First, we had the floppy drives given to us by IBM – magnetic storage disks which came in sizes of 8-inch, 5.25-inch and 3.5-inch. I still remember thinking the floppy was cool during my Computer Science lab classes at school. As we entered the digital age, the greater was the need for more storage and we moved to CDs, USB drives, external hard drives, DVDs and memory cards. However, with the ever increasing amount of information being shared and the rapidly evolving media technologies, the storage media out there simply ain’t enough. When I bought my first 120 GB USB external drive, I thought it would satisfy my storage needs for quite a while. However, I soon found myself buying 2 more pocket drives (120 GB and 160 GB) and 2 SanDisk USB drives (2 GB and 8 GB) along with 4 10-pack boxes of DVDs/CDs. I could soon end up with a storage problem for my storage media!

Finally, a technology called Holographic storage/memory, which will greatly facilitate the storage of all our data/media is closer to getting into our living rooms. Watch this video below for an introduction to Holographic Storage.

While Holographic Storage is not a new technology (proposed by scientist Pieter J. van Heerden in the early 1960s, its mainstream use has been delayed due to efforts by various companies to mass-produce Holographic Data Storage Systems (HDSS). In my opinion, the best technologies are the ones which can make life easier at an affordable price. So, while a few companies have been building some HDSS, General Electric has focussed on developing a HDSS which can be easily mass-produced and used in the consumer market at an affordable price. And they’re close to realizing that goal with the development of a micro-holographic disc in their labs which meet the following criteria:

• Same size as that of existing CDs/DVDs
• Can store upto 500 GB
• Can be played in Blu-Ray and DVD players
• Much cheaper (10 cents per GB) than Blu-Ray discs ($1 per GB)

GE have said that they will first focus on commercial markets like movie studios, hospitals, etc. So, it could be a few years before this technology reaches the consumer market. Watch out for it! Read the NY Times press release.

I was disappointed when I came to know that no UK TV broadcaster agreed a deal to telecast the Froch-Taylor match LIVE. Well, ITV stepped in at the last moment to telecast the matcvh “as LIVE” around 18 hours after the fight. Fortunately, Omnisport streamed the fight LIVE for £9.95 and I booked the fight just minutes before punch-off! And man, I’m thrilled I didn’t miss the LIVE telecast!

Since watching Carl Froch take the vacant WBC Super-middleweight title with a classic match against Jean Pascal, I knew that Froch will be an exciting prospect and I admired his tough chin and stamina.

So, this was Froch’s first big fight (against the former world champion Jermain Taylor who’s no pushover) and his first fight on American soil. Also, it was hist first defence of his WBC super-middleweight title.

Jermain started strongly and dominated the first couple of rounds. He looked more stylish and solid in defence than Carl Froch. And then in the 3rd round, he handed Froch his first knockdown in his career (Carl Froch was undefeated and was never knocked down to the canvas prior to this fight). It seemed that the skilful, former champ Jermain Taylor was ready to teach Carl Froch a boxing lesson and Jermain went on to dominate the first half of the fight. From the 7th round onwards, Carl Froch became more active, using his jab more frequently and taking the fight to Taylor, who by now was backing off a bit (Taylor has publicly acknowledged his issues with stamina and going the distance). However, Taylor was still doing enough to lead Froch on the judges scorecards. Going into the final round, Taylor was leading 106-102 on two of the three judges’ scorecards. Just before getting off his stool for the final round, Froch’s trainer told him “You’ve got to get a big round. Don’t blow it!”  and that’s exactly what Froch did. He threw several combinations at Taylor and moved him towards the ropes. In the last minute of the final round, Froch avaenged his 3rd round knockdown by knocking down Taylor. Taylor looked stunned and Froch knew that if he didn’t finish off Taylor, Taylor could still win on points. So, Froch continued dishing out the punches while Taylor just had his arms up  trying to defend while leaning against the ropes. It was obvious Taylor could not defend himself and Froch could punch him at will and so the referee made the correct decision of stopping the fight, just 14 seconds before the final bell! Froch had won his first defence, retained his WBC super-middleweight title and had arrived in the USA! Shame on the bloody disgraceful UK TV broadcasters who telecast LIVE boring Commonwealth/British title fights and Amir Khan’s over-hyped matches, but refused to do so for the Froch-Taylor fight. Now, perhaps,  they’ll line up to strike a deal for Froch’s next fight.

Well, it should not be down and out for  Taylor as he fought well and did not allow Froch to dominate the fight. The fight was actually going Taylor’s way until the last few seconds of the final round. In the end, it was Froch’s tough chin and stamina which helped him stage a wonderful comeback and nail down the victory. There may be a rematch on the cards, but it seems that Froch’s most keen to get Joe Calzaghe out of retirement and called out loud and clear for him. Joe avoided Carl before retirement, dismissing Carl as a nobody. Well, I’m interested in watching Carl Froch take on one of these fighters soon – Lucian Bute, Mikkel Kessler, Sakio Bika (featured on “The Contender” show).

Will Carl Froch be a great champion? Well, his tough chin, stamina and some powerful punching have impressed me, but his poor defence could prove to be his downfall. He simply does not keep his gloves up to defend and can prove to be easy to hit by skilful boxers. So, it  seems that his chin will determine how far he goes in boxing if he doesn’t improve his defence. He’s not afraid to sign up for the big fights. If he develops a solid defence and starts strongly (use his jab more often in early rounds), then he’ll be very difficult to beat. Perhaps, his first big fight in America made him a bit nervous and that’s why he didn’t start very well against Taylor, but in the end, two excellent boxers gave us fans a cracking nail-biter! Thanks guys!

It’s been a while now since the global economy has been affected by the credit crisis or credit crunch and there have been a myriad of presentations, discussions, etc. in magazines, on TV, at the cafe, etc. explaining why we have this credit crisis. While almost everybody will have some idea of what got us into this mess by now, I just came across this wonderful visual presentation by Jonathan Jarvis, which will enable all the folks who didn’t bother getting to know the credit crisis, obtain a good understanding of the credit crisis quite quickly. Set aside around 12 minutes to watch it and I  hope you enjoy it like I did. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth a million!

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