Mouse for computer - Apple Magic Mouse: An iPhone-style peripheral

Mouse for computer - Apple Magic Mouse: An iPhone-style peripheral

Since the launch of the iPhone, Apple has been implementing its effective multi-touch technology (tactile surfaces that acknowledge multiple touches at the same time) in several devices including (besides the iPhone) the iPod Touch, MacBook’s trackpad, and now the Magic Mouse. And probably, in the future, we will see this technology applied in more and more ways.

In the case of the Magic Mouse, it is probably the biggest advance during the last years in this type of device that interact with the computer; and ironically this advance is not a consequence of adding more buttons, scroll wheels, or some very original designs by “crazy” designers that are often intended to be used with the right hand only. Actually, it is the opposite thing: there is… nothing! There is no visible controls, wheels or similar things in the Magic Mouse, which has a simplified design, a reduced size, and a quite improved quality with beautiful finishes. And we are comparing not only with the Apple Mighty Mouse, but also with the generic features found in this type of device, which is often a very basic and traditional device with common and boring designs.

multi-touch-mouse

The Apple Magic Mouse is totally minimalist: In fact, even it doesn’t have any cable because it is connected via Bluetooth. The top side is a smooth surface made of a shiny clear acrylic plastic and the bottom side is a brushed aluminum base with two plastic rails that allows users to work in almost any surface. The mouse also comes with Laser-Tracking Engine (this is not a regular optical mouse because it doesn’t emit visible light), battery compartment (two AA batteries, which are included when the user buys this product) and a power switch.

Its operation is a really comfortable thing: You only have to touch it with your fingertips; this mouse has a more accurate performance: That is a consequence of using laser tracking instead of a light diode; besides, this technology also allows to use this device on a greater number of surfaces; when comparing to the Apple Mighty Mouse, the Magic Mouse can be used in a more smooth and quiet way, actually it is almost totally soundless and the friction sensation is reduced to a minimal level, which is a great thing, especially if you don’t like to use a mouse pad.

Reference::

GO: Google Launches Its Own Programming Language

One of the core philosophies of Google, and one of the reasons it has been so successful, is efficiency. It’s about both being as efficient as possible when serving search results and processing data and creating product that push the limits of efficiency for the user (as an example, Google’s trying to make communication more efficient with Google Wave).

Maybe that’s why we’re not surprised that Google finally looking to tackle the underpinning code that runs the web. Today the search giant released Go, an open-source development language that Google believes will combine performance with speed, and one that the company probably hopes will reshape the development and software industries in its favor.

Go is based on the C programming family, one of the most widely used programming language trees in the world. However, the twist is that incorporates elements of Python (a preferred development language within Google) and the Pascal/Modula/Oberon family to make faster and more dynamic programs.

Why Did Google Make Its Own Language?

---

In its Go FAQ, Google explains the main motivations behind the project:

“No major systems language has emerged in over a decade, but over that time the computing landscape has changed tremendously. There are several trends:

- Computers are enormously quicker but software development is not faster.

- Dependency management is a big part of software development today but the “header files” of languages in the C tradition are antithetical to clean dependency analysis—and fast compilation.

- There is a growing rebellion against cumbersome type systems like those of Java and C++, pushing people towards dynamically typed languages such as Python and JavaScript.

- Some fundamental concepts such as garbage collection and parallel computation are not well supported by popular systems languages.

- The emergence of multicore computers has generated worry and confusion.”

Summary: Google believes that the web and computing have changed dramatically in the last ten years, but the languages powering that computing have not. But when you get down to it, Google could benefit a great deal from not only having a more efficient programming language, but having one it designed being used in thousands web and software apps.

If you want to learn more, Google (as usual) has released a detailed, hour-long Google Tech Talk on the new language (embedded below). However, if you’re a developer and just want to get started, we suggest checking out the Go Tutorial and writing your first program.

Ref :http://mashable.com/2009/11/10/go-google-language/

Concept Mobile... Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10

Sony Ericsson introduced there first Android phone - Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10. This is X10 Not X3. Still this is Concept mobile and announced on 2009, November. You can find this on Market in the First Quarter of 2010.

This Mobile has amazing features (Not like other SE phone models). This runs on Android OS 1.6 Version. Other Features of this phone as follows.

• GSM GPRS/EDGE 850/900/1800/1900
• UMTS HSPA 900/1700/2100
• UMTS HSPA 800/850/1900/2100
• 4.0-inch scratch-resistant WVGA touchscreen with 480 x 854 resolution
• Qualcomm Snapdragon 1GHz processor
• 8.1-megapixel camera with 16x digital zoom, auto focus, geotagging and video recording
• Bluetooth Stereo
• Media player
• 256 MB RAM
• Sony Ericsson Timescape and Mediascape features that handle communication and media, respectively
• Microsoft Exchange support
• Gesture control
• A-GPS with Google Maps and Wisepilot
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• microUSB connectivity
• Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, DLNA
• Phone memory: up to 1 GB
• 8GB microSD card
• HSDPA, 10.2 Mbps; HSUPA, 2 Mbps
• Android Donut 1.6
• Size: 119 x 63 x 13mm
• Weight: 135g
• Li-Po 1500mAh battery

Sony Ericsson Timescape is a solution that will help you manage all your communication with a single person in one place. That includes support for Facebook, Twitter, photos, emails, SMS messages and calls. Mediascape will take care of all your media content from your friends and it can connect to YouTube and PlayNow when needed. The apps will be able to discover connections between contacts content and media and I’m really curious to see these brand new features at work.

Unfortunately this mobile does not come with Radio facility.

Invention of Bar Code - October 7th.

BAR CODE

A UPC-A barcode symbol.

What is bar code? It is method of automatic identification and data collection. The first patent for a bar code type product (US Patent #2,612,994) was issued to inventors Joseph Woodland and Bernard Silver on October 7, 1952. The Woodland and Silver bar code can be described as a "bull's eye" symbol, made up of a series of concentric circles.

Examine the 1958 patent drawing to the left that depicts the Woodland's and Silver's bar code label and the 1958 patent drawing below right of the inventors' bar code scanner technology. The photo below left is an example of today's U.P.C. bar code on a product package.

In 1948, Bernard Silver was a graduate student at Drexel Institute of Technology in Philadelphia. A local food chain store owner had made an inquiry to the Drexel Institute asking about research into a method of automatically reading product information during checkout. Bernard Silver joined together with fellow graduate student Norman Joseph Woodland to work on a solution.

Woodland's first idea was to use ultraviolet light sensitive ink. The team built a working prototype but decided that the system was too unstable and expensive. They went back to the drawing board.

On October 20, 1949, Woodland and Silver filed their patent application for the "Classifying Apparatus and Method", describing their invention as "article classification. ..through the medium of identifying patterns".

Bar code was first used commercially in 1966, however, it was soon realized that there would have to be some sort of industry standard set. By 1970, the Universal Grocery Products Identification Code or UGPIC was written by a company called Logicon Inc. The first company to produce bar code equipment for retail trade use (using UGPIC) was the American company Monarch Marking in 1970, and for industrial use, the British company Plessey Telecommunications was also first in 1970. UGPIC evolved into the U.P.C. symbol set or Universal Product Code, which is still used in the United States. George J. Laurer is considered the inventor of U.P.C. or Uniform Product Code, which was invented in 1973.

In June of 1974, the first U.P.C. scanner was installed at a Marsh's supermarket in Troy, Ohio. The first product to have a bar code included was a packet of Wrigley's Gum.

(According to a mail that I Received)

Samsung AMOLED

Mobile Phone Technology is very fast moving subject. Here is the brief introduction of Samsung's Latest mobile phone. (Sorry! Camera)

Samsung was not long to wait, and end of September the rumors were confirmed - 12-megapixel cameraphone officially announced its name - Samsung AMOLED 12M (SCH-W880). Already known specifications devaysa also confirmed. Already known specifications devaysa also confirmed. In incarnation
Camera Samsung 12M has 12 megapixel,
flash,
3-fold optical zoom,
image stabilization,
face recognition function and
video recording (720p, 30 frames / s).

In the incarnation phone -
support UMTS / HSDPA,
3,3-inch WVGA AMOLED touchscreen display (800 x 480),
the availability of slots for cards microSD, and,
of course, the joys of life such as Wi-Fi,
GPS,
Bluetooth.

Apparently, the device will be used interface TouchWiz. About the price of a camera phone is still unknown, but the timing of it for sale called - this is October of this year.

Did We Already Have Electricity 2000 Years Ago

Sunset in Babylon By Raphael Lacoste / Photo from Raphael Lacoste

If you thought electric bulbs and batteries were modern European inventions, here is something to put that fact to question! A 1936 excavation of some 2000-years-old ruins in an ancient Baghdad village unearthed a small yellow clay vase about 6 inches in height. It had a copper-sheet cylinder lining within it that measured 5 x 1.5 inches.
A soldering material (most probably lead and tin) was used at the top edge of this mysterious cylinder, bearing remarkable affinity to modern solder alloy. A punched-in copper disk at the base of this cylinder was sealed with asphalt or bitumen. A similar asphalt layer also found at the top end held together an iron rod, bearing acidic corrosion marks inserted within the cylinder.

Ever since its recovery, several possibilities have been suggested by experts. Wilhelm König, the German archaeologist brought forth a startling idea that the clay pot could well be a form of electric battery. Following his theory, a Massachusetts based engineer Willard F.M. Gray created a model of this battery in 1940, filled it with copper sulfate solution and proved that it could produce electricity.

In 1970, the German Egyptologist Arne Eggebrecht followed in the footsteps of Gray. He supplanted the copper sulfate solution with fresh grape juice to generate about 0.87V of electricity for gold plating a silver statue. These experiments proved beyond doubt that 1,800 years old civilizations knew how to produce and utilize electricity by means of an acidic agent.

The path breaking conclusions of Konig lost its significance in the turmoil of the World War II. His European co-excavators had raised objection to his theories since the presence of batteries at a predominantly religious age seemed an unlikely possibility. However, soon a set of ‘ancient batteries’ were unearthed from the same sites in Iraq, inspiring a score of baffled propositions.

While some speculated that the electrochemical set up of the ‘batteries’ was meant to produce electricity, others refuted this claim. A series of thinly electroplated objects were found by König in Baghdad that probably used these cells though others opined that these were mainly fire-gilded. Demonstrative experiments have proved that though this battery uses a very primitive mechanism, it could plate a small object with a micrometer thick gold coat over two hours.
However, the electroplating theory was never unanimously accepted and other possible usages were suggested for these batteries. Paul Keyser hinted that the mild electric shock produced by using an iron bar in vinegar was used by healers or priests for electro-acupuncture. It could also have been a trick to create a sense of awe among devotees by electrifying the metal statue of a God.

Although these possible secular and religious applications for the ancient Baghdad batteries were credible, some archaeologists expressed their skepticism for the electrical theory. They raised questions on the absence of wires and the presence of bitumen insulators for the copper cylinder as the problem points of these so-called galvanic cells.
They pointed at the bitumen seal as an evidence for the clay pots being used for non-electronic, storage purpose. Accordingly, they said these were secure storage vessels for preserving sacred scrolls, parchments or papyrus documents within the airtight chamber of the cylinder.

Dendera – Egypt / Photo from Nikki&Michi

However, in the Temple of Dendra in Egypt a stone relief seems to feature an electric lamp throwing light. The believers also pointed out that there was no soot in any of the pyramid shafts or underground tombs of Egypt, which must have stayed if the workers used fire as a source to make the elaborate carvings and decorations within the chambers. Many think, there must have been an alternate source of light other than fire and this speaks volumes in support of the battery theory. The concept of using polished copper plates for mirrors does not hold much ground as a promising source of light.

Carved walls in the temple’s crypt / Photo from Lenka P

The Dendera Light Bulbs / Photo from Hazelra

The Dendera Light Bulbs / Photo from Hazelra

Currently the Baghdad batteries are preserved as valuable pieces of curios in the Baghdad Museum. The dating of these unique clay vases revealed them to be belonging to the Parthian occupation era, somewhere between 248 BCE and 226 CE, although disputed. The Parthian were predominantly a warrior clan and not given to scientific sophistications. Dr St John Simpson of the British Museum attributes the Baghdad batteries to Sassania.

Reference : http://ritemail-places.blogspot.com/2009/09/did-we-already-have-electricity-2000.html

Code Converter

Dear Friends!!
Do you need to change your programming language or you need to convert the your program code to C#.net to VB.net or Vice verse. This is the way that you need to follow. I cannot assure this works 100%. but its work.

Visit http://converter.telerik.com/

All Nokia Codes - For Nokia Owners

Nokia Universal Codes
Code Description :
These Nokia codes will work on most Nokia Mobile Phones

(1) *3370# Activate Enhanced Full Rate Codec (EFR) - Your phone uses the best sound quality but talk time is

reduced my approx. 5%

(2) #3370# Deactivate Enhanced Full Rate Codec (EFR) OR *3370#

(3) *#4720# Activate Half Rate Codec - Your phone uses a lower quality sound but you should gain approx 30%

more Talk Time.

(4) *#4720# Deactivate Half Rate Codec.

(5) *#0000# Displays your phones software version, 1st Line : Software Version, 2nd Line : Software Release

Date, 3rd Line : Compression Type.

(6) *#9999# Phones software version if *#0000# does not work.

(7) *#06# For checking the International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI Number).

(8) #pw+1234567890+ 1# Provider Lock Status. (use the "*" button to obtain the "p,w"
and "+" symbols).

(9) #pw+1234567890+ 2# Network Lock Status. (use the "*" button to obtain the "p,w"
and "+" symbols).

(10) #pw+1234567890+ 3# Country Lock Status. (use the "*" button to obtain the "p,w"
and "+" symbols).

(11) #pw+1234567890+ 4# SIM Card Lock Status. (use the "*" button to obtain the "p,w" Go to Top
and "+" symbols).

(12) *#147# (vodafone) this lets you know who called you last.

(13) *#1471# Last call (Only vodofone).

(14) *#21# Allows you to check the number that "All Calls" are diverted to

(15) *#2640# Displays security code in use.

(16) *#30# Lets you see the private number.

(17) *#43# Allows you to check the "Call Waiting" status of your phone.

(18) *#61# Allows you to check the number that "On No Reply" calls are diverted to.

(19) *#62# Allows you to check the number that "Divert If Unreachable (no service)" calls
are diverted to.

(20) *#67# Allows you to check the number that "On Busy Calls" are diverted to.

(21) *#67705646# Removes operator logo on 3310 & 3330.

(22) *#73# Reset phone timers and game scores.

(23) *#746025625# Displays the SIM Clock status, if your phone supports this power saving feature "SIM Clock Stop

Allowed", it means you will get the best standby time possible.

(24) *#7760# Manufactures code.

(25) *#7780# Restore factory settings.

(26) *#8110# Software version for the nokia 8110.

Go to Top

(27) *#92702689# Displays - 1.Serial Number, 2.Date Made, 3.Purchase Date, 4.Date of last repair (0000 for no

repairs), 5.Transfer User Data. To exit this mode you need to switch your phone off then on again. ( Favourite )

(28) *#94870345123456789 # Deactivate the PWM-Mem.

(29) **21*number# Turn on "All Calls" diverting to the phone number entered.

(30) **61*number# Turn on "No Reply" diverting to the phone number entered.

(31) **67*number# Turn on "On Busy" diverting to the phone number entered.

(32) 12345 This is the default security code.

press and hold # Lets you switch between lines

NOKIA5110/5120/ 5130/5190


IMEI number: * # 0 6 #
Software version: * # 0 0 0 0 #
Simlock info: * # 9 2 7 0 2 6 8 9 #
Enhanced Full Rate: * 3 3 7 0 # [ # 3 3 7 0 # off]
Half Rate: * 4 7 2 0 #
Provider lock status: #pw+1234567890+ 1
Network lock status #pw+1234567890+ 2
Provider lock status: #pw+1234567890+ 3
SimCard lock status: #pw+1234567890+ 4
NOKIA 6110/6120/6130/ 6150/6190
IMEI number: * # 0 6 #
Software version: * # 0 0 0 0 #
Simlock info: * # 9 2 7 0 2 6 8 9 #
Enhanced Full Rate: * 3 3 7 0 # [ # 3 3 7 0 # off]
Half Rate: * 4 7 2 0 #

NOKIA3110


IMEI number: * # 0 6 #
Software version: * # 0 0 0 0 # or * # 9 9 9 9 # or * # 3 1 1 0 #
Simlock info: * # 9 2 7 0 2 6 8 9 #
NOKIA 3330
*#06#
This will show your warranty details *#92702689#
*3370#
Basically increases the quality of calling sound, but decreases battery length.
#3370#
Deactivates the above
*#0000#
Shows your software version
*#746025625# This shows if your phone will allow sim clock stoppage
*4370#
Half Rate Codec activation. It will automatically restart
#4370#
Half Rate Codec deactivation. It will automatically restart
Restore Factory Settings
To do this simply use this code *#7780#
Manufacturer Info
Date of Manufacturing *#3283#
*3001#12345# (TDMA phones only)

This will put your phone into programming mode, and you'll be presented with the programming menu.
2) Select "NAM1"
3) Select "PSID/RSID"
4) Select "P/RSID 1"
Note: Any of the P/RSIDs will work
5) Select "System Type" and set it to Private
6) Select "PSID/RSID" and set it to 1
7) Select "Connected System ID"
Note: Enter your System ID for Cantel, which is 16401 or 16423. If you don't know yours,
ask your local dealer for it.
8) Select "Alpha Tag"
9) Enter a new tag, then press OK
10) Select "Operator Code (SOC)" and set it to 2050
11) Select "Country Code" and set it to 302 for Canada, and 310 for the US.
12) Power down the phone and power it back on again
ISDN Code
To check the ISDN number on your Nokia use this code *#92772689#

Sasrutha Sinhala Search Engine

Sasrutha - Sathyaye Rupathawa

This is one of good Sinhala search Engine that the people who works in Sinhala. This search engine denotes the Sinhala traditional. You can use this search engine though www.sasrutha.com

Send Large Emails.

Dear Friends,
Every one have a problem to sending large files though emails. FTP is not the common solution for every one. So here with I provide 2 websites for sending large emails.

You Send it.

URL : http://www.yousendit.com

Features :

• You can send files upto 100mb (without registering)
• Fast file uploading
• Compatible with Outlook express.

File Mail

URL :http://www.filemail.com

Features :

• No registration required
• Can send files up to 2Gb

Enjoy......

Microsoft Office and Vista are Available in Sinhala Now

MS Vista & MS Office 2007 are Sinhala enabled now. It is not Complete version of Vista or Office. It's User Interface modifications. You have to download the language pack.
Following links use the download it.

Vista Language Pack
www.microsoft.com/srilanka/WindowsVistaInSinhala.aspx

Office Language Pack
www.microsoft.com/srilanka/Office2007InSinhala.aspx

For More Details Visit following links.
www.locallanguages.lk
www.siyabas.lk

Bill Gates Talks about Sri Lanka

Office 2010 Technical Preview

What's New for Developers in Office 2010?

• Continual innovation of the Open XML SDK – The Open XML SDK remains a big piece of our developer story for Office 2010. We've all seen a shift lately where solutions take more advantage of the cloud and services, and with that shift the need to consume, manipulate or create Office documents on the server becomes more important. The Open XML SDK is a vital tool in this new world for any developer and is a great complement to any service based solution. You've already seen this a bit in some of the services we provided in Office 2007…for example, while the Open XML SDK cannot accomplish recalculation, Excel Services can accomplish this scenario without any issues. Similarly, there may be operations that existing services aren't capable of, but the Open XML SDK is perfectly suited for (document assembly; data extraction; etc.). With this in mind, we are continuing to improve version 2 of the Open XML SDK, so that it fits in well with the new world of software + services. One big area of improvement is to make the Open XML SDK provide more robust validation, so that you will have an easier time ensuring that the server based solutions you write will create valid Office documents. Files you create with the Open XML SDK will work for both Office 2007 and Office 2010. In other words, you will now be able to use the SDK to create Office 2010 based solutions. Since the Open XML SDK will support Office 2010 based Open XML file formats, the final release of the Open XML Format SDK V2.0 will be available at the same time the final version of Office 2010 is available.
• Tighter relationship between Office and Visual Studio – Visual Studio 2010 makes it even easier to create Office client or SharePoint based solutions. Deployment for Office client solutions created with VS will be much simpler, with less runtime requirements. In addition Visual Studio 2010 ships with more out of the box templates, which allows solutions to get off the ground quicker.
• Even easier to create rich solutions on top of Access 2010 – Check out the following video to see all the cool improvements related to Access. This is a new model for development that we think you'll really enjoy.
• All Office 2010 applications now have Fluent UI – The ribbon has now been added to more Office applications, like OneNote, Outlook (now is fully integrated throughout the UI), and Visio. Since the ribbon is based on XML, having all these applications incorporate the ribbon means a better extensibility story for developers.
• Fluent UI has been improved – In Office 2010 we have added the ability for programmatically activating tabs in the Fluent UI. For example, you can now have your custom tabs behave like built in contextual tabs, where tabs only show when specific events are fired.
• Office 2010 has a new Backstage view – One of the many UI improvements we have made in Office 2010 is the addition of a new extensible Backstage view to the products. This new UI not only improves the overall customer workflow and user experience, but also provides a rich extensible platform for developers. The Backstage view will allow you to add custom UI and elements much in the same way the ribbon provides extensibility.
  
• Offload Excel calculations to High Performance Computing grids – In Excel 2007 we added multi-threaded recalculation (MTR) to Excel, including the ability for developers to create user defined functions (UDFs) that could participate in MTR. With Excel 2010, we've gone a step further to allow massive parallelization by offloading UDFs from the local machine to a high performance computing grid, with very minimal changes to existing XLL UDFs.

Serial ATA 3.0 Released

The Serial ATA, or SATA, computer bus is a storage-interface for connecting host bus adapters to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives and optical drives. The SATA host adapter is integrated into almost all modern consumer laptop computers and desktop motherboards.

Serial ATA was designed to replace the older ATA (AT Attachment) standard (also known as EIDE). It is able to use the same low level commands, but serial ATA host-adapters and devices communicate via a high-speed serial cable over two pairs of conductors. In contrast, the Parallel ATA (the re-designation for the legacy ATA specifications) used 16 data conductors each operating at a much lower speed.

There are Three generations of Serial ATA. But in here we discuss about only two Generations. Because, Second generation of SATA specifications were just release.

SATA 1.5 Gbit/s (First Generation)

First-generation SATA interfaces, now known as SATA 1.5 Gbit/s, communicate at a rate of 1.5 Gbit/s. Taking 8b/10b encoding overhead into account, they have an actual encoded transfer rate of 1.2 Gbit/s. The theoretical burst throughput of SATA 1.5 Gbit/s is similar to that of PATA/133, but newer SATA devices offer enhancements such as NCQ which improve performance in a multitasking environment.

Today's mechanical hard disk drives can transfer data at up to 127 MB/s,[7] which is within the capabilities of the older PATA/133 specification. However, high-performance flash drives can transfer data at up to 201 MB/s.[8] SATA 1.5 Gbit/s does not provide sufficient throughput for these drives.

During the initial period after SATA 1.5 Gbit/s finalization, adapter and drive manufacturers used a "bridge chip" to convert existing PATA designs for use with the SATA interface. Bridged drives have a SATA connector, may include either or both kinds of power connectors, and generally perform identically to their PATA equivalents. Most lack support for some SATA-specific features such as NCQ. Bridged products gradually gave way to native SATA products.

SATA 3 Gbit/s (Second Generation)

Soon after the introduction of SATA 1.5 Gbit/s, a number of shortcomings emerged. At the application level SATA could handle only one pending transaction at a time—like PATA. The SCSI interface has long been able to accept multiple outstanding requests and service them in the order which minimizes response time. This feature, native command queuing (NCQ), was adopted as an optional supported feature for SATA 1.5 Gbit/s and SATA 3 Gbit/s devices.

First-generation SATA devices operated at best a little faster than parallel ATA/133 devices. Subsequently, a 3 Gbit/s signaling rate was added to the physical layer (PHY layer), effectively doubling maximum data throughput from 150 MB/s to 300 MB/s.

For mechanical hard drives, SATA 3 Gbit/s transfer rate is expected to satisfy drive throughput requirements for some time, as the fastest mechanical drives barely saturate a SATA 1.5 Gbit/s link. A SATA data cable rated for 1.5 Gbit/s will handle current mechanical drives without any loss of sustained and burst data transfer performance. However, high-performance flash drives are approaching SATA 3 Gbit/s transfer rate.

Given the importance of backward compatibility between SATA 1.5 Gbit/s controllers and SATA 3 Gbit/s devices, SATA 3 Gbit/s auto negotiation sequence is designed to fall back to SATA 1.5 Gbit/s speed when in communication with such devices. In practice, some older SATA controllers do not properly implement SATA speed negotiation. Affected systems require the user to set the SATA 3 Gbit/s peripherals to 1.5 Gbit/s modes, generally through the use of a jumper, however some drives lack this jumper. Chipsets known to have this fault include the VIA VT8237 and VT8237R south bridges, and the VIA VT6420, VT6421A and VT6421L standalone SATA controllers. Sis’s 760 and 964 chipsets also initially exhibited this problem, though it can be rectified with an updated SATA controller ROM.

Serial ATA International Organization (SATA-IO said that it had finally approved the Serial ATA revision 3.0 specification that doubles bandwidth and also introduces a number of technologies that improve efficiency of the interconnection technologies.

“As speed becomes critical to today’s storage, the SATA Revision 3.0 specification doubles the maximum transfer speed enabled by technology, paving the way for a new generation of faster SATA products. SATA-IO members will be able to design for their customers products with the speed they crave, without compromising the quality and performance they’ve come to expect from SATA technology,” said Knut Grimsrud, SATA-IO president and Intel Fellow and director of storage architecture.

The Serial ATA 3.0 sports 600 GB/s peak bandwidth as well as numerous critical features that enhance efficiency of the technology:

• A new Native Command Queuing (NCQ) streaming command to enable isochronous data transfers for bandwidth-hungry audio and video applications;
• An NCQ Management feature that helps optimize performance by enabling host processing and management of outstanding NCQ commands;
• Improved power management capabilities;
• The SATA 3.0 is aligned with INCITS ATA8-ACS standard.

In addition, in order to simplify implementation of Serial ATA into portable electronics, the new Serial ATA 3.0 standardizes small low insertion force (LIF) connector for compact 1.8” storage devices as well as connector designed to accommodate 7mm optical disk drives for thinner and lighter notebooks.

The new specification is backward compatible with earlier SATA implementations, and maintains the low cost and low power for which the popular storage interface is acclaimed.

According to analyst firm IDC, more than 1.1 billion SATA hard drives have shipped from 2001 through 2008. Last year, SATA captured more than 98% of internal hard disk drive shipments, demonstrating that SATA technology is now used in the vast majority of desktop and mobile PCs. Additionally, the technology is increasingly being used in other types of devices, including optical disk drives, solid state drives, servers and external storage systems. SATA implementations are also making inroads in the enterprise market.

More…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serial_ATA

http://www.xbitlabs.com/news/storage/display/20090527120724_Serial_ATA_3_0_Specification_Finally_Ratified.html