the world's largest disk drive

A Canadian group researching advanced networking technology says it is about to test "the world's largest disk drive" - data storage within the light waves of a 5,000-mile fiber-optic loop. Labeled the Wavelength Disk Drive (WDD), the concept promises to provide lightening-fast access to shared data at the same time that it offers a new use for excess bandwidth in optical networks. Bill St. Arnaud, senior director for advanced networks at CANARIE, an Internet research outfit funded in part by the federal government, told that an initial test of a WDD would create several gigabytes of storage within the nationwide fiber backbone known as CA*net 3.

"Today, we use optical networks for point-to-point communication," St. Arnaud said. "You send a (data) packet across and it goes off the end into a computer. What we're doing is putting a packet onto the network and letting it circle continuously around the network. It can got from Vancouver to St. John's (Newfoundland), back to Vancouver ... going around and around the network. With a WDD, he said, "the wavelengths are like tracks on a disk drive, and the routers are like read/write heads." By developing special drivers at the router level, hundreds - even thousands - of computers could access the same data simultaneously without the kind of bottleneck generated when data is served up from a single point on a network. VIA

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this symbol is called a lemniscate, and other facts

The technical term for your foot "falling asleep" is "taresthesia". "Pins and needles" is really called "paresthesia". Great Britain has invaded about 90% of the world's countries. There's a brand of hand sanitizer called "Maybe You Touched Your Genitals". There was a hoax that the world was ending in 1806 because someone wrote "Christ is coming" on eggs, that were later stuffed into a hen. Gary Numan is actually 13 days older than Gary Oldman. There is a word in the English language with only one vowel, which occurs six times: Indivisibility. Los Angeles's full name is 'El Pueblo de Nuestra la Reina de los Angeles de Porciuncula'. Polyamorous people have invented a word to indicate the opposite feeling of jealousy - compersion. The Macrocilix maia moth confuses predators with wing patterns that mimic two flies eating bird poop. It even releases a pungent odor to drive home the dec

abort, retry, ignore poem

The infamous Abort, Retry, Ignore message box of Windows, with no option given to close it. Found this classic and fun poem about the "Abort, Retry, Ignore" message. I have been able to trace back the source to Annoyances.org. Here it is: Once upon a midnight dreary, fingers cramped and vision bleary, System manuals piled high and wasted paper on the floor, Longing for the warmth of bed sheets, still I sat there doing spreadsheets. Having reached the bottom line I took a floppy from the drawer, I then invoked the SAVE command and waited for the disk to store, Only this and nothing more. Deep into the monitor peering, long I sat there wond'ring, fearing,  Doubting, while the disk kept churning, turning yet to churn some more.  But the silence was unbroken, and the stillness gave no token.  "Save!" I said, "You cursed mother! Save my data from before!"  One thing did the phosphors answer, only this and nothing more,  Just, "Abort

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क्या मुझे प्यार है? क्या तुम येह पढ़ सकते हो? और क्या तुम्हारा नाम 'जोकर' है? हिन्दीमा त लेखीयो, बबाल सजीलो हुँदो रहेछ - अब नेपाली लेखेर हेरौं है, कत्तिको राम्ररी लेखिन्छ - भन्ने कुरा गर्ने हो भने तपाइँ मलाई भनी दिनुस कि यो गूगल को नयाँ सुविधा कत्तिको राम्रो लग्छ तपाइँलाई. फेरी पनि तिम्रो तस्बिर, आँखामा आयी दिन्छ अनी फेरी धुलो लागे जस्तो सारा हरायेर जान्छ - यो लेख्नु त majja po रहेछ - it's fun! देवनागरीमा ब्लग लेख्ने होइन त? सच्ची, यो एकदम सजीलो रहेछ - धन्यबाद ब्लगर! But it still needs refinements to be perfect.

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