Caching

According to the article, HashCache, Vivek Pai, a computer scientist at Princeton University has a new method for storing Web content because in some countries, users can only afford low-bandwidth connection or an equivalent fraction of dial-up connection. This method is called HashCache, a better way to cut the cost (less expensive). According to the article, “hashcache is a high efficient method of caching-storing frequently accessed Web content on a logical hard drive instead of using precious bandwidth to retrieve the same information repeatedly”. This caching technology requires a large hard disk and a lot of RAM (random access memory) to store all data content. Other caching systems uses hash function. According to Pai’s technology, “he uses novel hash function: the number that the function produces defines the spot on the disk where the corresponding Web object can be found”. HashCache is still being tested because it is an early stage of development.

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?ch=specialsections&sc=tr10&id=22119

Silicon Filter

According to the article A Cheaper Route to Speeding Up the Web, “researchers at Alcatel-Lucent Bell Labs of New Jersey, have designed a crucial optical component; a filter that cleans up signals as they travel through a network that is made completely of silicon”. According to Sanjay Patel, “silicon filter has the potential to finally bring the speed of photonic data transfer, which is much faster than copper wiring, to computer circuit boards and microprocessors.” Patel says, “Chips that contain both photonic devices, such as filters and electronics, could be key components in all optical and cellular communication systems, as well as inside computers”. According to Alan Willner, “the device is one in a set of tool that could increase performance of optical systems over longer distances and allow them to carry more data”.

www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?ch=specialsections&sc=web3&id=18437