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How to make a Pi NAS box or
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NEW! NVIDIAS DUAL-GPU GEFORCE GTX 690
Inside the CPUs
8 motherboards
5 memory kits
Gaming PC
PLUS
ISSUE 106 JULY 2012 4.50
INTEL IVY
BRIDGE
3 July 2012
Welcome to Issue 106
Editorial
EDITOR
BenHardwidge
editor@custompc.co.uk
TECHNICALEDITOR
HarryButler
GAMESEDITOR
JoeMartin
ARTEDITOR
BillBagnall
PRODUCTIONEDITOR
JulieBirrell
CONTRIBUTORS
AntonyLeather, CliffHarris,
GarethHalfacree, JimKillock,
LucySherriff, MikeJennings,
PaulGoodhead, RobertFlorence,
SimonTreadaway, TracyKing
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CustomPCispublishedmonthlybyDennisPublishingLtd, 30ClevelandStreet,
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INTEL IVY
BRIDGE
36
SandyBridgesusurperhasfinally
arrived, packedwithtiny22nmTri-Gate
transistorsandpromisingareductionin
powerconsumptioncoupledwithevenmorespeed,
whilekeepingthecorecountthesame. Buthowwell
dotheyoverclock, andhowmuchheatisgenerated
byall thosefast-switching, tinytransistors?We
takealookatIntelsnewchips, aswell asthebest
memorywithwhichtopartnerthem, andaready-
madeIvyBridgegamingrigfromScan.
44
4 July 2012
Welcome to Issue 106
12
GOVERNMENTSNOOPING
Will thegovernmentreallybe
readingall ouremails?JimKillockexplores
thefactsaboutCCDP.
14
GOGINTERVIEW
WetalktoGoGsTrevorLongino
aboutitsnewlaunch, andhowyoupersuade
Windows98gamestorun onnewPCs.
18
ORGANICCOMPUTING
Researchersshowthepotential to
maketechfromsalivaandbloodproteins.
46
NVIDIAGEFORCEGTX690
Thenextfastestgraphicscardin
theworld isherealready. Wetakealookat
Nvidiasbonkersnewdual-GPUcard, which
isbasedonthecompanysnewKepler
GPUarchitecture.
60
Z77MOTHERBOARD
SHOOTOUT
Whatmakesthebesthomeforabrand-new
IvyBridgeCPU? Werevieweightnew
motherboardsbasedontheZ77chipset
inordertofindout.
96
THEBITESIZEDHARDCORE
GAMERMANIFESTO
Notimetoplaythroughthegrind?Cliff Harris
exploresagapinthehardcoregamemarket.
98
HANDSONWITHTHE
RASPBERRYPi
This29pieceof circuitboardhasbeen
grabbingalotof headlines, butwhatcanyou
actuallydowithit, andhow?GarethHalfacree
detailshowtoturnthePi intoamediacentre
or aNASbox, andevenshowsyouhowto
overclockit.
60 98
112
14
106
5 July 2012
1ssue106
106
READERS DRIVES
MeetProjectStealthlowa
gorgeousPCwithacurvyaluminiumchassis,
all constructedwithout industrial machinery.
114
HOWTOMAKEADUSTFILTER
All youneedisapairof tightsanda
rubberband.
116
MAKEAUSB3FRONTPANEL
Shortonhigh-speedportsatthe
front?MakeyourownUSBpanel usinga
sparedrive-bayblankingplate.
Reviewedthis month
Hardware
CPU
38 Intel IvyBridge
MEMORY
40 Thebest memoryforIvyBridge
PC
44 Scan3XSVengeanceZ77OC
GRAPHICS CARDS
46 NvidiaGeForceGTX690
48 GainwardPhantomGeForceGTX
6802GBand4GB
HARD DRIVE
52 1TBWesternDigital VelociRaptor
CPU COOLER
53 NofanCR-95C
STEERING WHEEL
54 ThrustmasterFerrari F1Wheel
Integral T500
Customkit
58 Roku2XS
58 64GBKingstonDataTraveler
HyperXUSB3
58 GriffinBeacon(Androidversion)
59 SamsungNavibot VCR8895
59 ArcticChargingStation
59 StartechUNIDOCK3UGB
Z77motherboardLabs test
63 ASRockFatal1tyZ77
Professional-M
64 AsusMaximusVGene
66 AsusSabertoothZ77
67 BiostarTZ77XE4
70 GigabyteGA-Z77X-UD5H
72 Intel DZ77GA-70K
74 MSI Z77A-G43
76 MSI Z77A-GD65
Games
88 TheLegendof Grimrock
90 Rayman: Origins
91 Gettysburg: ArmoredWarfare
92 Risen2: DarkWaters
95 RidgeRacer: Unbounded
33
PRODUCTS
REVIEWED
18 98
60
44
40
36
46
88
Regulars
8 Fromtheeditor
11 TracyKing
12 Digital rights
14 Interview
16 Incoming
18 Science!
20 Mobiletechwatch
24 CPCEliteproducts
56 Howwetest
86 Grumpygamer
96 Devperspective
128 Retrotech
130 Robert Florence
Community
106 Readers drives
112 Howtofit motherboard
waterblocks
114 Howtomakeyourowndust filter
116 HowtomakeyourownUSBfront
panel
118 Forthewin!
120 Letters
125 Folderof themonth
126 Yourfoldingmilestones
i
wasoriginallygoingtotalkaboutIvyBridgethismonth, and
explainwhyitsstill theCPUarchitectureof choice, despite
doublingasanovenfilamentwhenitsoverclocked. However,
whileI wasdouble-checkingthepricesonourElitelist, I noticedthat
thepriceof SSDshastumbledlikeaJengasetbalancedonadogs
back. Justincaseyouhaventspottedityet, youcannowbuyaCrucial
M4128GBforjust89.99incVATfromwww.ebuyer.com, anda256GB
versionof thesamedrivefor175incVAT.
ItisntonlyCrucial thatsdroppeditsprices
either. Thepriceof othermanufacturers
SSDs, includingthoseof Samsung, havealso
plummeted. Inshort, theressimplynoexcuse
fornotinstallinganSSDinyournextPCbuild
now. NotonlyareCrucials128GBand256GB
M4SSDssupremelyfast, buttheyalsooffer
morethanenoughstoragespaceforWindows,
plentyof softwareandagoodfewgamestoo.
I mentionthisbecauseI meetsomanypeoplewhohappily
performmassivePCupgradeseverynowandthen, swappingoutthe
motherboard, RAMandCPU, butkeepingthesame1TBharddrive
theyvehadforyears, andstill usingitasasystemdrive. I knowweve
saidthisrepeatedly, andwereprobablystartingtosoundlikeabroken
record(anincrediblytediousrecordwithaconversationaboutstorage
devicesonit), buttheupgradethatwill makethebiggestdifferenceto
yourPCischangngfromaharddisktoanSSD.
Thebiggestdifferenceyoull noticeistheWindowsstartuptime,
whichissadlyalmostimpossibletobenchmarkconsistently, as
cachingalgorithmsmakeitslightlydifferenteachtime. However, its
astoundinglyquickerthanusingaharddrive, andImnotjusttalking
aboutthetimeittakesfortheWindowsdesktoptoappear. Whenyou
bootupWindows7orVistaonastandardPConaharddrive, youalso
You might not have to junk your
motherboard, CPUand RAMjust yet.
An SSDupgrade may be all you need
havetositaroundandwaitwhiletheharddrivestopsfaffingaround
beforeyoucanactuallydoanything.
ClickaniconontheQuickLaunchbarstraightafterboot-upand
youll havetowaitforyourharddrivetostopmuckingaboutbeforeyou
seetheresultof youraction. Itsevenworseif youclickonseveral apps
oneaftereachotherinanattempttogetthemall runningatonce.
Thebenefitsof SSDscontinuewell afterboot-upthough. Game
levelsloadmuchquicker, whichmakesamassivedifferenceindata-
heavygamessuchasTheWitcher2, and
iTunesdoesntshamblealonglikeafattortoise
stuckbetweentwobrickseither.
If yourestill usingaCore2Quadorfirst-gen
Corei7system, thenyoumaybetemptedto
gutyoursystemandinstall aloadof newIvy
Bridgekitnow(evenif itdoesgethot), butif
yourPCstill usesaharddriveasabootdrive
thenIdinsteadadvisespendingjust90ona
small upgradethatwill makeaworldof difference. Theresstill aneed
forfasterCPUs, of course, butanupgradetoanSSDwill makeamuch
morenoticeabledifferenceintermsof general use.
Forthisreason, andasaresultof feedbackfromourreaders(see
Issue105, p123), wevedecidedtokitoutall thePCsinourElitesection
(exceptthebudgetPC) withasolid-statesystemdrive, aswell asa
harddrivefordata. Whena128GBcostsjust90, youdbeafool notto
makethejump. Imnowgoingtoremovemypreachershat. Buyan
SSD. Seriously.
BenHardwidgeistheeditorofCustomPC. HelikesPCs, realale
andWarhammer40,000.
EDITOR@CUSTOMPC.CO.UK @MANSHARK
iTunes doesnt shamble
along like a fat tortoise
stuck between two
bricks any more
NOMORE
EXCUSES
8 July 2012
from the editor
T
hismonthagainbroughtaslewof storiesbasedonthe
ridiculousclaimthatWiFi andtechnologyissomehow
literallyfryingourbrains, givinguscancer, causingfatigue,
headachesordepression, andmorethan100othersymptoms; this
isbackedupbydubiousdataandparadedaroundasnews bylink-
baitingeditors. Itsurfaceseveryfewyearsandeverytimeitdoes, I roll
myeyessohardI getaYahtzee.
Asatech-savvynon-idiot, youalmostcertainlydontbelievethat
electro-smog, alsoknownasthemoremedical-soundingbutequally
sillyelectrosensitivity isagenuinedanger. However, asyoull certainly
besurroundedbyseveral computers, phones, aWiFi networkandall
sortsof otherkit, heresthelow-down.
Electrosensitivityisfirstandforemostaself-
diagnosedcondition. Youdontgetabunchof
symptoms, gotothedoctorandareasked,
Hmm, haveyourecentlyinstalledanew
router?. Instead, youshowsomesymptoms,
getnowherewithyourGP, starttoscramble
aroundforcausesandsuddenlyremember
thateverythingstartedaroundthesametime
youboughtanewNetgearbox.
Correlationdoesntequal causation. Itsthe
simplest, andsadly, oneof themostcommon
fallacies, especiallywhenitcomestohealth. I haveafriendwhodidnt
eatcheesefortenyearsbecausehesufferedamigraineaftereating
RedLeicester. Turnsouthewasallergictothefoodcolouring. Ten
wretchedcheeselessyearsbecauseof asimplelogical error.
Electrosensitivityisthekingof all post-hocfallacies. Were
surroundedbyincreasingnumbersof low-hum-emittingtech,
invisiblewavesandphonemastsinthedistance. Thechancesof
developingsomesymptomsafterbeingexposedtoanewdevice(even
seeinganewWiFi connectionisinthelist) are100percentif youlive
evenavaguelymodernlife, asweall do. Blamingelectromagnetic
radiationfromthosedevicesislikeblamingthecolourof yournewcar.
Theres no such thing as electro-smog,
but link-baiting editors still churn out
stories about WiFi frying our brains
Theevidencesimplyisntthere. Therehavebeenmany
experiments, andoverandoveragain, thoseclaimingsensitivitywere
unabletodistinguishbetweenareal signal andafakeone. Reviewsof
thoseexperimentsbyJamesRubinetal (PsychosomaticMedicine,
2005andBioelectromagnetics, 2010), concluded: Wehavebeen
unabletofindanyrobustevidencetosupporttheexistenceof
[electromagnetichypersensitivity] asabiological entity.
Sowhydopeopleclaimotherwise, andwhyisitaproblemif they
do?Itsimportanttorealisethatthesymptomsarereal. Physical pain
ordiscomfort, orevenvisiblesymptomssuchasrashes, canhave
underlyingpsychological causesbutthatdoesntmeantheyreall in
yourhead. Thepeoplereportingproblemsare
notlyingormad, anymorethansomeonewith
aphobia. However, itslikelythatthecauseisa
psychological one, andnotsurprisingly, the
treatmentwiththebestsuccessratefor
electrosensitivityiscognitivebehavioural
therapy(CBT), whileotheroptionssuchas
shielding, donothingbeyondplacebo.
Andtheproblem?Sameasalways. You
andI, andourpro-technologycommunities,
arethebadguysyetagainthemonstersin
thecloset. Somesufferers, fuelledbyscare-
lovingmedia, needlesslymovehouse, changetheirlifestylesorbuy
expensivebutworthlessshieldingequipmenttosavethemfromtheir
WiFi andgadgetry. SomecouncilshaveeventriedtooutlawWiFi in
schools, deprivingkidsof thebenefitsof amajortechnologyand
convenience. Evidencewill winintheendbutinthemeantime, being
armedwiththefactsonelectrosensitivitywill bemorehelpful when
tryingtoavoidaheadache.
GamerandscienceenthusiastTracyKingdissectstheevidence
andstatisticsbehindsomeofthepopularmediastories
surroundingtechandgaming @TKINGDOLL
11 July 2012
Correlation doesnt
equal causation. Its the
simplest, and sadly,
one of the most
common fallacies
ATTACKOF
THEKILLERWIFI
12 July 2012
JimKillock
ecently, storiesaboutthesinisterbut
innocuouslytitledCommunications
CapabilitiesDevelopment
Programme(CCDP) haveemergedin
theformof leaksandpartial confirmationsto
Sundaynewspapers. Thesecondstory,
printedinTheSundayTimesonApril Fools
Day, hadmanypeopleaskingif thissupposed
planwasajoke. TheCCDP, itwasclaimed, isa
plantocollectasmuchdataaspossibleabout
whoyoutalktoonline, andwhen. Couldsuch
anoutrageousstoryreallybetrue?
Withinaday, ministerTheresaMaywas
wheeledout, justifyingtheideaby
remindingpeoplethattrafficdata
hadinthepastbeenusedto
investigateterroristsand
paedophilerings. ShetoldTheSun:
Imnotwillingtoriskmoreterrorist
plotssucceedingandmore
paedophilesgoingfreeDatalike
thishasalreadyhelpedlockawaymurderer
IanHuntley. Ithelpedcatchthegangland
thugswhogunneddownRhysJones.
Shealsoremindedpeoplethatthenew
planswouldntinvolvestoringactual
messagesyousend, justwhoyou
communicatewith(trafficdata). Bythetime
youreadthis, wemayhavefirmerideasabout
Government snooping
CCDP wasnt an April Fools joke; its very real and it effectively
allows the government to see who everyone talks to online
whattheCCDPreallymeans, soplease
acceptmyapologiesinadvanceforanyerrors:
Internetpolicycanbeimplementedquickly
anddangerously.
CCDPhasitsrootsinaLabourideafrom
2009, calledtheInterceptionModernisation
Plan(IMP). Thisincludedaplantostoreall
yourtrafficdatainagiantnational database,
althoughthatpartwasquicklydropped.
However, theworryremainsthattheHome
Officewantsaccesstostoreddatainorderto
fish forsuspects, byscanningthroughdatait
canaccesseasily.
TheHomeOfficesjustification, thenand
now, forextendingthestorageof trafficdata
isthatthefactthatthepolicedependonitfor
investigations. Formanyyears, thepolice
wouldlookatphonebillstoseewhothe
peopletheywereinvestigatingtalkedto.
Asourcommunicationsbegantomove
online, ISPswereaskedtogivepoliceaccess
totheirlogs. Theseincludeemail send
andreceivedetails, accountIPaddresses
andsomedataaboutwebvisits. ISPsare
alsorequiredtokeepthesedetailsforup
to18months.
ISPsarentkeepingall therelevant
informationanymore. Infact, Skype, Gmail
andFacebookaremuchmorelikelytohave
detailsaboutwhoyoutalktothanBTor
TalkTalk, sotheHomeOfficewantstotarget
thesethird-partyapplications andcollect
informationfromthem.
WhenthecoalitionwasformedinMay
2010, manypeopleexpectedthe
approachtochange. Afterall, we
hadanewgovernmentwhose
partieshadopposedIMP. The
coalition, infact, saidinits
agreementthatwewill endthe
storageof Internetandemail
recordswithoutgoodreason.
However, byOctober, theHomeOfficesnew
strategydocumentstoldustheopposite.
Wewill introduceaprogrammeto
preservetheabilityof thesecurity, intelligence
andlawenforcementagenciestoobtain
communicationdataandtointercept
communicationswithintheappropriate
legal frameworkWewill putinplacethe
R
THE WORRY REMAINS THAT THE
HOME OFFICE WANTS ACCESS TO
STORED DATA IN ORDER TO
FISH FOR SUSPECTS
13 July 2012
necessaryregulationsandsafeguardsto
ensurethatourresponsetothistechnology
challengeiscompatiblewiththe
governmentsapproachtoinformation
storageandcivil liberties.
Soon, HomeOfficebudgetlineswere
reserving2billionfortheproject. Whathad
changed?Notverymuch. TheHomeOffices
OfficeforSecurityandCounter-Terrorism
(OSCT) still existsandisrunbythesame
officials, includingdirectorCharlesFarr, an
ex-AfghanistanMI6agent. OSCTpromoted
bothIMPandtheCCDP.
TheOSCThadbeentalkingtoindustry
andotherbodies, includingtheInformation
Commission, whichisinchargeof UKdata
protection. LastNovember, itsrepresentatives
metwiththeISPAssociation(ISPA) todiscuss
howtheymightimplementtheCCDP.
Duringthisperiod, myorganisation, the
OpenRightsGroup, askedtheHomeOfficefor
ameetingtoseewhatitwasplanning, and
wasbrushedoff. Ourfreedomof information
requestsfordetailsof meetingsandminutes
wereturneddownoncostgrounds.
TheOSCTandHomeOfficeappeartohave
learnedthatthepreviousconsultations, under
Labour, provokedtoomuchdebateand
opposition, andaquieter, moresecretive
approachwouldbemorelikelytodampen
oppositionandsucceed. Campaignerssuch
asORGandPrivacyInternational havehadto
relyonrumoursandleakstoestablishwhat
mightbehappening.
Thegreatestuncertaintiessurroundhow
thegovernmentwill deal withtheconcerned
companies, suchasGoogleandFacebook.
Whybotherinterceptingandstoringthisdata,
whenyoucansimplyaskforitdirectly?
Infact, thisalreadyhappens. Forexample,
Googlepublisheshowmanyrequestsitgets
fordataaboutitsusers. IntheUK, Googlesays
itreceivesover1,000requestsayear, andit
complieswitharound63percentof these.
However, thispalesintoinsignificance
againstthe500,000annual requestsmade
undertheRegulationof InvestigatoryPowers
Act(RIPA). Mostof thesearebelievedtobe
requeststophonecompaniesaskingwho
hasregisteredaparticularphonenumber.
Asmallernumberwill betrafficdata.
Meanwhile, Facebookcomplieswith
requestsinpart: itdoesntprovidethefull
detailsof everymessageanindividual sends,
butwill givesubscriberinformation. Whats
more, if acompanydoesntcomplywithsuch
requests, theUKpolicecanusuallyask
throughinternational legal agreements.
All RIPArequestsareself-authorisedby
lawenforcement, andtheydontrequirea
magistrateorcourttocheckthattheyre
reasonable. Ontheplusside, thegovernment
acceptsthatthenumberof bodiesabletouse
RIPApowersshouldbemorelimited: thelist
onceincludedtheMilkMarketingBoard, and
still includesall local councils.
However, acompletelistof someones
friendsandassociates, alongwithalarge
proportionof theircommunications, is
muchmoreintrusivethanaphonebill, and
potentiallymoreopentoabuse. Stronger
safeguardsareneeded, including
JIM
KILLOCK
isexecutivedirectorof
campaignorganisation
TheOpenRightsGroup
(www.openrightsgroup.org)
@jimkillock
independentsupervision. Afterall, the
Levesoninquiryhasalreadyshownthat
policeandjournalistscolludedandshared
informationinappropriately.
Targetedcollection, datafreezing or
retainingdataof genuinesuspects, and
targetedinterceptionareall possiblewithout
CCDP. Responsibleservicesmayco-operate,
andcross-borderagreementsensurethat
datacanbeobtainednomatterwhatthe
jurisdiction. Inthelongterm, thislegislation
will alsocausemassiveexpense, especially
giventhenumberof servicesthehardware
will needtointerceptandread.
Whatisit?
TheCommunicationsCapabilities
DevelopmentPlanaimstoaccessdetails
ofeveryonesonlinecommunications, but
notmessages content. Thegovernment
willseekpowerstocompelcompanies
suchasGoogletohandoverthisdata
undertheRegulationofInvestigatory
PowersAct. ItsexpectedtoaskISPsto
collectdatafromothercompaniesby
interceptingouronlinecommunications.
Whendidtheseplansstart?
TheCCDPisthesuccessortoLabours
InterceptModernisationProgramme,
debatedin2009.
Whospushingit?
TheHomeOfficesOfficeforSecurityand
Counter-Terrorism, underdirector
CharlesFarr.
Whatwillbestoredoraccessed?
Thetime, locationorIPaddress, and
dataaboutwhichuserscommunicates
withwhom.
WhatdoISPsstorealready?
ISPsstoretheIPaddressesofwebsites
youvisit, thetime, fromandto detailsof
youremailsifyouuseyourISPsemail
service, thetimesyoulogonandoff
yourInternetconnectionandyourhome
IPaddress.
Whatdoesthegovernmentintercept
already?
Thegovernmentalreadyhaspowers
underRIPA, anditalsohasthetechnology
fortargetedinterceptionof
communications.
WhatdoInternetcompaniesdotoday?
Mostmajorcompanieswillcomplywith
UKgovernmentrequests. Whentheyre
basedinacountrysuchastheUSA, there
areagreementsbetweenbothcountries
toensurethatinformationneededfor
investigationscanbehandedover.
Takeaction
Visitwww.openrightsgroup.org/issues/
ccdp
WHAT IS CCDP?
14 April 2012
Joe Martin
Goodoldgames
Were fond of GOG.com, as it tweaks classic games from the PCs rich heritage so
that they run on new machines. We catch up with GOGs Trevor Longino to discover
how GOG started, and why its committed to a DRM-free future
Trevor:DRMisntaneffectivetool toprevent
piracy. If all youwanttodoiscapturesomeof
youruserinfo, DRMisahugelyexpensiveand
overpoweredtool togatherthatdata. Itslike
swattingaflywithasledgehammer. Viewing
itasadelayingtacticisprobablythemost
realisticunderstanding, buteventhatisnt
areasonablesolutiontopiracy. Treating
everyonewhobuysyourgamepoorlytodelay
somepeoplefromcopyingitillegallywont
encouragegamerstobecomefansof your
studio. Anygamingcompanyshouldbe
focusedonrewardingtheirmostfaithful
gamers, andDRMdoesntdothat.
CPC:GOGpromoteseachgamewithnew
materialssoundtracks, designdocuments
andsoon. Isiteverhardtoobtaintheseso
longafteragamesrelease?
Trevor:Yes, itdefinitelycanbe. Wegetthem
inanumberof ways: webuyboxesoneBayor
gamecollectorforumsorcontacttheoriginal
devs; sometimeswereachouttofan
communitiesthathaveformedaround
populargamesandaskthemforhelp. Of
course, wefrequentlyfindsomeawesome
extracontentbutalsodiscoverthat,
unfortunately, therightsforwhoownsitandis
allowedtodistributeitareunclear. Whenthat
happens, wesadlycantreleasethecontent,
whichexplainswhysomehardcorefansof a
CPC:HowdidtheideaforGOG.com
comeabout?
Trevor:Theconceptof offeringold
gamesgerminatiedinthemindsof
Michal andMarcin, thetwoco-foundersof CD
Projekt. Originally, thepairstartedoff asretail
distributorsinPolandduringthemid-1990s,
andtheirfirstsuccesswastothwartpiracyby
offeringaseriesof classicPCtitlesatbudget
prices. Thatpromptedaninterestingidea: by
sellinggamesatreasonablepricesthatwere
previouslyonlyavailableviapiracy, couldwe
stoppiracy?Alotof thetime, theysawthat
pirateswouldpayforgamesif theyfeltitwas
worthit.
Sothenextcoupleof monthswerespent
analysingthedigital market, expandingthe
conceptandsoon. Welaunchedabetaof the
servicein2008, whichranfortwoyearsand
releasedmorethan400games, sothatwas
verysuccessful. Wevehadmorethan6
milliongamesdownloadedandhavebeen
profitablefromourveryfirstmonth.
CPC: Howhavepublishersreacted?
Trevor:Therewereinitiallyconcernsabout
piracy, butthinkof anytop-tierAAAtitlefrom
thepastthreeyears: nomatterwhichDRM
systemituses, theresgenerallyaday-one
crackavailableforit. Therefore, whenwe
startedoutwetookthetimetomeetkey
playersintheindustryandexplainthatthe
bestwaytoreviveback-cataloguecontent
wastomakethewholeexperiencehassle-
freefortheendusernoDRM, full Windows
compatibility, flatpricesworldwideand
unlimitedre-downloads.
CPC:SomepublishersviewDRMasa
deterrent, othersseeitasawaytotrapuser
informationandsomeseeitasadelaying
system, sinceitsonlyamatteroftime
beforeacrackcomesout. Whatsyourtake?
ClassicgamessuchasDungeonKeeper2areavailable
fromwww.gog.com
15 April 2012
particularfranchiseknowof areallycool extra
thattheywantustoincludeinourgamebut
wecant. Soevenbeyondfindingtheextras,
gettinglegal clearancetoreleasethemcanbe
challengingaswell.
CPC:Youalsoupdatethegamestoworkon
modernsystems. Howdoyoudothis?
Trevor:Thiscanbeverytricky, because
weneverworkfromsourcecode. Were
usingthesameretail mastercopies
thatgamershavesittingontheir
shelves. Foranumberof thereleases
atGOG, sinceI started, weusedmypersonal
copiesof gamesluckily, I have500+games
andI broughtthemall withmewhenI moved.
Asforhowwegetall thosegamesworking
onmodernsystems, franklysometimeseven
I wonderhowourprogrammersmanageto
makethoseoldgamesrunsowell!
Sometimeswecanuseexistingsystems,
suchasDOSBoxorScummVM, andwere
grateful totheguysbehindthoseprograms
whohaveallowedustousetheirsoftware.
Fornon-DOSgames, wesometimeshave
to developourownsolutionsin-house. We
hadsomemajortroublewithrecentgames,
suchasThief andAnachronox, bothof which
arenotoriouslydifficulttorunnowadays. We
hadtoreachouttothecommunitiesaround
thesegamesforhelp.
Anachronoxinparticularrequiredmuch
workonourpart. Thegamerunsona
modifiedQuakeII engine, usingacustom-
madescriptinglanguage, sothereweretwo
mainproblems.
Thefirstwashowtomakethe
enginerunonmodernGPUdrivers
theOpenGLextensionshadtobe
fixed. Wehadoutsidehelponthatone,
asacommunitymembercontributed
acustomDLLfilethatworkedforboth
NvidiaandAMDGPUs.
Thesecondproblemwasscript-
related. Therewasonequestbug, for
example, wheresomethingcauseda
stackoverflowduringlocationtransition, and
preventedthescriptforthatlocationfrom
loading, resultinginquestfailure. Thereare
numerousworkarounds, butweneededa
permanentfix. Thankstothetestingteam
whodivedintothescripts, wefoundaviable
solution. Ourprogrammersthendivedinto
theworldof OpenGLandcodedafix
fortheproblem.
Ourtestlabhasthreeorfour
computerswithadifferent
configurationateachtestingstation,
includinglaptops, desktops, AMD
andNvidiacards, AMDandIntel chipsets,
32and64-bitOSes. Youcanseehowthiscan
becomecomplex, andregressiontesting
(makingsurebugswevefixedstayfixed) can
beamajorhassle. Soeventhoughwehave
morethan25differenttestingplatformsin
ourtestlab, theresalwaysaconfigyou
couldnttest.
FOR A NUMBER OF RELEASES
AT GOG.COM WE USED MY
PERSONAL COPIES OF GAMES
Theresanumber
ofmust-play
gamesonGOG,
includingOutcast
GOGletsyou
re-download
gamesasoftenas
youlike,forfree
TheDarkProjectwas
apaintotweakfor
newPCs
GEFORCE GTX 670
REVEALED
Sadly, wedidnt
havetimetoget
holdofoneof
theseandput
itthroughits
pacesbefore
wewentto
press, but
Nvidiahasnowstarted
fillingouttheGeForce
600-seriesrangeofGPUs
evenfurther. Thenew
GeForceGTX670hasseven
StreamingMultiprocessor(SM)units, rather
thantheeightfoundontheGTX680, resulting
inatotal of1,344streamprocessors.
Meanwhile, theGPUhasabaseclockof
915MHz, whichcanGPUboostto980MHz.
Both2GBand4GBflavourswill beavailable,
andthedefaulteffectiveGDDR5speedis
6,009MHz. Well bereviewingtheGeForce
GTX670inournextissue.
CRUCIAL SSD AND
LLANOPRICE CRASH
Nowisthetimetojumpinandrelegate
yourclatteringharddrivetomedia
storageduties, ifyouhaventalready.
Crucialhasjustknockedloadsoffthe
askingpriceofitsaward-winningM4
SSDs(seeIssue104, p64).
The128GBM4nowcosts
89.99incVATfrom
www.ebuyer.
com, while
the256GB
flavournow
costsjust175inc
VAT. Therearenoexcusesnow!
Meanwhile, AMDhasalsobeenhitting
itsLlanochipswithaprice-beatingstick.
TheA8-3870KBlackEditionnowcosts
just85incVATfromwww.aria.co.uk
abargainforahalf-decentCPUandGPU
inoneunit.
We take a look at the latest
newly announced products
16 February 2012
NEW HARDWARE
OCZ UPDATES VERTEX
4 FIRMWARE
OCZclaimsownersofitsVertex4seriesof
SSDscannowsqueezemoreperformance
fromthemwiththelatest1.4firmware
update. Accordingtothecompany, the
maximumwritespeedofthe128GBversion
will increasemassivelyfrom200MB/secto
420MB/sec, whilethe256GBwill nowwrite
atamaximumof465MB/sec, increasing
from380MB/sec. Meanwhile, OCZsaysthe
maximumreadspeedswillincreaseform
535MB/secto550MB/secacrosstheboard.
OCZsaysthespeedboostcomesfroma
predictivereadalgorithm, whichanticipates
andrespondstocommandsnotyetissuedby
thehost. Youcangrabthe
newfirmwarefrom
http://tinyurl.com/
Vertex4Firmware,
buttheflashprocess
willdestroyall thedataon
thedrive, somakesureyou
performabackupfirst.
CORSAIR JOINS FANCLUB
CorsairhastickedanotherstepoffitsPCdominationplanwiththe
announcementthatitsenteringthefanmarket, followingthememory
makersrelativelyrecentmoveintomakingcases, PSUs, SSDsand
peripherals. ThenewAirSeriesfanswill beavailableintwocategorieshigh
airflow(forcases) andhighstaticpressure(forradiatorsandheatsinks), with
QuietandPerformancemodelsinbothcategories. Mostofthefansare
120mmmodels, althoughtheresalsoa140mmunitinthehighairflow
line-up, andtheyll alsobeavailableinblack, red, blueandwhite.
Prices correct at time of going to publishing (4th May 2012)
www.cclonline.com/cpc
call us on 08000 50 10 10
from468.35 inc VAT [Code: VGA0566]
Gainward GeForce GTX 580 Phantom Editon
783 MHz Base Clock Speed
3072MB GDDR5 Memory
2010 MHz Memory Speed
HDMI, Dual DVI-I & DisplayPort
8-pin & 6-pin Power
Gainward GeForce GTX 580 Graphics Card
783 MHz Base Clock Speed
1536MB GDDR5 Memory
2010 MHz Memory Speed
HDMI, Dual DVI-I &
DisplayPort
8-pin & 6-pin Power
329.99 inc VAT [Code: VGA0565]
from225.06 inc VAT [Code: VGA0563]
Gainward GeForce GTX 570 Graphics Card
750 MHz Base Clock Speed
1280MB GDDR5 Memory
1950 MHz Memory Speed
HDMI, Dual DVI-I & DisplayPort
8-pin & 6-pin Power
Gainward GeForce GTX 560 Phantom Editon
822 MHz Base Clock Speed
1024MB GDDR5 Memory
2020 MHz Memory Speed
HDMI, DVI-I & D-Sub
2x 6-pin Power
168.47 inc VAT [Code: VGA0558]
519.98inc VAT
[Code: VGA0594]
1084 MHz Base Clock Speed
1150 MHz Boost Clock Speed
2048MB GDDR5 Memory
3150 MHz Memory Speed
PCI Express 3.0
1x HDMI, 2x DVI, 1 DisplayPort
8-pin & 6-pin Power
Gainward GeForce
GTX 680 Phantom
18 July 2012
Lucy Sherriff
alkaboutbleeding-edgetechnology.
ResearchersinIsrael havemanaged
tobuildwhiteLEDsandtransistors
fromnothingbutbiological
componentsspecifically, proteinsfoundin
saliva, milkandblood.
Theideaof blendingtechnologyandbiology
isnothingnewthetermcyborgdatesbackto
1960afterall, whenitwascoinedbyUS
researchersManfredClynesandNathanS
Klineinanarticleaboutthemodificationsthat
wouldoptimisethehumanbodyforspace
exploration. However, thisworkturnsour
normal thoughtsaboutcyborgsinsideout.
Insteadof usingtechnologytomodifya
human, theteamatTel AvivUniversityhas
takenbiological componentsandusedthem
asthebuildingblocksfortechnology.
Althoughitsoundslikesomethingfroma
sci-fi future, themotivationwasquitesimple:
silicon-basedcomputingisrunningout.
Mooreslaw, fabulousasitsbeenforthe
computingindustry, isrunningintodifficulties
thatcantbeeasilysolved. Physicsisgoingto
getinthewayatsomepoint, andsoon.
AsEladMentovich, achemistryPhD
studentatTel AvivUniversityandpartof
theresearchteam, says: Itsthegreat
challengefacingelectronicsandphotonics.
Thematerial isgettingsmallerandharder
tofabricate.
YouknowMooresLaw: theideathatthe
numberof transistorswecanfitonachip
doublesevery18months, whiletheprice
halves. Thetroubleisthatattodays
dimensions, atomsarealreadygettinginthe
way, quantumeffectsarebecomingmore
thantheory, andtherestheheattoo.
Soalternativesarebeingsought. One
avenueof researchisquantumcomputing,
whichmightbealittlewhilecoming; another
Organiccomputing
Making computer transistors from saliva, milk and blood may be the stuff
of Cronenberg lms, but it isnt as far-fetched as you might think
isspintronics. Andtakingaleaf outof natures
bookmightjustbepartof thesolution.
Mentovichsaysthatthewholeideawastolook
forsolutionsinnaturethatalreadyexistfor
problemswerestartingtofaceintechnology.
TomakeawhiteLEDisquitedifficult, he
begins. Youneedthreecoloursred, green
andblueandtheymustcombine, butnot
interactwitheachother. If thathappens, you
getacolourthatsnotwhite. Ourambitionis
tofindsomethingbiological thatcanhavethe
sameeffect. Soweask: whatperformsthis
kindof separationinnature?Thisisjustwhat
salivaisdoing. Salivasortsfoodintodifferent
groupsandthenyourbodycanprocessit.
Withalittlehelpfromthehumanworldof
science(moreonthatlater), theMucinprotein
insaliva, whichworkssowell tobegin
digestion, canalsokeepfluorescentdyesof
differentcoloursseparateintherightwayfora
tri-colourwhiteLED. Andwiththeadditionof
dyesorotherchemicals, Mentovichsays, the
colourof LEDitproducescanbecontrolled.
Putthreecoloursintoit, andyouget
automaticseparation. Soinsteadof avery
complicatedindustrial systemforseparating
threecolours, wehaveaproteinthatdoesit
naturally, heexplains.
Emboldenedbyitssuccess, theteam
MentovichalongwithhiscolleaguesNetta
HandlerandBogdanBelgorodskydecided
tolookforotheruseful proteins. Andthey
foundoneintheblood: albumin. Thisprotein
canabsorboxygen, whichmeansthatthe
researcherscaneffectivelydope the
semiconductorwithspecificchemicals,
enablingthemtotailorthematerial to
produceparticulartechnological properties,
Mentovichexplains. Milkproteins,
meanwhile, formstrongfibresthatare
thebasisforbiological transistors.
Usingthetissueof livingcreaturescows,
pigsandultimatelyoneday, humansto
createtechnologycreatessomepowerful
mental images. Itconjuresupvisionsof slimy
humanspluggedintovastarrays, Matrix-
style, andcallstomindBladeRunnerandthe
replicants. Justthewordmucus makesus
thinkof therevoltingspectacleof David
Cronenbergsfilmof NakedLunch(1991),
whichsawtheprotagonist, exterminatorBill
Lee, typinghismemoirsintothestickymouth
of agianthallucinatedinsect/typewriterthats
probablyspyingonhimashestrugglesto
overcomeanaddictiontobugspray.
However, thevisceral reactionis
misleading. Theworkof theseresearchers
couldleadnotjusttodevelopmentssuch
T
TheMucinproteininsalivacankeepfluorescentdyes
ofdifferentcoloursseparateinjusttherightwayfora
tri-colourwhiteLED
Insteadofusingacomplicatedindustrialsystemfor
separatingthreecolourstomakeawhiteLED,the
proteindoesitautomatically
19 July 2012
asfoldingcomputerscreens, butalsoto
compostablefoldablecomputerscreens. If
thecomponentsareorganic, thenrecycling
potentiallybecomeseasy.
Wevegonefromsilicontoplasticand
nowwerelookingatingredientsthatare
biodegradable, saysMentovich. Plentyof
fabsaremakingnoiseaboutgoinggreen, he
observes, butthefocushasbeenalmost
exclusivelyonenergyconsumed, carbon
footprintsandsoon. Instead, Mentovichsays
histeamismorelookingatwaystoconsume
lesstoxicchemicals.
Inreality, atotallycompostabletransistor
mightbesomewayoff. Moreimmediately,
replacingsomeof thesiliconincircuitboards
couldcleanupthefabricationprocess
considerably. Inaworldwithprotein-based
transistors, nosiliconwouldneedtobe
burnedtorecovertheotherpreciousand
semi-preciousmaterialsgold, copperand
sooninvolvedinbuildingcircuitboards.
AsMentovichsays, theblood, milkand
mucusproteinsbetweenthemprovidethe
basiccomponentsof aphotosystem. It
shouldbepossibletomakeanentire
optoelectronicdevicethatsbiodegradable.
Andatransistormadeof proteinsalsohas
highmobility, andrequireslowvoltageto
operate, headds.
Sohowisitdone?Thekeyisthatproteins
canself-assemble.Traditionalsemiconductors
aremadefromthetopdownthesurfaceof a
siliconcrystal isetchedwiththeshapesand
formsneededforaparticularcomponent.
However, theproteinsbuildthemselvesinto
semiconductorsfromthebottomup, which
givesthemasignificantadvantage. Theycan
beflexiblewheresiliconisbrittle, andtheycan
bemademuchthinner. Mentovichpointsto
thecurrentstateof thesiliconart, whichhe
putsat18nm. Afilmof self-assembled
albuminproteinsisjust4nmhigh.
TheproteinstheIsraeli teamusesare
commerciallyavailablepowderedproteins
(Thelazyoption, Mentovichlaughs). Tocreate
asemiconductorfilm, thepowdermustbe
suspendedinasuitablepHbufferandcan
thenbepaintedontoanysurface. Evenonto
ablueLED, wheretherightproteinmixwill
changethelightfrombluetowhite.
Otherlabsareworkingwithproteinsina
similarcontext. Backin2008, researchersat
PurdueUniversityinLafayette, Indiana,
producedchainsof semiconductingparticles
usingproteinsasgrowthtemplates(http://
tinyurl.com/GrowthTemplates). InSweden,
researchershavesucceededinproducing
electrical wiresmadefromproteins(http://
tinyurl.com/ProteinWires), whileinRussia,
photosynthesisproteinshavebeentappedfor
theirabilitytogeneratephotocurrent(http://
tinyurl.com/PhotoCurrent).
Mentovichstressesthatthisworkisalong
wayfromacommercial process, butsaysthat
mostof theobstaclesinvolvecomplyingwith
industrystandards, ratherthantechnology.
Wewonderedhoweasyitwouldbetoscale
Mentovichandhiscolleagues workinthelab
LUCY
SHERRIFF
isajournalistwitha
degreeinastrophysics
whoknowsallaboutthe
latestscientifictech.
@lucysherriff
toanindustrial productionprocess. You
knowhowindustrystandardsare, hemused.
Integrationiseasy, butcompatibilitywith
standardsishard. Itwouldtakehuge
investmentmany, manydollarstotake
thisintoindustry. Butthatsfineforus. Were
havingfunfindingoutwhatwecando. This
isntaboutspittingoutatransistor, butwecan
takeablueLEDandcoatitwithourproteins,
andmakeitawhiteLED. Soperhapsthefirst
stepisahybrid, butreally, wewanttomake
everythingoutof proteins.
Lookingtothefuture, Mentovich
speculatesthatelectronicsinsidethebody
wouldbepossible, musingonthepossibility
of internal devicespoweredbythehuman
body. Thereissomedifference
betweenelectronics(inour
computers) andelectronicsinthe
humanbody. OneisIonicandthe
otheriselectronic. Proteinscando
both, somaybeitcanbethebridge?
Peoplehaveshownthiseffect
beforebutweneverthoughtsofarahead. I
thinkthathuman-machineinterfacewill be
muchmorevagueinthefollowingyears. We
seeitnowlookatthenewglassesbyGoogle.
Canwejustmodifytheeye?Maybe
CronenbergsNakedLunchshowshowtogetaheadintechnology
PROTEINS BUILD THEMSELVES
INTO SEMICONDUCTORS FROM
THE BOTTOM UP
IsGooglesProjectGlassconceptanindicationofthe
futureofthehuman-machineinterface?
20 July 2012
Gareth Halfacree looks at the latest mobile hardware
commontricktomakeeveryday
gadgetsseemfuturisticistomake
themtransparent, flexibleorboth.
However, justhowcloseareweto
humblesmartphonesechoingthoseused
bybillionairealcoholicinventor-cum-
superheroTonyStarkinIronMan2, orthe
disposableorigami phoneof Ultraviolet?
Closerthanyouthink.
STAGE 1: THE DISPLAY
Thedisplayisthefirstpartof asmartphone
thatyousee. Traditional displaysuseasolid
backgroundtoeitherreflectthelightof a
backlightsystem, ortoreflectambient
lightaswithelectronicpaperdisplays
suchasEInk.
Theydonthavetothough. Samsungs
displayarmhasbeenshowingoff alarge-
scaletransparentdisplaybasedonorganic
light-emittingdiode(OLED) technologyfora
while, creatinga46inmodel designedfor
retail environmentsincludingfridgeswith
animateddisplaysthroughwhichthe
productisvisible.
Thetechnologyisntlimited
tolarge-scaledisplayseither.
Little-knownheads-updisplay
specialistVuzixwaspresentat
theConsumerElectronicsShow
earlierthisyearwithaprototypefor
adisplaythatcouldintegratewith
eyeglasses, providingavirtual
overlayinfull colour.
Noristhetechnologynew: in
2009, LGshowedoff aprototype
activematrixOLED(AMOLED)
displayattheFPDJapan
show; ithadanimpressive
15indiagonal andoffered
thesamefull-motion
Trulytransparent trinkets
Just what would it take to make a completely transparent mobile device,
as seen in sci- icks?
smartphones, isnobarrierthesedays. Atmel,
creatorof microcontrollers, memoryand
touchcomponentsforcomputersystems,
recentlyunveiledatouchsensordubbed
XSense. Basedonaflexiblefilm, anXSense
panel canbeappliedtoanysurface
includingoneof Samsungsaforementioned
flexibledisplaysandcurvedtoalmostany
angle, whilereducingcomponentcostsand
decreasingtheweightof thehandset.
STAGE 2: THE ELECTRONI CS
Soaflexible, transparentdisplayispossible
butthatisntall youneed. Behindthescreen
isadizzyingarrayof system-on-chip
processors, memorymodules, circuitsand
wires, butthesecanalsobemadeinvisible.
ResearchersfromRiceUniversity,
speakingattheNational Meetingand
Expositionof theAmericanChemical Society,
claimtohavecreatedmemorychips
thatcanbefolded, exposedto
blisteringlyhightemperaturesand
soakedinwaterall withouta
singlelostbit. Betteryet, the
chipsaretransparentand
canbestackedina3Darray
tocrammoredataintoa
smallerarea.
Thetechnologyisntquite
perfectedyet. Generally,
experienceasastandardPCmonitor.
Althoughtheprototypelackedbrightness
andcontrast, thetechnologyhasnow
significantlyimproved.
Sotransparencyisachievablewithtodays
technology, butwhataboutflexibility?Wecan
againlooktoSamsungforaclue: backin
2011, thecompanydemonstratedaflexible
AMOLEDdisplayaimedspecificallyat
smartphones. Usingabendablecircuit
substrateandditchingthetraditional glass,
thecompanydemonstratedabrightand
clearhigh-resolutiondisplaythatcouldbe
curvedbackonitself andevenhitwitha
sledgehammerwithnoill effects. Recently,
LGhasdonethesamewithitselectronic
paperdisplays.
Eventouchsensitivity, a
requirementof modern
A
Thesee-throughphone:ridiculousor
prescient? Plastic-backed,flexible
displaysarealreadypossible
21 July 2012
youcantseeabitof memory, becauseitstoo
small, explainsJamesTour, whorunsthelab.
Butsiliconitself isnttransparentif the
densityof thecircuitsishighenough, youre
goingtoseeit. Asastartingpoint, however,
Toursworkisimpressive, andif memory
chipscanbetransparent, sotoocan
processorsandotherintegratedcircuits. It
maytakeawhilebut, unlikethewarpdrive,
itseasytoseehowwecouldgetthere.
Youcanmounttransparentmemorychips
ontotransparentcircuitrytoo, thanksto
workcarriedoutbytheUniversityof
Cambridgeoninkjet-printedcircuits.
Byaugmentingtheconductive
polymersaddedtotheinkwith
grapheneeveryonesfavouritenano-
material researchersledbyAndrea
Ferrari wereabletocreateamaterial
thatcanbeprintedonanysurface,
includingtransparentandflexibleplastics.
Coupledwithclearplasticcasingand
atransparentscreen, youreleftwitha
smartphonethatyoucanbend, fold, and
seerightthrough. Well, almost.
STAGE 3: THE BATTERY
Behindthedisplayandtheelectronicsis
arguablythemostimportantpartof any
smartphone: thebattery. Buthowdoyou
makeaphonesbattery, withall itschemicals
andworryinglycorrosivecomponents,
disappear?Onceagain, weturntoscience
specifically, apaperpublishedinthe
Proceedingsof theNational Academyof
SciencesbyStanfordUniversityscientists
YuanYangandYi Cui.
Workingontheprinciplethatthehuman
eyeisincapableof resolvingobjectssmaller
than50microns, YangandCui createda
mesh-likeframeworkforbatteryelectronics
wherethegridis35micronswide. Theresult
isthatlightpassesthroughthetransparent
gapsbetweenthegridlines, whilethe
gridlinesthemselvesaretoosmall tosee.
Ittooktheapplicationofpolydimethylsiloxane,
atransparentmaterial morecommonly
associatedwithplasticsurgeryandcontact
lenses, alongwiththecreationof amodified
gel electrolytethatcouldactasaseparator
betweenelectrodes, butthepairsuccessfully
createdaprototypewith62percent
transparency. Evenwiththreecellsstackedon
oneanother, theprototypestill offersaround
60percenttransparencyinvisiblelight.
Betterstill, theuseof therubberymaterial
PDMSmeansthatthebatteryisveryflexible.
Mountedtoagraphene-basedprinted
circuitboardpopulatedwithtransparent
integratedcircuitsandbehindatransparent,
flexibleOLED-baseddisplay, itcouldbe
possibletocreateasee-throughsmartphone
thatbendsintowhatevershapeyoudesire.
THE REALI TY
All theaboveprototypes, productsand
researchhaveemergedoverthepastcouple
of years, butitcouldbealongtimebefore
theyreusedinreal-worldproducts. Thisisnt
tosaythatcompanieshaventtried, however.
Perhapsthefirstattemptatatransparent
smartphonewastheLGGD900Crystal,
releasedin2009. Designedaroundaslider-
stylelayout, thetophalf of thephonewasfairly
standard; however, thekeypad, whichcame
outfromunderthedisplayinportraitmode,
wasaglowingsee-throughmatrixof buttons.
TheGD900wasntahugesuccess, however.
Sincethen, companieshaveshiedawayfrom
transparencyasagimmick, preferringtosell
theirdevicesbasedonslimness, screensize
orrawcomputational power.
GARETH
HALFACREE
isthenewsreporterat
www.bit-tech.net. He
knowsallabout the
latestnewsinPCandmobiletech.
@ghalfacree
Themostrecentattempttobringback
transparencywastheAsusEeePadMeMO,
anAndroid-based7intabletwithaBluetooth-
connectedpuck thatenablesthedevicetobe
controlledwhileitsinabag. Whileitslow-
resolutionandmonochrome, thepucks
displayisclearlytransparentandithasan
eye-catchingdesign.
Theresstill plentyof worktobecarried
outbeforeatrulytransparentsmartphone
canbemade. Workonflexibleand
transparentdisplaysneedstobecombined
tocreateonewiththebestfeaturesof
both, whilethetransparentbattery
needsfurtherdevelopmentbeforeit
canrival theefficiencyandcostof a
traditional battery.
Thechipswill needtobecomesee-
throughtoo, andwhileToursresearch
showsthisispossible, itwill beawhile
before adensesystem-on-chip, suchas
NvidiasTegra3orQualcommsSnapdragon
S4, canbemadesee-through.
Itsadirectioninwhichresearchersare
heading, however, anditcouldbearfruitin
thenot-too-distantfuture. Perhapstheminds
behindStarksimpressivegadgetwhich
wasactuallyasolidpieceof glasswitha
3D-printedplasticframe, withall theuser
interfaceelementsaddedbycomputer
werenttoofarfromthetruth.
WITH CLEAR PLASTIC CASING
AND A TRANSPARENT SCREEN,
YOU HAVE A PHONE YOU CAN
BEND, FOLD AND SEE THROUGH
Believeitornot,thisisaRAMchip
YuanYangbelieveshescrackedthesecretofaflexible,
invisiblebattery
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