DNA: The Next Big Thing in Storage

Scientists at European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI) are using synthetic DNA to solve the worlds long-term data archival problem. With billions upon billions of bytes occupying hard drives and using electricity - scientist have narrowed their sights on DNA as a viable storage solution. DNA has the capacity for high-density information encoding, and its has longevity - think about it, we can extract DNA from the bones of prehistoric creatures, that pretty good storage performance (minus a hard drive and electricity). Consider this, DNA can encode roughly 2 Petabytes per gram, now that's serious storage.

Recently the scientists at EBI, encoded Martin Luther King's 1963 "I have a dream" speech, along with all 154 of Shakespeare's sonnets, into a string of DNA - then they retrieved the data with 100% accuracy, using new error correction techniques, which did not previously exist.

 Some day DNA may provide the solution for our long-term data archival needs, but for now keep your hard drives spinning.

 

Atari Files for Bankruptcy

The Atari 2600 changed my life and the lives of children more than 30 years ago by bringing video games into our homes. I still remember my first game of Combat against my uncle, who purchased this game console on his way home from a business trip in Asia.  I still recall the moment when I "turned over" Asteroids - my friends cheered!
 The bankruptcy will allow Atari to split from its parent company and allow it to become independent company. Atari hopes to regain its profitable ways by developing games for mobile platforms, where it has seen some success over the last few years. I am pulling for them.
 If you miss the Atari Classics - take a look here!

Microsoft Surface Pro tablets Arriving Soon

Just in case you missed it, Microsoft announced that its first Surface Pros were rolling off the production line. So they should be available to consumers shortly. The Surface Pro will sport an Intel Core i5 processor, and will come in a 64GB version and 128GB version, pricing has not been announced for the US. According to analyst, Microsoft is expected to sell 2 million Surface Pros in 2013. Yes, for the whole year. Let's view this from another angle - Apple sells about twice that number of tablets a month. I posed the questions in a previous post, "Does Microsoft Still Matter?" -
IDC believes that Microsoft can gain 10% of the tablet market in 2013 - for their sake I hope its true. Windows 8 arrived as desktop and laptop sales plummeted - the surface arrived and no one lined up to buy it - the Surface Pro, well its Windows 7 compatible. I think I'll pass.

Google Guns Gets Shot Down!

Yesterday I read a post by WebProNews about Google Guns, a tank warfare game (reminiscent of Atari Combat). I was lucky and got to play the game, which allowed me to defend my neighborhood from an invading army of tanks with tanks of my own. I had tanks rolling through Central park & other great locations. It even suggested cool sites to battle on like the Tower of Pisa. To put it plainly, it was cool!
Unfortunately, before I could post it (which I should have done yesterday!) - Google shut it down for obvious branding reasons. The site now reads - Due to copyright issues this project no longer exists. 

The Best Tablet Covers for Kids

This Christmas everyone in my house wanted a tablet, so Santa delivered. But like most parents, I was concerned about the protecting these expensive gifts from their future owners. Luckily, I found some great options for protecting tablets from Kids.

My 7 year-old has a Kindle Fire and I purchased Fisher Price Kid-Tough Apptivity Case for Kindle Fire. At $29.99, it is far less expensive than other case and provided superior protection. The clam shell case locks the tablet safely inside its protective walls and provides a built-in screen protector. Even if your child is using your tablet you may want to consider this case. Its the right size for little ones to hold and it protects your screen from scratches/cracks. Funny enough, my mother-in-law saw the case and wants one for her kindle. It seems that the wide grip area is also helpful for Grandma as well.
Other options include:
i-Blason ArmorBox Kido Series For Amazon Kindle Fire , Dora the Explorer Universal Tray for the Kindle Fire, and the OtterBox Defender Series Protective Case for Kindle Fire.

There are also similar protectors for Apple's iPhone, iPad and iPod. The Fisher-Price Kid-Tough Apptivity Case, and the Fisher-Price Laugh and Learn Apptivity Case: iPad Edition.

 

Andrew Sullivan's Dish is Parting Ways With the DailyBeast

Sullivan's leap of faith is based on his loyal following of a million readers and the prospect that they will pay to access THEIR content. The Dish , will be available at andrewsullivan.com on February  1st. According to Sullivan, "There is no paywall. Just a freemium-based meter. We’ve tried to maximize what’s freely available, while monetizing those parts of the Dish where true Dishheads reside." "You’ll have a limited number of free read-ons a month, before we hit you up for $19.99." This combination  approach ties in the New York Times metered paywall and the Wall Street Journals  premium content model, which will ultimately lead you to a paywall.