Man Builds Giant Computer At Home

For many tech companies the race is on to build ever smaller computer processors, but one British man has gone in the opposite direction.

James Newman is building a 14m (45ft) computer processor in the lounge of his bungalow in Cambridge.

Mr Newman's 16-bit "mega processor" will contain 14,000 individual transistors and 3,500 LED Lights.

So far the project had taken him three years and cost about £20,000, he told the BBC.

Mr Newman said he hoped it would have educational value but it would be hard to transport as it was likely to weigh about half a tonne once finished.

Bits of the processor light up as they operate, but other than that the entire machine operates just the same as a standard chip-sized microprocessor found in all computers.

"I was taken with the idea of being able to see how the thing works," Mr Newman, a digital electronics engineer, said.

"I have a visual way of thinking about things, I wanted to be able to see how a computer works and how things flow around within it.

"I intended it as a learning exercise, and I have learned a lot."

He said his enthusiasm for the project had ebbed and flowed over the years but he hoped to complete it by the end of 2015.

Mr Newman is now relying on "determinedness" to finish his creation, but he is concerned about the space the processor, which is 2m high, will take up.

"When it's set up and running in the living room, there won't be much space for living," he said.

"One of the fantasies is to line the hallway with it."

He said the first programs he intended to run on his mega processor were likely to be Tetris, noughts and crosses and 1970s evolutionary simulation Life by mathematician John Conway.

Mr Newman said: "My mother keeps asking, 'What can it do?' I keep saying, 'It's a computer, it can do anything.'

"My friends think it's mad, but I think they are also slightly jealous that I can allow myself to do it."

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Google’s Homemade Self-Driving Cars to Hit Roads This Summer

Here’s something that irks Chris Urmson: Sometimes people will get in self-driving cars, the spectacularly complex piece of technology he runs at Google and to which he has devoted most of his scientific career, and leave with a shrug.

Once, Urmson was riding in one of Google’s Lexus SUVs down a freeway. Several minutes in, his fellow passenger turned to him, nonplussed.

“That’s it?”

Urmson, recalling the story on Google’s Mountain View campus earlier this week, threw up his hands: “Do you have any idea how hard this is?!”

Soon, there may be many more blasé reactions to one of Google’s most audacious moonshots. On Friday, the Internet giant announced that the first autonomous vehicle it has manufactured — a squat two-seater, unveiled a year ago, with no steering wheel or brakes — will begin rolling out on public roads in northern California this summer. Urmson and his team have assembled 25 of the cars, which, for now, are just called “prototypes.” (Re/code has dubbed them “clown cars”; Google may be more partial to the “Koala car” nomenclature.) When they hit the roads, they will not exceed 25 miles per hour. And, due to current state regulations, they must be equipped with brakes, an accelerator pedal and a steering wheel.

But ultimately, Google wants to strip those out.

The company’s stated goal is shepherding fleets of vehicles that can drive with no need for human intervention, a bid to curtail the time wasted in traffic and aide those unable to drive. “At that point, the steering wheel and brake pedal just don’t add value,” Urmson said during the demonstration at the new Google X headquarters in Mountain View. “Over the last few years, we’ve been focused almost purely on tightening the technology. The big next step is bringing it into the community and seeing how it mixes with people.”

At its event to show off the car, Google mixed with people. Along with press, Google invited local community members and disability advocates onto its spacious, secure rooftop. Sergey Brin, the co-founder behind Google’s futuristic ventures, made an appearance. He reiterated Urmson’s point, arguing that for one target market of the technology — several blind community members were given lifts in the car — steering wheels aren’t the issue. “That doesn’t address the mission of access,” Brin said.

Google’s announcement comes on the tail of sharp criticism. On Monday, the Associated Press reported that Google’s Lexus vehicles were involved in three accidents since September, when California required autonomous vehicle testers to declare a permit. 

Read more Google’s Homemade Self-Driving Cars to Hit Roads This Summer

OnePlus One vs Xiaomi Mi4: Which one you should buy?

With both Xiaomi and OnePlus trying to play the one-upmanship game in terms of price points of their flagship devices – the Mi4 and One, respectively – it is ultimately the consumer who gets a good deal on both devices. Now while that is a good thing, for many it has also led to a sort of confusion – which phone to buy between the two. So here’s our take on the Mi4 vs OnePlus One.

Before we start off with the recommendations, let us have a quick look at how the price points of the phones currently stand. Xiaomi Mi 4 is priced at Rs 14,999 for the 16GB variant and Rs 19,999 for the 64GB variant. OnePlus One is priced at Rs 18,998 for the 16GB variant and Rs 19,998 for the 64GB variant. Now while the OnePlus One price is valid on Amazon and on the Flipkart app till Wednesday June 24, the Xiaomi Mi 4 offer stays.

For many consumers, the price points may seem like a no brainer, considering both the phones come with similar specifications. But for others, who are left wondering if they should buy the OnePlus One or Mi 4 over the next two days, here are some points you need to consider.

What we loved in the Xiaomi Mi 4 

When we had reviewed the Xiaomi Mi 4 back in February, the 16GB variant was priced at Rs 19,999. At that time, we were disappointed with the price, since for Rs 2,000 more you could get the OnePlus One 64GB variant. But now the Mi 4 64GB variant is selling for Rs 2,000 less than OnePlus One 64GB variant (barring the special offer days till June 24).

Xiaomi Mi 4 comes with a 5-inch full HD display, so for those who do not want a large screen device, the Mi 4 makes sense. In terms of performance, the Mi 4 offers the goods and is great with heavy apps as well as 3D gaming. We did not face issues such as slowing down or random shut down of apps when using the device.

The camera on the Mi 4 has a slight edge over the OnePlus One, especially during the low light conditions. Agreed, the Mi 4 does not offer the best low light photographs, but in comparison with the OnePlus One, the image quality is relatively better. So if you are a photography enthusiast, between the two the Mi 4 is the better option.

Xiaomi also has more service centres than OnePlus across various states in India. Also if you are a fan of accessorising your phone, the Xiaomi has a wider range than OnePlus.

What we loved in the OnePlus One

The OnePlus One was launched at a wonderful price point for its specs. In our review, we were quite impressed with the overall performance and value proposition as well. While a lot of people were annoyed with the ‘invite-only’ model of ordering the device, the OnePlus has now made it an open sale platform. The price of Rs 21,999 for the 64GB variant has remained constant with special price of Rs 19,998 staying on since the last week.

If you are a fan of the phablet form factor, OnePlus One is the phone to go for. You also get a choice between operating systems: Cyanogen OS 12 or OnePlus’ own OxygenOS. This gives you a lot of tweaking options to customise the looks of your phone to your liking. With the Mi 4, you will get a MIUI 6, a custom skin, atop Android 5.0, which really does not have much design elements from the Android 5.0 material design. To put on another skin, you will have to root the device. Although Xiaomi does not void the warranty on rooting its devices.

One of the biggest advantage that the OnePlus One has over the Xiaomi Mi 4, is the fact that it supports 4G LTE. So if you are someone who is living in one of those 4G activated cities in India and are planning to opt for the faster 4G plans in the near future, then One is the phone to go for. Mi 4 unfortunately does not support 4G.

The Sandstone Black variant comes with a unique texture on its rear cover surface, something which the glossy plastic back of the Mi 4 does not offer. Also, thanks to the metallic frame on the Mi 4, in the high performance mode that does get warm. We faced no such issues with the OnePlus One, although it also does get warm on heavy usage. But the OnePlus One has its display slightly raised which can be problematic if you drop the device on the edges. The Mi 4 thanks to its metallic frame is more capable of absorbing the shock if the phone drops on the edge.

This Article was originally published on Tech FirstPost. See it here

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