
