Sci/Tech Making computer memory work like the human brain

tom_mai78101

tom_mai78101

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(CNN) -- How do computers remember things?

It's something most of us never think about. But you may start to take notice if HP Labs is successful in commercializing a new version of computer memory, which would make our electronics dramatically faster and more energy efficient.

The technology is called memristor, and it is designed to work more like our brains and less like the electronic on and off switches that run computer memory now.

"The memristor has properties very similar to synapses in a brain," said Stan Williams, a senior fellow at HP Labs, which has been working on this technology since 1998.

Unlike conventional computer memory, which stores data with electronic on and off switches, Hewlett-Packard's memristor technology works on the atomic level. As electrons move across a titanium dioxide memristor chip, they nudge atoms ever so slightly, sometimes no more than a nanometer.

Making computer memory work like the human brain - CNN.com

How do computers remember things?
edition.cnn.com edition.cnn.com

This could be our next generation DDR5 RAM, or GDDR7 graphics processing memory module.
 
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tom_mai78101

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I had checked the date, and it's pretty recent: August 31st, 2010.

The article is saying that HP has improved the technology and is on the verge of production to the public within three years, if nothing went wrong.
 
tom_mai78101

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Hm...good points. That one above is about cat brains; This article is about human brains. That link below reads like it's introducing a new technology; This article is about production.

I don't know which I should go with. Either the case, it's still news. :) Is it okay to quote the bottom parts of the news article, rather than the first few paragraphs of that same article?
 
Blackveiled

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tom_mai78101 said:
Hm...good points. That one above is about cat brains; This article is about human brains. That link below reads like it's introducing a new technology; This article is about production.

I don't know which I should go with. Either the case, it's still news. :) Is it okay to quote the bottom parts of the news article, rather than the first few paragraphs of that same article?
Click to expand...

I doubt either are significantly that different.
 
SineCosine

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As electrons move across a titanium dioxide memristor chip, they nudge atoms ever so slightly, sometimes no more than a nanometer.
Click to expand...

Umm..
So, if I accidentally 'bump' into my computer and nudge those atoms a nanometer..
I'd basically bork the chips and all my files? o.0
 
Darthfett

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SineCosine said:
Umm..
So, if I accidentally 'bump' into my computer and nudge those atoms a nanometer..
I'd basically bork the chips and all my files? o.0
Click to expand...

Why would you trust in getting accurate information from such a vague article?

It looks like an interesting advancement, but not much more than that, from what I read in another article (linked in the original).

It does put me off when they give out statements such as:
The technology claims to be 100 times as fast as flash storage and use about a 10th of the energy. That means some gadgets, such as MP3 players, might only need to be powered up once in their lifetime, Williams said.
"I would no longer have to remember to bring five different battery chargers with me when I pack my briefcase and go on a business trip," he said. Phones would still need to be recharged, however.
Since the memristor technology is so fast at writing data, this could also signal the end of long waits to boot up personal computers and laptops.
Click to expand...

And then later on go to say that the current pace will simply "continue":

Reynolds said neither memory technology would pack much of a wow factor for consumers because their advancements won't be immediately noticeable. But he said he believes both will allow the quick pace of innovation in consumer technology -- making gadgets faster, smaller and more energy efficient -- to continue.
Click to expand...
 
ElderKingpin

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most human brains need you to actively repeat or encounter it again to put it into your long-term memory.. and you can forget stuff. Id like to keep my computer the way it was
 
Azlier

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Your brain records everything and never loses that data. It just can't find out how to access it anymore.
 
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