Information Technology

A Northumbria University lecturer has helped devise a scheme to use music to catch computer bugs.

Dr Paul Vickers from Northumbria and Professor James Alty from Loughborough University’s Department of Computer Science have come up with an idea that would see features of computer programming languages being given short, musical themes. All similar instructions would be given related tunes so that any bug would be easily identified within the system.

“To ensure the musicality

When they make their first public demonstration of tele-immersion at this week’s Super Computing 2002 conference in Baltimore, computer scientists will also attain another first: a “network computer” that processes data at a location far removed from either input or output.

While the tele-immersion system will gather and display information in side-by-side booths at the Baltimore Convention Center, actual data processing will occur some 250 miles away at the Pittsburgh Supercomputing C

It is already possible for PC users to switch off simply by winking their eyes, but it is expected this will soon be possible wirelessly! Now in its start-up phase, the Academy of Finland’s Research Programme on Proactive Information Technology or PROACT includes a project dedicated to the development of wireless technology. One of the applications is a PC interface controlled by eye movement.

All five Academy research programmes launched during 2002 will benefit from international funding.

University of Alberta physicist was part of a Canadian research team which recently set a WORLD RECORD for high-speed disk-to-disk transfer of research data.

Bryan Caron of the University of Alberta’s Centre for Subatomic Research was a leading member of the team, which performed the record-breaking demonstration.

The rates achieved were equivalent to transferring all the data from a full-length DVD movie from one part of the world to another in less than 60 seconds, o

The European DataGrid (EDG)* project has taken a major step towards making the concept of a world-wide computing Grid a reality. Its latest release of middleware – the software that makes a Grid of computers work together seamlessly – will support production quality Grid computing. Markus Schulz, one of the chief software developers at CERN**, explains, “This release will take the EDG project from the laboratory bench into the real world”.

One of the main aims of the European DataGrid proje

Technical Insights’ Sensor Technology Alert

Flip chip packaging delivers enhanced electrical performance, saves space, and provides high conduction speed, making it an ideal technology for use in handheld devices and medical electronics, among other applications.

“As integrated circuit fabrication advances rapidly and the market for faster, smaller, yet less expensive electronic products accelerates, flip chip packaging comes into play,” says Technical Insights Research Ana