Heated Pavement Technology Tested at Des Moines International Airport

We are living in future or future is dawning upon the humankind. The line is blur and the amount of scientific, technology advancement we are experiencing it will become highly difficult to pinpoint the moment we will step into the future. A team of researchers from the Iowa State University have been successful in deploying the fully functional electrically conductive concrete pavement installed on an America airport. The lead researcher going by the name Halil Ceylan has to simply run an app on his smartphone in order to begin the successful testing on the full scale heated pavement installed at Des Moines International Airport.

Winter season is round the corner the technology implemented by the Ceylan team will help in turning on heated pavement system which will allow snow and ice to melt away. All this is done through an app and it can be seen in real time due to its video capability.

How much it costs?

Most of the people are amazed by the technology and are hooked on learning about the cost incurred in developing it. Ceylan has clarified that the success of the heated pavement slabs has shown that benefits are far greater than the cost. Researchers have carefully calculated the number at the operating cost of just 19 cents per square meters which is unbelievably cheaper.

How the testing slabs were made?

The test slabs designed for the installation at the airport are made up of 1percent of the carbon fiber along with a special mix of the cement, rocks and sand. The use of carbon fiber in the heated pavement technology allows concrete to conduct electricity which ultimately helps in creating heat.

A team member has prepared hundreds of concrete samples in order to come up with the right combination of comprehensive strength, electrical conductivity, tensile strength and workability required for its success. The test slabs are wired with varied kind of sensors which includes strain gauges, temperature probes, humidity sensors as well as it has two surveillance camera mounted near it. These test slabs are powered by the hangar’s power supply which helps in its smooth functioning.

Why testing on an airport?

The reason which prompted Des Moines Airport for testing heated pavement because it’s a part of Federal Aviation Administration sustainability program. In a bid to boost the sustainability and a partnership was established way back in 2012 which brought together a number of credible researchers from the Purdue University as well as other core members from Iowa State. This brings together a number of FAA’s centres of excellence along with the federal government, universities and industry in an established one-of-a-kind cost-sharing research partnership.

This program is currently about $2.2 million for Iowa State to bring about a full scale demonstration of unique airfield d pavements as well as heated pavements for future usage. Earlier a prototype of the heated pavement was successfully placed at the campus lab which showed promising results and feasibility to integrate for the large scale studies.

Intel Launches Optane Memory M.2 Cache SSDs For Consumer Market

Intel finally unveiled its first Optane product called SSD DC P4800X enterprise drive just a week ago and today it has brought the Optane Memory product which is targeted for the consumers. This product is essentially a low-capacity M.2 NVMe SSD which can only be used as a cache drive in the systems for simple tasks and performance boost.

How does Intel Optane Memory SSD works?

Intel has simply launched two variant of the Optane Memory SSD which makes use of either one or two single die packages of the 3D XPoint which happens to be the non-volatile memory. And this product will be made available only in the 16 GB and 32 GB models. Without going into the fine technical details of the Optane Memory let’s focus on the performance which Intel is proclaiming to be selling point of these device. The Optane Memory drives are of very low capacity which means they can’t be used like the traditional SSDs. The best part about these new drives is that it is designed to be used specifically with the caching capability of its Rapid Storage Technology. Intel has made this technology available way back in 2011 with the Smart Response Technology.

Therefore the Optane Memory is better suited for the 3D Point memory performance which brings a definite flexibility advantage usually missed in the flash memory. Secondly the Optane Memory comes with the NVMe remapping feature which has become a staple feature in the Intel’s Skylake generation 100-series chipsets. Thirdly the Optane Memory caching capability is only limited to the Windows 10 64 bit and that also for the boot volume which might be a bummer for a large number of consumers.

Optane Memory SSDs are expensive 

Intel’s market share has taken a hit by the recent rise in the adoption and popularity of the AMD’s processor and chipsets. Therefore it has envisioned a world where Optane Memory equipped system are running the show which also ends up giving a remarkable performance over the hard drive only system which has become a norm in today’s society.

The pricing for the Optane Memory drive has been kept at $44 for 16GB version while $77 for the 32GB version. Over the years the prices for the flash memory drive has declined rapidly which had made it possible to buy the SSDS for ordinary usage with pretty ease.

Therefore Intel Optane Memory will get a stiff competition for the Flash drive which happens to be first choice of the consumers at the world. Pricing will play a major role in the overall success of the Optane Memory products. Currently buying a 32 GB Optane Memory drive will costs as much as 256 Gb class SSDs while 512 GB class will cost as much as the 25TB hard drive. Intel is hoping that the performance driven Optane Memory will help in creating a niche market for it in upcoming days.

Twitter Explores Subscription-Based Option for First Time

Tweetdeck Convenient Twitter Experience

Recently the company had mentioned that Twitter Inc. had been planning to build a premium kind of its well-known Tweetdeck interface targeted at professionals thereby raising the likelihood that it would collect subscription fees for the first time, from some users. Tweetdeck provides a much convenient Twitter experience by enabling the user to see various timeline in an easy interface comprising of various advanced features to benefit the most of Twitter.

 It also helps in managing numerous accounts, schedule Tweets for future posting build Tweet collections and much more. Similar to the other Twitter applications it interfaces with the Twitter API thus enabling the users in sending as well as receiving tweets and observe profiles. Tweetdeck tends to comprise of sequences of customisable columns that tend to be set up displaying the Twitter timeline of the user, mentions, direct messages, trends, list, search results, hastag, or all the tweets by or to an individual user.

Since its launch 11 years ago, Twitter like most of the other social media companies has focused on building a big user base for a free service with the help of advertising. It had reported last month that it had 319 million users all over the world.

Twitter Unsuccessful in Drawing Adequate Advertising Revenue

However unlike Facebook Inc. Twitter seemed to be unsuccessful in drawing adequate advertising revenue to gain profit in spite of its popularity with Donald Trump, the U.S. President while the other celebrities have made the network an endless hub of attention. A subscription fee could be helpful from a type of Tweetdeck, a prevailing interface which could be beneficialto users in exploringTwitter.

A survey is being done by Twitter to assess the interest in an updated and much more enhanced kind of Tweetdeck according to a spokeswoman Brielle Villablanca in a statement recently. She added that they conduct user research frequently in collecting feedback regarding the user’s Twitter experience as well as to improve their product investment decision.

They have been exploring a number of methods of making Tweetdeck more treasured for professionals. No indications have been provided stating that Twitter would consider charging fees form its users. Announcement of the survey had been disclosed on Twitter earlier wherein a journalist associated with the New York Times had displayed screenshot of what a premium version of Tweetdeck would probably appear like.

Advertising Revenue Progress – Lag User Growth

This kind of version would comprise of more powerful tools enabling marketers, professionals, journalist together with the others in the community to identify of what could be happening across the globe in a quicker manner, as per one of the screenshots displayed on the account @andrewtavani. The description had stated that the experience would be ad-free.

Social media firms like Microsoft Corp’s, MSFT.O, LinkedIn unit, have already tiered memberships together with subscription types which provide better access as well as data. Twitter had posted the slowest revenue growth in the fourth quarter of 2016 since it had gone public four earlier ago where the revenue from the advertising had dropped year after year.

The company had also informed that advertising revenue progress would remain to lag user growth during 2017. Last year, financial markets wondered regarding the sale of Twitter though no concrete bids have come up.

Android O: Everything You Need To Know About Next Android OS

In the world of mobile and related technologies, Apple has already attained much attention from the users. However, Android has also become one of the leading Operating Systems as lots of devices with this OS are available in different designs and specifications. Those, who love using Android phones, may be happy to know that Google has recently revealed some information on Android’s newest version Android O. Obviously, the Smartphone users hope to get lots of thrilling features on the newest edition of Android. They want to have custom icons or fonts, better standard audio system and amazing ways for running games or any other apps.

Google will not officially release Android O version until it organizes I/O seminar in the month of May. However, the possible features that may be found with this model are described here.

Notification system with latest Android edition-

Overloading of notifications is really an issue. That is why Android O is intended to prevent such problem. It will offer notification channel, which is customizable to any user. All the alerts and notifications may be categorized, according to the specific type, for example, message or entertainment news. The users may also get the option- Snooze that is helpful to control these notifications. Styles for massaging and colors for notification backgrounds may also be changed.

Limitations on some activities at the background-

In Nougat version of Android, the users are presented with an opportunity for restricting a number of activities of apps. In case of Android O. this aspect has been improved to a significant level. If some apps are prevented from performing their tasks, then life-span of your Android battery may get increased.

Picture-in-Picture-

If you have used TV version of Android, then this mode is not new to you. Android O will also include it as it is useful to run video.

Control cached file in a better way-

Each app needs some space for storage, especially if it is a cached record. While the space of disk is to be made available, it may remove some data or files from applications.

Incredible gestures-

This is a unique feature that you may enjoy with Android O version. Just draw the alphabet, C on the screen, and you will get the contact list. However, you can see this option in some Chinese Smartphone models, when you may open app by drawing letter onscreen.

When you say Android L, it indicates Lollipop version. And while it is N, you may easily recognize it to be Nougat version. Now, regarding Android O, lots of speculations have been made. Some people guess that it is Oatmeal Cookie, while others think it to be Oreo. However, Google hasn’t announced specific name for Android O version.

But, it is hoped by Google that Android may become the only platform, which is proper in appearance and performance. With new features and limits, Android O version may be a good gift to Android users, who like to have better experience of using their Smartphone.

Interesting Advantages of a Career in IT

The current landscape of the job market is interesting, to say the least. As technology grows and people become more reliant on their phones and computers, it creates new needs in regards to business. Unfortunately, the current demand for professionals with a strong understanding of information systems exceeds the number of people with the right backgrounds. Luckily, this can also be great information for people searching for a new path in life. When you get a master’s in MIS from UAB, for example, you will find that there are some exciting career opportunities in front of you.

Gaining a little bit of insight on why this is a good option can help you to formulate an opinion on whether or not it is for you. There are many benefits that you can expect when you make the decision to explore this choice. Look at some of the more interesting advantages that can come along with a career in IT to gain a better perspective. You might find that heading back to school to study information systems is the right choice for your future.

Financially Positive

When considering your path in life, it is important to think about how you plan on supporting yourself. Having the right career will be beneficial for anything you try to accomplish because it will provide you with financial security. Careers in IT are a wise choice because they tend to pay very well. As companies take on newer and more complicated technology for their operations, they have begun to invest a good amount of money into hiring professionals who can keep everything running.

This means that you could potentially find a position with any kind of industry that you might be interested in. The need for educated information systems professionals is growing each day. This trend does not appear to be ending anytime soon and many business experts predict that the need will only increase over the course of the next few years. Getting in on this now can help you to land a position with a company that you really want to work for and introduce you to plenty of opportunities for growth.

Plenty of Opportunities

The corporate world isn’t for everyone. Working long hours and dealing with forced interactions with coworkers can be a monotonous and crushing experience. The interesting thing about working in IT is that you don’t really have to limit yourself to these environments. Many years ago only companies of a certain size could afford the equipment that called for an IT representative. Nowadays all businesses utilize some type of tech to boost productivity, keep track of sensitive data, and take care of a number of other important tasks.

If the corporate world isn’t for you, then take a look at what other options you have. You might find that a local startup has an idea that you’re fascinated in and they require the help of a proficient information systems specialist. There are many options worth considering in this field. When you make the choice to pursue a higher degree in this area, you will find that you can make some fascinating moves for your future.

A Brighter Tomorrow

Paying attention to the shifting job market can help you to see which industries offer the most. There are many new fields that require intelligent people to fill the growing number of positions involved with each. If you are trying to find a career that stands to gain you a lot for your future, then it can be wise to explore IT. Take a moment to look at some of the programs available for a degree in this area. Get started down your path today and you will be on your ways towards a brighter tomorrow filled with interesting opportunities.