Fantasist's Scroll

StarTrek tech come to life.
It looks like the promise of “holographic data storage” is coming true. According to this article on ExtremeTech, a company by the name of InPhase is releasing 200GB drives that are based on holographic technology this week. What that means is that instead of using spinning media, they use moving lasers to store data in a fixed matrix. Primarily, this would be Write Once, Read Many data storage, which is used as an ultra-safe backup or for special imaging or archiving applications. The drives which are making their debut this week will be available to customers in early 2006. But, that’s not all….
According to this article on Engadget, they have also been working on rewriteable holographic drives as well. (Okay, I couldn’t find that reference, either, but the original link said it was there somewhere.) And, they’re talking about having a 1.6 TERABYTE drive available by 2009.
Yet another example of how science-fiction is becoming a reality.

A very geeky Friday Fun Link.
Ever wonder about languages that use something other than alphabets or close analogs to alphabets? Ever wonder how those languages are going to survive in a modern world where technology developed for very different languages dominates? Yeah, me, too. I’ve often tried to imagine what a kanji typewriter-keyboard might look like, for instance. Well, now I don’t need to wonder. Thanks to the website Japanese in the Age of Technology, I know what it looks like! This: Japanese Keyboards.

Well, it might not be as “freaky” as my usual Friday Fun Link fare, but it’s still cool, so click the link!

No, this is neither a joke nor a trick.
Vampire bats are actually quite agile and amazingly fleet of foot. You wouldn’t think it to look at them, especially considering the fact that they’re bats, for pity’s sake! Everyone knows that bats fly, not run! WRONG!
Thanks to boinGboinG, I present you with Running Vampire Bats.

Enjoy the Freaky Friday Fun Link!

Mythbusters tried this.
But, these guys did it! I’m late for work, so I’ll keep it short, but there are some folks that have created a primative solar death ray. Even better, they published information about it on the web! Right there at Home of the Solar Death Ray.
Another cool link brought to you by Gizmodo.

Hey, I’m in a hurry and it’s Friday, so if you have more time than I do, click the link!

Yep, we’ve got one.
Considering the funding cutbacks at NASA, this seems like a really “forward thinking” document to me, but the United States Government has a non-armmament space treaty. Or, more specifically, “TREATY ON PRINCIPLES GOVERNING THE ACTIVITIES OF STATES IN THE EXPLORATION AND USE OF OUTER SPACE, INCLUDING THE MOON AND OTHER CELESTIAL BODIES“. Basically, it says that we’ll all play nice up there. It’s not clear who actually signed this treaty, but it does mention that there are copies in the following languages: English, Russian, French, Spanish and Chinese. I find that all interesting in light of the so-called “Star Wars” program and all the research the Russians did into space-based weapons platforms.
Anyway, it’s the most fun link I could find this Friday. So, go have fun reading the boring government document!

A new way to fund NASA?
Well, I’d sure buy some! Hey, why not? The side benefits of the space program have always been a reason to continue that kind of work, so why shouldn’t they make some money off it?
Okay, so they don’t have Martian Sea Monkeys, yet, but, according to this article on Slashdot, they might. At least, they’re convinced enough of the possibility of microbial life that could survive freezing for thousands of years that NASA is talking about sending probes to retrieve the little buggers from the Martian “ice ocean” that’s been recently discovered. Personally, I think it would be cool to have Martian life in your very own home, like those “living dinosaurs”, the Triops.
Well, I guess, we’ll have to wait for a Mars mission to know if they exist, but the thought sure is fun!

Remember when I posted about an unusual star system some time back?
Well, according to this article on Space.com, there’s even more evidence that such a system can not only be possible, but may actually exist! Hey, I’m a visionary! (Well, okay, I had help from an astrophysist, but, still, I did imagine it.) So, it’s possible that somewhere out there a planetary system very much like Hoffman’s Quartet exists. How cool is that?
Oh, by the way, I have that document that I mentioned in the other post. I finally got it scanned in and proofed. So, I’ve also finally uploaded it. You can find it here, on the World Building page.

Right out of science-fiction.
I can’t even begin to recall all the different science-fiction books and movies that used fingerprints as identification for everything, including monetary transactions. Well, now it’s reality. According to this news story from Cnet.com, Thriftway has setup something called “Pay By Touch” which lets you pay with your fingerprint. Of course, there is a setup procedure and this is only good in Thriftway stores, right now, but it’s still there. How long before it spreads? Can Walmart be far behind? I would bet they will be because the article claims that Pay By Touch now “makes up 30 percent of Thriftway’s electronic payments”. Cool.