Tag Archives: SolidState

A Chinese startup may have cracked solid-state batteries

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Solid-state batteries have long been heralded as The Next Big Thing after lithium-ion, with companies from all quarters racing to get them into high-volume production. Dyson, BMW and car manufacturer Fisker are just a few names that have been working...

Researchers create safer lithium-ion batteries that harden on impact

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Lithium-ion batteries have a world of important applications (smartphones, electric vehicles and the Mars Curiosity Rover, to name a few), but they're also notoriously unstable, and if damaged can result in burns, house fires and even plane crashes....

US Navy to deploy ship-mounted laser in 2014, blasts drones in the meantime (video)

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US Navy to deploy ship-mounted laser in 2014, blasts drones in the meantime (video)

Lasers have been flaunted by the US Navy before, but now it's announced that 2014 will see the very first solid-state laser deployed aboard a ship, two years ahead of schedule. The USS Ponce, a vessel used as an amphibious transport dock stationed in the Persian Gulf, will get the honor of hosting the prototype Laser Weapon System (LaWS). Not only can the hardware set boats and airborne drones ablaze, but it can also emit a burst to "dazzle" an opponent's sensors without inflicting physical harm. Sure, it cost roughly $32 million to construct, but the price is expected to fall when it hits wider production, and Chief of Naval Research Rear Admiral Matthew Klunder estimates that it each shot rings up at under $1. It may not be the missile-obliterating free-electron laser that the Navy's been lusting for, but we're sure it doesn't matter much to drones at the end of the beam. Hit the jump to for a video of the contraption in action.

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Via: The Register

Source: US Navy (1), (2)

Modbook Pro to launch with SSD storage, up for pre-order October 3rd

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Modbook Pro to launch with SSD storage, up for preorder October 3rd

It wasn't all that long ago that Modbook Inc's CEO, Andreas Haas, made the mac-in-tablet Modbook Pro official, now we're learning that the super-slate will launch with high performance SSD storage. So, as you wield your MacBook Pro come tablet, you'll be free from spinning disks. Great, but what impact will this have on capacity? Well, according to the firm, storage will start at 64GB as standard, with upgrades possible all the way up to a, not-unreasonable, 480GB. Pre-orders go live on October 3rd, along with the all important reveal on price. Regardless of cost, if that void between the iPad and full-fat Windows 8 slates had been irking you, here's your answer.

Continue reading Modbook Pro to launch with SSD storage, up for pre-order October 3rd

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Modbook Pro to launch with SSD storage, up for pre-order October 3rd originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Sep 2012 10:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SanDisk announces 32GB ReadyCache for Windows: $55 at Amazon, keep your existing HDD

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SanDisk announces 32GB ReadyCache for Windows 7: $55 at Amazon, keep your existing HDDSanDisk has built itself a decent reputation in the SSD game, and a cheap cache-only drive is a logical addition to its line. Unlike regular SSD or hybrid upgrades, you don't have to transfer your system to the new drive -- the 2.5-inch, 32GB add-on simply hooks up to a spare SATA III port alongside your spinning storage and then you run SanDisk's ExpressCache software to do the rest. The program, which is currently Windows 7-only, monitors which files you access most frequently and then automatically caches them on the SSD, promising up to 12x faster application launches and also faster boot times compared to your HDD working on its lonesome. Importantly, the ReadyCache works with multiple hard drives too, rather than just boosting your primary drive -- a feature that SanDisk claims gives it a one-up over most other caching solutions. The list price is $100 but Amazon has it up right now for $55.

Continue reading SanDisk announces 32GB ReadyCache for Windows: $55 at Amazon, keep your existing HDD

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SanDisk announces 32GB ReadyCache for Windows: $55 at Amazon, keep your existing HDD originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 12:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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SanDisk announces 32GB ReadyCache for Windows: $55 at Amazon, keep your existing HDD

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SanDisk announces 32GB ReadyCache for Windows 7: $55 at Amazon, keep your existing HDDSanDisk has built itself a decent reputation in the SSD game, and a cheap cache-only drive is a logical addition to its line. Unlike regular SSD or hybrid upgrades, you don't have to transfer your system to the new drive -- the 2.5-inch, 32GB add-on simply hooks up to a spare SATA III port alongside your spinning storage and then you run SanDisk's ExpressCache software to do the rest. The program, which is currently Windows 7-only, monitors which files you access most frequently and then automatically caches them on the SSD, promising up to 12x faster application launches and also faster boot times compared to your HDD working on its lonesome. Importantly, the ReadyCache works with multiple hard drives too, rather than just boosting your primary drive -- a feature that SanDisk claims gives it a one-up over most other caching solutions. The list price is $100 but Amazon has it up right now for $55.

Continue reading SanDisk announces 32GB ReadyCache for Windows: $55 at Amazon, keep your existing HDD

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SanDisk announces 32GB ReadyCache for Windows: $55 at Amazon, keep your existing HDD originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 05 Sep 2012 12:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Crucial ships mSATA-based m4 SSD upgrade, your Ultrabook never felt better

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Crucial ships out mSATAbased m4 SSD upgrade, your Ultrabook never felt betterCrucial has already managed to stuff its m4 SSD into Ultrabook sizes, but the 7mm thick design may still be too portly for the thinner laptops in the pack. With that in mind, the flash memory guru has just started shipping the m4 mSATA, a barebones card that sits cozily next to the motherboard either as a cache for a rotating disk or as a main drive. It's still as speedy as many of its bigger cousins, with read speeds of up to 500MB/s per second. We suspect most buyers will be lured in by the low prices: at just $53 for a cache-friendly 32GB SSD and no more than $226 for a 256GB example, it's entirely feasible to give that spinning-drive Ultrabook a shot in the arm.

Continue reading Crucial ships mSATA-based m4 SSD upgrade, your Ultrabook never felt better

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Crucial ships mSATA-based m4 SSD upgrade, your Ultrabook never felt better originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Jul 2012 15:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Corsair Force GT SSDs put through their paces, have graphs to prove it

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Corsair Force GT SSDs put through their paces, have graphs to prove it

Instead of singling out one of Corsair's latest SandForce-equipped SSDs, the folks at StorageReview sussed out performance differences by putting each drive through the wringer. Though read / write specs are relatively uniform across the line, barring some slight dips in speed, they dug up a few juicy morsels of info that could benefit both frugal and performance-minded shoppers. In a read intensive gaming test, the 60GB entry drive performed similarly to the 480GB behemoth. Another notable result was a 60% jump in throughput between the 120GB and 180GB models. Keen on eking out the most performance-bang for your buck? Hop over to the source for the full skinny and a bevy of charts.

Corsair Force GT SSDs put through their paces, have graphs to prove it originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 02 Jun 2012 05:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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