Analog and Digital Recording

Analog Recording

“Analog recording is a technique used for the recording of analog signals which among many possibilities include audio frequency, analog audio and analog video information for later playback.” Analog recordings get stored as a signal continual wave. The wave could also be stored on a phonograph record. In 1877 the first analog recorder was used, called a phonograph. Thomas Edison is the man that invented this devise. To use this devise, you had to go through three steps. First step is getting the sound in to the device, this happens when the sound travels through a cone shaped object called the microphone diaphragm. This then makes the microphone diaphragm vibrate, which is connected to a needle. The needle had a sharp tip, meaning it left a groove in the tin-foil material.There were a few problems with the phonograph. One major one was where the tin foil got worn down fast. This happened when the recorded piece was played back and the needle constantly dug in to the foil so it eventually destroyed the recorded piece.

Gaming Consoles

The three biggest gaming console developers at the moment are Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. These companies have dominated the gaming console market for years, and it looks like things are staying that way, with many talks of next the generation of consoles around the corner.

Sony

PlayStation 3

Sony released the third version of their gaming console the “PlayStation 3” in 2006 as a successor to the PlayStation 2.  Technology wise the PS3 is much more advanced than the PS2. It uses a Cell microprocessor which consists of one 3.2GHz PowerPC- based PPE and eight SPE’s. Unlike the PlayStation 2, which required an external memory card, the PS3 comes with internal memory storage, with different models available, ranging from 20GB to 60GB with the original models, to newer models with up to 320GB of memory. The PS3’s SATA hard drives are upgradable so users can increase the amount of storage on their console.

The PS3 uses Blu-ray disc drive capable of playing games, Blue-ray movies, DVD’s and CD’s. It uses an NVIDIA RSX with 256MB of GDDR3 video memory to handle graphics, which offers HD resolutions of up to 1080p, made possible by use of a HDMI cable, and also has 356MB of XDR DRAM main memory. Since its original release, many models have been released, including a slim model and a super slim model, which contain slightly different features than previous models. The PS3 has a wireless controller that connects to the console using Bluetooth technology, and also uses Sixaxis motion detecting technology, where by physically moving the controller can control actions on the screen. This is a feature many games make use of.

Sony also released the PlayStation Move in 2010, which is a motion-sensing controller. A camera is used to track the controller’s movements.

The PS3 also introduced the PlayStation Network or PSN. The PSN in an online feature that allows players to play together online, download gaming content and stream television shows, movies and music.

 

 

 

Flash V HTML5

 I’m going to talk about how HTML5 and Flash are competing against each other in the market of technology. People say that HTML5 is going to take over from Flash but I’m going to talk about the pros and cons on each of these subjects, to see witch one would benefit us in the long run.

Lets start with Flash we have being using this for some time now and there hasten being any complaints as of yet. Flash can enhance your website it can make it look visually and interactive to the person on your site. You can also put animations on your website using Flash you can make your website in Flash and have a Flash based website. You can make really nice websites using Flash here are some images to show you.

 

 

The Evolution of Computer Storage & Memory

Is flash memory going to be a thing of the past? This is what analysts have predicted with the expected introduction of a microscopic component called the Memristor which is only at the development stage. It is expected to be cheaper and faster than flash storage and is “already starting to revolutionize everything we know about computing”. (Null. 2012) In this blog I am going to give a brief description and breakdown of the history of flash memory, the advances it has had over the years and also of its future development. I am also going to talk about the development of Memristors and what we as consumers can expect from them and why they will lead to the end of flash memory.

Flash memory can be described as a non-volatile computer memory chip that maintains stored information without requiring a power source. It is used more like a hard drive and is also known as solid state storage device. They are used in everyday life where we store and transfer all types of files, Flash memory offers fast read access times; it has a high shock resistance, and resistance against high temperatures and immersion in water.

In the early 1980’s, Flash memory was developed by Dr Fuigo Masouka while working at Toshiba. It was originally developed from EEPROM (electrically erasable programmable read only memory). Two types were developed to map data; NAND and NOR. The difference between Flash memory and EEPROM is with Flash memory you can erase entire blocks at a time making it easier to update large amounts of data which is extremely important in personal and commercial computing, unlike EEPROM that can only erase one byte at a time making it time consuming.( Tyson. 2012).

In 1987, Toshiba announced NAND flash. It reads and writes sequentially at high speeds handling data in small blocks. This is used in USB flash drives, digital cameras and audio and video player. In 1988, Intel introduced the first commercial NOR type chip. The NOR chip provides high speed random access memory, reading and writing data to any specific location. These are used to store cell phones operating systems and in computer BIOS programs. NAND flash reads faster and is less expensive than NOR flash and offers higher capacity for the same size silicon chip. A major drawback of NAND technology is as the chip wears out; erase/program operations slow down considerably.