Hasta La Gadget!

(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)

Microsoft outlined a host of new games and feature upgrades for the Xbox 360 at its inaugural E3 2009 press conference.

Good-bye games in boxes? Xbox 360 to get full game downloads
Some Xbox 360 games will soon be available as downloads directly to the console’…

A diamond is forever. And in a few years, you could say the same about everything you say on Twitter. Researchers from the University of California at Berkeley have found a way to develop a carbon nanotube-based technique for storing data that could potentially last more than a billion years.

The goal, say the researchers, is to improve on what they see as the general trend for memory storage. As memory density increases, the lifespan of the storage has been decreasing, they say.  For instance, stone carvings are still largely readable after 3,800 years, while information written with individual atoms by scanning tunneling microscopes last just a few seconds at room temperature. Conventional digital memory technologies in use — such as hard disk drives and flash memory — have an estimated lifetime of only 10 to 30 years. If successful, a billion-year memory storage device could change that, enabling humans to store any data — from the digital version of an ancient manuscript to your latest tweet — from now until long after the Earth has been overrun by superintelligent, fusion-powered cyborg ants.

Here’s how it works. The device has an iron nanoparticle positioned inside a hollow carbon nanotube. Carbon nanotubes are molecular-scale tubes usually made of a carbon allotrope. For data storage, a small electrical signal is applied across the nanotube causing the iron nanoparticle shuttle to move back and forth. The movement of the nanoparticles from one end to the other of the tube creates the binary ‘1′ or ‘0′ state.

The position of the shuttle can be read out directly, explain the researchers in a paper published in the current issue of the Nano Letters journal. “The reversibility of the nanoparticle motion allows a memory bit that can be rewritten,” according to the paper.

The technique has significant potential for archival storage, say the researchers, because the nanoparticle-based bits show significant persistence. It’s also possible to store a lot of data in a small space: With information density predicted to be as high as 10¹² bits per square inch, you could store data from nearly 25 DVDs in the space of a postage stamp.

The beauty of the system is that it requires only a couple volts of electrical signal to stimulate it, Will Gannett, a graduate student in physics working on the project at UC Berkeley told campus paper The Daily Californian.

It’ll take awhile to get there, though — so far the researchers have only demonstrated the theoretical possibility of this technology.

[via Science]

Photo: Nanoparticle in nanotube representation

Before E3 2009, rumors were flying back and forth between blogs and press releases. One rumor that fans and news sites anticipated was the announcement of a new Metal Gear Solid. There was a mention of “lightning” in recent interviews as well, which begged people to question if it would focus on Raiden.

Today at Microsoft’s conference the rumors were true for the most part, but no one anticipated the new game, Metal Gear Solid Rising, to be released for the Xbox 360. Kojima refused to comment further on the details of the project, but he has, once again, surprised us all.

Rentrak, a media research company, announced today its newest service: the Ad Monitor for Video Games. This new informational service is intended to give producers an idea of where they stand in the competition.

From the year-to-date chart titled “Top 10 Selling Console Games,” the Wii Fit w/ Balance Board takes first place. Mario Kart, also released a little over a year ago, took the number 6 slot.The only other game to stay on the charts as long as these two Nintendo hits was Bethesda’s Fallout 3 (released in October 2008).

For rentals, Xbox 360 stole the show with Call of Duty: World at War at number 1, Gears of War 2 at second place, and Resident Evil 5 in third. The only non-360 games to make it to the list were PlayStation 3’s Call of Duty: World at War and the Wii’s Mario Kart.

Dell confirmed on Monday that it’s saying farewell to the Inspiron Mini 9, the company’s first foray into the netbook market.

The Inspiron Mini 9 made its debut in September 2008 for $349, the first netbook with built-in mobile broadband from a major wireless carrier, Vodafone.

“Since the launch of the Mini 9, Dell has extended its Mini family with several new products, incorporating industry-led enhancements and customer feedback inspired improvements, and we expanded the palette for personalization options, with more colors and original artwork by Tristan Eaton,” Dell wrote in a blog post.

Dell urged consumers to look to the Del Mini 10v instead, which retails for $299. The device boasts a 10-inch display and a bigger keyboard, as well as more storage space and options, like the choice of a 16GB SSD or traditional hard drive up to 160GB, Dell said.

The Mini 10v launched in early May, three months after the debut of the Inspiron Mini 10 in February

Just bought a Mini 9? You’re out of luck for now. “We appreciate your business, and hope the Dell Mini 9 continues to deliver a great mobile experience,” Dell said.