Matt's Favorites: 'Bye Atari, Hello North Korea And Smart Refrigerators
So what's new and exciting in the wonderful world of high technology? See it all here, culled from a bunch of sources...
* Video game maker Atari's U.S. operations have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in an effort to separate from their French parent company, which is filing a similar motion separately in France.
* North Korea is loosening some restrictions on foreign cell phones by allowing visitors to
bring their own phones into the country. However, security regulations still prohibit mobile phone calls between foreigners and locals.
* In news of a less closed Communist country, a change in global Internet patterns shows
that Cuba may have turned on a new submarine data cable to Venezuela.
* Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt's daughter blogs about her recent four-day trip
to North Korea.
* Our friends at CNet's News.com blog about their top car technologies from both CES and
the North American International Auto Show in Detroit.
* 90 years after the introduction of the theories of quantum mechanics, it's still anyone's
guess as to what it all means.
* Refrigerators are getting smart. A new model released earlier this month runs apps to
help users browse recipes, create shopping lists and manage the expiration dates of items
like yogurt and milk.
* President Obama's inaugural speech contained more of his increasing references to
climate change.
* The other Mars rover -- you remember, Opportunity, the little microwave-sized guy --
enters its 10th year of exploration. Remarkable engineering achievement, that.
* This is interesting: Readings in Earth's biology show the planet was hit by a big blast of
radiation in 775 AD. The most likely culprit, a gamma ray burst 3,000 to 12,000 light years away.
