Raj Agrawal

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A Successor To USB 3.0 Is On It’s Way

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UPCOMING TECHNOLOGY – Intel’s Light Peak Technology could be the next generation of the Input/Output technology. The year 2010 has brought along great new technologies with it including 3D television, Wireles HD and USB 3.0. Already a “potential” successor to USB 3.0 is expected to hit the markets by 2011. Intel’s Light Peak technology will link devices using optical cables with longer, thinner and more flexible than what the current technology offers.

Light Peak also has the ability to run multiple protocols simultaneously over a single cable, enabling the technology to connect devices such as peripherals, displays, disk drives, docking stations, and more delivering high bandwidth starting at 10Gb/s with the potential ability to scale to 100Gb/s over the next decade.

Illustration of Light Peak module close-up with laser light (On and Off state)

How does this technology work?

Light Peak consists of a controller chip and an optical module that would be included in platforms supporting this technology. The optical module performs the conversion from electricity to light and vice versa, using miniature lasers and photo detectors. Intel is planning to supply the controller chip, and is working with other component manufacturers to deliver all the Light Peak components. It is expected that the components will be ready to ship in 2010. Over time, the optical components, designed to be small, easy to manufacture and affordable, are expected to enjoy the economies of scale that other components have in the computing and consumer electronics industries.

The new technology could compete with connector technologies like USB and Firewire, which are used to connect PCs to storage and audio devices. However, Light Peak is not intended to replace current technologies, an Intel spokesperson said. It is intended to be a complementary technology.

Reviving A Damaged Pen Drive

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Some tricks to try at home

pico wet pen drive
Or perhaps buy this water proof Pen Drive from Supertalent instead

This is the third time when my pen drive has been actually revived from being drowned in a water and it hasn’t been the first time when i forgot my pen drive in my pants and sent it for laundry *face palm*. Here in India, the traditional way to wash clothes is by soaking them up in soap water and later beating up the clothes by a hard wooden rod so that  the stains go away easily. Thanks to the house maid who discovered the pen drive before beating it up to pieces. Now hold on, my pen drive isn’t still in usable condition.

Fixing a Wet Pen Drive:

  • Preserve the pen drive in sunlight for a day so that all the moisture evaporate away. Now try using the pen drive, it should start working!

If your pen drive has already passed away, you can try bringing it back to life. These tricks may or may not work, depending upon the severity of damage on the device.

Ways to Fix a Dead Pen Drive:

  • Drop It – Yeah, this trick has worked for many,
  • Hit it – Similar to above,
  • Freeze it – This trick is used to retrieve data from hard drives (works for larger hard disks). Wrap it in a plastic bag and put it in a deep freezer. After freezing it for about 6-7 hours, you can try plugging it back to retrieve the data.

These are some ways that i have learnt and tried to revive damaged pen drives. I hope this article helps you. If you have any questions, feel free to drop in a comment.