Friday, November 6, 2009
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
What could this be for you'll never guess
It looks like the cavernous belly of a massive cruise ship, or a "level" in the real-life horror video game that is CERN. In reality, there's a good chance you use these tubes—which belong to Microsoft—every single day.
What you're seeing is a tiny section of the 7.5 miles of cooling pipes inside Microsoft's new 700,000-foot Chicago data center, which is one of the—if not the—largest in the world.
It's a mesmerizing place, simultaneously industrio-scary and dreamy, eerily glowing and searingly lit. But for all the painted piping, shimmering server racks and retro-futuristic control panels, the blood running through this place's veins couldn't be more benign: we're talking Windows Live Mail, My Phone, and Messenger; WGA activation servers and Windows Update; Windows Live Office, Xbox Live and Azure, but interestingly, not Sidekick.
And amazingly massive as it is, data centers like this are the undeniable future of the biggest names in tech.
More photos on CNET
USS New York Warship Is Made With Steel from the Twin Towers
The 684-foot, $1.2-billion warship USS New York is actually made of New York. At least, 7.5 tonnes of salvaged steel from the Twin Towers. Watch it come back home, under the eyes of the Lady of the Harbor: The USS New York is a San Antonio-class amphibious assault vessel, which can carry 800 marines with their helicopters. The steel from the World Trade Center was used for its bow. If you are in New York, you can see it today near Zone Zero, on the south tip of Manhattan.