Tag Archive



PS3 Leads To Age Of The Petaflop

Sharon Hurley HallJune 9, 2008

What do the Playstation 3 and the world’s fastest computer have in common? Only that they use the same components. IBM’s latest supercomputer, codenamed Roadrunner, will be able to make one thousand trillion calculations per second. It uses both supercomputer chips and the PS3 cell chip to produce these speeds.

According to the BBC, it will be used to keep track of nuclear weapons, but there’s no fun in that for ordinary computer users. It does mean that high performance computers can use this technology to get faster and faster. I wonder when this will trickle down to home computers?

Filed Under Consoles & Video Games | No Comments »


Is Your Keyboard Dirtier Than Your Toilet?

Sharon Hurley HallMay 9, 2008

Believe me, I am not asking that question to be disgusting. In fact, I was slightly disgusted when I read this item on Lifehacker. According to a UK study, most keyboard have so much harmful bacteria lurking beneath the keys that they could cause stomach bugs and diarrhoea. The research tested keyboards in a London office and found that some of them were 150 times over the normal bacteria limit.

Bad hygiene, eating at your desk and not cleaning the keyboard are the main factors responsible for this yucky fact, and all you have to do to improve is shake it out and wipe it down. That’s not too hard, is it? Hmmm, when last did I clean MY keyboard?

Filed Under General | 2 Comments »


DIY Laptop Tutorial

Sharon Hurley HallApril 27, 2008

What’s the best way to get the laptop of your dreams? It’s to build your own, of course. Apparently, it’s easier than we think. That’s alright for Denny Atkins to say. He’s the author of Computer Shopper’s guide to building your own laptop.

I must admit that Denny makes it look simple. If you have $1400 to spare and time on your hands, then that could be a project worth doing. You’ll get a high performance laptop, and you won’t have to call tech support. Of course, for someone as spatially challenged as I am, it may not be so simple. Let me know how you get on.

Filed Under Hardware & Software | No Comments »