............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Apple
to Unite
GPUs?
Since the full computa-
tional power of GPUs is
trapped behind propri-
etary APIs, Apple is gath-
ering support for an open
GPU API called OpenCL to
free that potential.
Open Computing
Language would provide
a unifi ed programming
platform, so applications
could work with graphics
cards from any vendor.
Today, developers writing
applications must use
proprietary languages
such as Nvidia’s CUDA or
ATI’s Stream for GPU-spe-
cifi c applications. OpenCL
would let a developer
exploit both platforms
with a single API. Already
behind OpenCL are AMD,
3Dlabs, Intel, Nvidia,
ARM, Freescale, and
others. Notably absent,
however, is Microsoft. –G UThe Nielsen The Nielsen
ratings tell ratings tell
only half only half
the story of the story of
a TV show’s a TV show’s
popularity.popularity.Torrents Take on TV
A
ccording to TorrentFreak, a blog devoted to all
things BitTorrent, TV shows are the most popu-lar content being traded via the fi le-sharing proto-
col, accounting for nearly 50 percent of downloads.
By collecting data from a representative sample of
BitTorrent sites, TorrentFreak found that the down-
load numbers for popular series are closing in on
Nielsen’s counts. The Lost season fi nale, for exam-
ple, had almost 10 million downloads, compared with
12.3 million TV viewers. Other shows consistently
on the site’s Top Downloads list include Battlestar
Galactica, The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report. –K S
Tom Halfhill was formerly a senior editor
for Byte magazine and is now an analyst for
Microprocessor Report.F
lash memory could become the dominant
form of mass storage, replacing magnetic
and optical media for many purposes.
Although fl ash retains data without requiring
power, the memory cells don’t retain their charges
forever. Eventually, the charges dissipate and the
bits fade away. Will our data be a fl ash in the pan?
Consider the trends. USB thumb drives are
commonplace, and solid-state drives (SSDs) are
appearing in subnotebook computers like the Asus
Eee PC and Macintosh Air. SSDs are still too expen-
sive to replace conventional drives in desktop PCs,
but some hard drives use small amounts of fl ash to
store startup data, which shortens boot times.
Flash already rules in consumer electron-
ics. Lately, I’ve seen 2GB memory cards for $8. In
my 10.2-megapixel DSLR, a 2GB card stores 264
pictures in highest-quality format. The cost per
picture is half as much as using fi lm—even if I
don’t reuse the card. And that calculation excludes
the cost of developing the fi lm. So why not use the
card only once, instead of copying archives onto
other media?
Unfortunately, vendors of thumb drives and
memory cards are vague about data retention.
Usually, they estimate 10 to 20 years. Actually, the
data can last much longer.
Research shows that some cells in every fl ash
chip lose their charge relatively quickly. The re-
maining cells stay charged for decades. Eventually,
the number of cells losing charges rises again,
until all data is lost.
Heat speeds up the process. Manufactur-
ers can produce long-living fl ash chips by baking
them at high temperatures (up to 482 F) for long
periods (up to three weeks) to kill off the “weak”
cells, leaving only the “strong” ones. Afterward,
accelerated aging tests indicate that data retention
at room temperature can exceed 1,000 years. How-
ever, it’s unlikely that mass-market fl ash chips
will get this expensive treatment.
To be safe, then, keep your fl ash memory cool
and rewrite the data every 10 years or so. Although
magnetic and optical media typically last much
longer, they can fail prematurely, too. When pre-
serving vital data, nothing beats making regular
backups on multiple types of media. Sorry!FAST FORWARDFlash in the Pan
TOM HALFHILLSporting a host of new features, including expanded news coverage, a
detailed Best of the Best section, and editor liveblogs, MaximumPC.com
is your one-stop source for all things tech. –T EMaximumPC.com Relaunches!
http://www.maximumpc.com|SEP 08 |MAMAMAXIMXIMXIMXIMUUUUMMPPPCC| 09