When we run out of room for data, scientists want to store it in DNA

Google

First the apocalyptic warning: We’re running out of data storage.

Chances are that this isn’t something you’ve had to worry about too much in recent years. There was a time, not all that long ago, when your computer’s finite hard drive was all the storage you had available. Hit that limit (which, in the case of my own first computer, was less than 100MB) and you resorted to floppy disks and other local external storage. When you ran out of that, too, you got deleting.

Each day, around 2.5 quintillion bytes of data is created, courtesy of the 3.7 billion humans who now use the internet.

We don’t delete any more. Nor do companies, especially those valued based on the data they own. Instead, we simply propel our files off to the cloud, whose very name is ephemeral and ethereal; lacking in any real physicality. Where is the data stored? It doesn’t matter so long as we can get it back. What are the perils of running out of cloud storage? Seemingly very little, besides having to up your monthly subscription payments to unlock more glorious free space.

As a result, the idea that we might one day run out of data storage is as hard to wrap your head around as the suggestion that we could run out water: that glorious free resource which falls from the sky. But 2018 is the year in which Cape Town, South Africa, came precipitously close to running out of water. And we could run out of data storage, too.

Data, data, everywhere

The reason for this is the unimaginable pace at which we currently produce data. Each day, around 2.5 quintillion bytes of data is created, courtesy of the 3.7 billion humans who now use the internet. In the last two years alone, a mind-boggling 90 percent of the world’s data has been created. With a growing number of smart devices connected to the Internet of Things, that figure is set to increase significantly.

Catalog

“When we think of cloud storage, we think of these infinite stores of data,” Hyunjun Park, CEO and co-founder of the data storage company Catalog, told Digital Trends. “But the cloud is really just someone else’s computer. What most people don’t realize is that we’re generating so much data that the pace at which we are generating it is far outpacing our ability to store all of it. In the very near future, we’re going to have a huge gap between the useful data that we’re generating, and how we are able to store it using conventional mediums.”

Catalog has developed technology they believe could transform the way we store data.

Since cloud storage companies are busy building new data centers, and expanding their existing ones, at a rate of knots, it’s difficult to work out when we could run out of data storage capacity. There’s no movie-style countdown clock. According to Park, however, as early as 2025 humankind may have produced more than 160 zettabytes of data cumulatively. (A zettabyte, in case you’re wondering, is a trillion gigabytes.) How much of this will we be able to store? Around 12.5 percent of it, Park suggests.

Clearly, something needs to be done.

Is DNA the answer?

That’s where Park and fellow MIT scientist and co-founder Nathaniel Roquet enter the picture. Their startup Catalog has developed technology they believe could transform data storage as we know it; allowing, or so they claim, the entirety of the world’s data to be comfortably fit into a space the size of a coat closet.

Catalog’s DNA Storage Team in the lab. Catalog

Catalog’s solution? By encoding data into DNA. That might sound like the plot of a Michael Crichton novel, but their scalable and affordable solution is serious, and has so far received $9 million in venture funding — along with the support of leading professors from Stanford and Harvard Universities.

“A question I get asked often is, ‘Whose DNA are we using?’” Park laughed. “People are afraid of us taking DNA from people and turning them into mutants, or things like that.”

For years bottlenecks have stopped DNA from living up to it’s massive data storage potential.

This is not, we should make clear, what Catalog is doing. The DNA the company is coding data into is a synthetic polymer. It is not something that comes from a biological origin, and the series of base pairs into which the data is coded, as a series of ones and zeros, isn’t the code for anything living. But the end product is nonetheless biologically indistinguishable from something you might find in a living cell.

The idea of DNA being a potential storage method has been speculated upon for decades now, virtually since James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the double helix in 1953. However, until now there have been a number of bottlenecks that have stopped it living up to its massive potential as a computational data storage solution.

Traditional thinking on DNA-based data storage focused on the synthesis of new DNA molecules; mapping the sequence of bits to the sequence of DNA’s four base pairs and making enough molecules to represent all of the numbers you want to store. The problem is that this process is slow and expensive, both considerable bottlenecks when it comes to storing data.

Catalog

Catalog’s approach is based on decoupling the synthesis process from the encoding process. Essentially, the company generates massive numbers of just a few different molecules (making it much cheaper) and then encodes the information by generating huge diversity from the premade molecules.

As an analogy, Catalog likened the previous approach to manufacturing custom hard drives with all your data hard-wired in. Storing different data means building a whole new hard drive from the ground up. Their approach, they suggest, is akin to mass-producing blank hard drives, and then filling it with the encoded information as and when required.

It’s all about the storage

The exciting part of all of this is the mind-boggling amount of data it can store. As a proof of concept, Catalog has used its technology to encode books like The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy into DNA. But that’s nothing compared to the possibilities.

From start to finish, reading data off of DNA will take a minimum of several hours.

“If you’re comparing apples to apples, the bits you can store in the same volume comes out at something like 1 million times the informational density of a solid-state drive,” Park said. “Whatever you can store in a flash drive, you could store 1 million times that in the same volume if you’re doing it in DNA.”

The comparison with solid-state drives is not exact, however. DNA may be able to store far more information in the same volume, but it doesn’t have the instant access of, say, a USB-connected flash drive. Catalog’s approach transforms data into a solid pellet of synthetic polymer.

To access your data, scientists would need to take said pellet, rehydrate it by adding water, and then read it using a DNA sequencer. This provides the base pairs of the DNA, which can, in turn, then be used to calculate the ones and zeroes that reassemble your data. From start to finish, the process will take a minimum of several hours.

In order to retrieve data off of DNA, scientists would need to take the pellet it’s stored on, rehydrate it by adding water, and then read it using a DNA sequencer. Catalog

For this reason, Catalog is initially targeting a market used to these kinds of delays: the archiving market. This is the kind of data that is currently stored on formats like magnetic tape, used for keeping track of the kind of information that you might hope not to have to revisit, but is still crucial to hang onto. (Imagine the corporate equivalent of the warranty to your fridge.)

But is there ever a point at which this will matter to the average user? After all, as we pointed out at the top of this article, most of us don’t really think all that much about our data and where it is kept. Is it on magnetic tape? Is it on solid-state storage? We don’t mind so long as it is there when we need it.

DNA-based data encoding is likely to be a long-term storage option, while short-term data takes other forms.

Because of the amount of time it takes to retrieve information, there’s unlikely to ever be a point at which, for instance, your Google Cloud information is stored in enormous vats of DNA or as a series of marble-like pellets in Mountain View, CA. Should Catalog be able to prove its concept to businesses, this is likely to be a long-term storage option, while short-term data takes other forms.

Imagine the possibilities

A tube containing millions of copies of data encoded into DNA. Catalog

There are exciting sci-fi-sounding possibilities, though. “Imagine a subcutaneous pellet containing all your health data, all your MRA scans, your blood tests, your X-rays from your dentist,” Park said. “You would always want that data to be very accessible to you, but you don’t necessarily want it up in the cloud somewhere, or on an unsecured server in a hospital. If you had that with you in the form of DNA, you could physically control that data and access to it, while making sure that only the authorized doctors could have access to it.”

After all, as he points out, all hospitals today have DNA sequencers. “I’m not saying we’re pursuing that right now, but it’s a possible future,” he said.

Having announced their new company to the world, Catalog is now focused on carrying out some pilot projects to demonstrate how this technology can be used effectively. “These aren’t scientific challenges we have left to solve, but rather mechanical optimization problems,” he noted.

Having, by his own admission, having entered this field because it sounded like a cool technological approach to a big problem, Park is now convinced that DNA data storage may turn out to be one of the most important technologies of our time.

Heck, when it comes to being able to archive human history as we know it, it’s hard to disagree. “It’s about preserving our way of life as we know it,” he explained.

Editors’ Recommendations

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• You’ll never read Facebook’s new data policy, so we did it for you

The best LG G7 ThinQ cases

If you’re an LG aficionado, then the release of the LG G7 ThinQ has likely caught your attention. With the latest Snapdragon 845 processor, incredible boombox sound, and a cool suite of cameras, could this be the phone to put LG on the top of the smartphone market?

No matter how cool the G7 ThinQ is, it’s not going to beat gravity. Dropping a glass-covered and expensive smartphone is a heart-stopping moment, and everyday situations can lead to a shiny smartphone becoming scratched and unsightly. That is why we put together a list of the best LG G7 ThinQ cases currently available to keep your LG phone safe.

StilGut Cover Talis ($35)

What’s better than a good leather wallet case? Not much. This classic and elegant wallet case from StilGut is handmade from quality leather, which lends an air of professionalism to your phone while still keeping it well protected. A magnetic closure keeps the case closed while it’s not in use — and also protects your screen from harm — and the cover folds behind the case while not in use. The cover’s inside pockets also have space for credit cards and spare cash, while precise cutouts ensure you can use all your phone’s functions while it stays protected. With an elegant style and good protection, this wallet case is a great choice.

Buy one now from:

StilGut

UAG Plasma Series ($40)

UAG’s cases are something of a byword for protection — and it’s easy to see why. The Plasma series combines the very best of soft and absorbent TPU with hard polycarbonate, providing a great balance of a rigid backbone and shock-absorption that means excellent protection for your G7 ThinQ. Raised corners keep those areas insulated from drops, which are made less likely with the addition of grippy sides. It’s also extremely lightweight, barely adding any weight to the phone. The looks might not be to everyone’s taste, but UAG’s cases have a style all their own, and if you’re a fan of the look, then this case will serve your phone very well.

Buy one now from:

UAG

Otterbox Defender Series ($50)

For many people, protection begins and ends with the Otterbox Defender. The Defender case for the G7 ThinQ is no-nonsense in its approach to style, offering a thick black oblong that’s as far from the style of other cases as possible. But the protective qualities really are enormous as a result. The thick inner core and outer shell add a lot of thickness to the G7 ThinQ, but it’s a good protective thickness. Raised edges elevate the screen from surfaces, keeping dirt and grit from your display, while port covers stop those same particles from getting into your phone itself. This case also comes with an optional holster that works as a belt clip or kickstand. The Defender is expensive, but it’s simply one of the best protective options around.

Buy one now from:

Otterbox

Ghostek Exec Wallet Case ($25)

Do you like the convenience of a wallet case, but not the fold-over style? Ghostek’s Exec wallet case might be the case you’re looking for. It b oasts Ghostek’s usual high quality, with a dual- layer construction that uses the best of TPU and PC to ensure great protection. There’s also a raised bezel to elevate the screen from the ground or other surfaces if it’s placed facedown. This case is also extremely stylish, with cool fabric and leather textures, as well as an integrated metal plate for magnetic mounts. The real draw, though, is the spacious compartment on the back of the case that comes with room to fit up to five credit cards at once.

Buy one now from:

Ghostek Amazon

Avidet Flexible Clear Case ($8)

The LG G7 ThinQ is a triumph of modern smartphone design, and no one can blame you for not wanting to cover that up. That is where this clear case from Avidet comes in. It’s made from flexible thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) that absorbs shocks well, giving it some resistance against drops and knocks. The soft material also lends more grip to the phone, and the raised dots on the back of the case prevent condensation from forming. Be warned that you won’t get the same level of protection you get from a larger, more protective case, but it’s still a great choice if you don’t want to hide your phone away.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

Spigen Neo Hybrid Herringbone Case ($17)

Veteran case maker Spigen is well-known for a reason, and its range of well-made protective cases have a lot of fans. The Neo Hybrid case combines a shock-absorbent TPU inner core with a hard outer shell of polycarbonate (PC), providing a good balance of soft and hard that protects against a wide range of hazards. The Herringbone pattern on the TPU core lends a cool style to the case, adding to your G7 ThinQ’s look, and it’s really quite reasonably priced. Spigen boasts of military-grade drop protection, making the Neo Hybrid a strong contender in both protection and style.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

Obliq Flex Pro Protective Case ($14)

Obliq might be a name that most people don’t recognize, but the company from Southern California has been putting out stellar smartphone cases for the past few years. The Flex Pro is made from flexible TPU — hence the name — and offers a good balance of protection and style. The case is divided into two parts, with a brushed metal texture on the top joined by a carbon fiber look on the bottom. It’s a good combination, and we dig the style. It’s not all style and no substance either — a raised lip around the edges prevents your phone from resting on surfaces, and the shock-absorbing TPU provides military-grade protection against threats. It’s slim, rugged, stylish, and a great addition to your LG G7 ThinQ.

Buy one now from:

Obliq

Ringke Fusion-X Bumper Case ($13)

Want some serious protection that looks the part? Ringke‘s Fusion-X case brings the best of TPU and PC to this bumper case to provide fantastic protection that doesn’t mess around. The TPU bumper around the edge of the phone helps to absorb blows and drops, keeping the energy away from the phone itself, while the hard and clear PC back helps your phone to stay scratch-free, while still showing off your style. It’s tested to military standard 810G, has a raised bezel to ensure your phone doesn’t rest on surfaces, and even has a slot to attach a lanyard for the ultimate drop protection. While it’s somewhat bulky, if you need to be sure your phone will be safe, this is a great choice.

Buy one now from:

Amazon

Olixar X-Ranger Survival Case ($23)

If adding utility is the name of your case game, then look no further than the Olixar X-Ranger. It’s a pretty decent little protective case that uses multiple layers of PC and TPU to help absorb shocks and prevent hazards from harming your phone. It boasts a raised bezel to elevate your phone from surfaces. The really awesome part of this case lies below the surface, though — flip up the built-in horizontal kickstand and you will also find a credit card-sized multitool that has 26 different uses. It’s somewhat plain in style, with a brushed metal look over the back panel, but what it lacks in style, it makes up for in substance.

Buy one now from:

Mobile Fun

Skinomi Techskin Black Carbon Fiber Skin ($13)

It’s not quite a case, but a smartphone skin is also a good choice for you if you want the least possible bulk while still adding some protection to your phone. This Skinomi skin won’t add any drop-resistance, but it will add a decent amount of protection against scratches, as well as a futuristic sci-fi style thanks to its black carbon fiber look. Since it’s essentially a sticker, it adds barely any bulk to your phone — and as a bonus, this skin also comes with a screen protector for your phone, giving you all-around scratch protection.

Buy one now from:

Skinomi Amazon

Editors’ Recommendations

• LG G7 ThinQ vs. Google Pixel 2 XL: A brains-versus-brawn comparison
• Style and protect your phone with the best LG V35 ThinQ cases
• LG G7 ThinQ vs. LG G6: Out with the old, in with the new
• LG V35 ThinQ hands-on review
• How to buy the LG G7 ThinQ

From translating hearing aids to sign-language gloves, amazing assistive tech

Think that assistive technology for the deaf and hard of hearing community is all about your run-of-the-mill hearing aids here in 2018? Think again!

From signing robot arms to mind-reading hearing aids, the next few years are going to be pretty darn amazing for accessibility technology if this list is anything to go by. Here are some of the most impressive tech projects we’ve come across in this area.

Project Aslan

Signing is all well and great, but like any language it’s not much good if one side of the conversation doesn’t speak it. That’s where a multi-year robotics project from researchers at Belgium’s University of Antwerp comes into play.

That have developed a 3D-printed robotic hand capable of translating spoken and written words into sign language gestures. The device recognizes these words using a webcam, and then communicates them to the user through “fingerspelling,” a mode of sign language which spells out words letter-by-letter with single hand gestures.

Though not currently available, Project Aslan’s robot hand can be 3D printed for just a few hundred bucks, and promises to be small enough to fit in a rucksack.

Cameras that can translate signing

A robot which can turn speech into sign language is good, but for a full conversation to take place you need technology that’s able to turn sign language into voice or text, and voice into text or sign language — and to do all of this in real-time.

That’s what a Dallas-based startup called KinTrans has developed, with a 3D camera and accompanying microphone that’s able to determine what is being said or signed, and then translate it quickly and accurately for the other party.

According to its creators, the system is already able to recognize thousands of signed words with an accuracy of around 98 percent. It can handle multiple languages, too.

Smart gloves

Don’t like the idea of being watched by a camera? No problem. At the University of California San Diego, researchers have developed low-cost smart gloves able to automatically translate American Sign Language (ASL) into digital text which appears on a corresponding computer or smartphone. No camera required.

To use the glove, the wearer simply signs out letters in the ASL alphabet, which are then recognized due to variances in electrical resistance. Like Project Aslan, one of the best features of this solution is its low price point, making it a potentially affordable solution to a challenging problem. The components in the smart glove add up to less than $100 in cost.

While it’s still a research project for now, we can imagine that price coming down further with mass production.

Next-gen transcription technology

Thanks to advances in speech recognition, speech-to-text technology has been getting better for years. But it’s not always useful for situations in which there are multiple people speaking, such as in a group conversation setting.

A new Indiegogo campaign called SpeakSee, created by Netherlands-based entrepreneurs, uses individual clip-on microphones and beamforming technology to isolate specific people’s speech and filter out any background noise.

As a result, conversations are transformed into script-like transcripts, in which different speakers are highlighted in unique colors. These can then be read on an accompanying tablet or smartphone.

Brainwave-reading hearing aid

Imagine if a hearing aid was able to work out what sound you’re trying to focus on and magnify just that audio, while quietening down everything else.

That’s what researchers from Columbia University School of Engineering and Applied Science have been working on with a new “cognitive hearing aid,” designed to help wearers in situations like crowded rooms.

The device works by monitoring the brain activity of users, and then using a deep neural network to figure out which speaker’s voice the listener is concentrating on. Right now, it’s still a research project, but this could be transformative if and when it eventually arrives on the market.

Solar ears

There are close to 400 million people worldwide with a hearing loss-related disability. Of these, more than half live in countries with lower levels of income to places like the United States. That’s a problem when it comes to hearing aids, since the cost of the devices and their batteries can be out of reach for many people they would otherwise be able to help.

As its name implies, Solar Ear is a solar-powered hearing aid, whose batteries are designed to last 2-3 years, compared with the 7-10 days of a common battery. It’s considerably cheaper than regular hearing aids, too.

Translating hearing aids

Hearing aids allow users who are deaf or hard of hearing to have other people’s voices piped directly into their ear. But what if it could perform a bit of computational magic along the way, and use machine translation to, say, transform a native German speaker’s words into English? That’s technology that will certainly find itself into high-end hearing aids over the next several years.

Already there have been some pretty impressive demos in the form of Waverly Labs’ Pilot Translating Earpiece and the IBM Watson-powered TranslateOne2One. De repente, los audífonos están a punto de ser mucho más útiles. (Suddenly, hearing aids are about to get a whole lot more useful.)

Hearing through your… skin?

Most hearing aids are, in our experience, overwhelmingly ear-based. A research project from neuroscientists at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, wants to change that with the help of a vest which allows deaf people to “hear” through their skin.

The device collects incoming audio via the users’ smartphone and then translates this into specific vibrations the wearer can feel on their skin. The hope is that, over time, users will learn to process these vibrations as information in much the same way that a blind person could learn to read via the tactile bumps of braille.

As far as we’re aware, this is an ongoing research project, but a Kickstarter campaign a few years ago suggests that the goal is to develop a commercial product at the end of it.

Editors’ Recommendations

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• You’re not hearing things: Viral Laurel vs. Yanny debate is an audio brain teaser
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• Facebook in hot water again over data deals with Huawei, Lenovo and others
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The best ‘Pokémon Go’ tips and tricks

Pokémon Go became a cultural phenomenon in 2016 by giving everyone the chance to “catch ’em all.” In augmented reality (AR), you wander around your city and neighborhood to find and catch as many virtual pocket monsters as possible.

Despite how simple the game mechanics seem, there are still ways to play the game well, and developer Niantic has introduced a lot of new features since the game’s launch two years ago. Whether you have yet to begin amassing your collection, or you are well on your way to filling out your Pokédex, this article will break down all the game’s nuances and various ways to play.

How to find the best wild Pokémon

Pokémon Go wants you to get up on your feet and venture into the real world, and it spreads different kinds of Pokémon around loosely based on your real-life location. In town, grass- and normal-type Pokémon will often appear. If you go near water or out at night, however, you’re likely to encounter water-based and psychic Pokémon, respectively. There’s an element of randomness involved as well; sometimes water Pokémon appear in locations without water nearby, for instance, so what you find is not entirely based on your geographical location.

Checking your local parks is a must, because Niantic often uses these to create “nests” of specific types of Pokémon, so they’ll appear much more frequently in those places. What Pokémon appears at what nest rotates over time, though, so get what you need quick, because you never know when a Dratini nest might suddenly turn into a Pikachu nest.

Here are some tips for finding Pokémon

Tip #1: Whenever a Pokémon appears, as long as it’s on screen, you can tap it to begin the catching process — no matter how far away it is from you.

Tip #2: Don’t give up if a Pokémon flees while you’re trying to catch it. It may reappear on the map, so you may get another chance.

Tip #3: Use Incense and Lure modules! Incense is a consumable item you can earn by leveling up, or purchase from the Pokémon Go shop. It attracts Pokémon to you, naturally increasing your odds of spotting a rare Pokémon. It also lowers the probability of them fleeing.

Lure modules work in a similar way, but are applied to a PokéStop rather than a player. They attract Pokémon to a specific location for 30 minutes, and in doing so, benefit all players in the area. So, if you see a spot on your map with pink confetti-like animation, go there for a better chance at finding Pokémon. Add some incense, and you’re likely to be swarmed by the little monsters.

Tip #4: Tune in for monthly community days and other Niantic events. These are always broadcast in your Pokémon Go app, and often focus on Pokémon from a particular region or of a particular type. The community day each month is a great way to get out and catch a specific, usually rare, kind of Pokémon as well. Keep an eye out for special events to quickly find lots of Pokémon and jump-start the path to some evolutions.

Best Heavy Duty Cases for Galaxy Note 8

Keep your Note 8 well protected with a rugged case!

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 sports a gorgeous (and ginormous) all-glass design.

It’s big, it’s expensive, and no matter what phone makers say about the ruggedness of Gorilla Glass 5 it may shatter on you if it takes a nasty fall.

If you lead an active life (or just know you’re prone to dropping your phone) you may need something a bit more heavy duty than your average case.

• Encased Rugged Belt Case
• Samsung Rugged Military Grade Protective Cover
• Supcase Unicorn Beetle Shield Series Case
• UAG Plasma Rugged Case
• Spigen Tough Armor Case
• Zizo Static Series Case
• OtterBox Commuter Series Case

Encased Rugged Belt Case

Protecting your Note 8 against the dangers of the world doesn’t have to set you back an arm and a leg, and this is made possible thanks to the folks at Encased.

The Encased Rugged Belt Case features a dual-layer design with an impact dispersion system that helps to keep your Note 8 out of harm’s way even during the nastiest of drops.

Along with the case, Encased also throws in a free belt clip. The case easily attaches and detaches to it using the quick release system and the clip itself has been designed to withstand direct impact, too. Add all that together with Encased’s Lifetime Guarantee and a price tag of a little under $17, and you end up with one heck of a package.

See at Amazon

Samsung Rugged Military Grade Protective Cover

Samsung offers a compelling design for a rugged case with a built-in kickstand. Branded with the Samsung logo on the back, this case adds texture to help add grip to your phone. There are precise cutouts on the bottom for access to the headphone jack, charging port, and S Pen and again you’ve got to appreciate how Samsung incorporated the kickstand into the design — always there when you need it without being clunky and adding bulk.

You can grab this case in black for around $21 or deep blue for $25.

See at Amazon

Supcase Unicorn Beetle Shield Series Case

Are you the type that can’t be trusted with nice things? Needs to keep your phone fully encased in plastic to protect it from yourself? No judgments here — the first step is admitting you have a problem.

The next step is finding the right solution, which just might be the mighty rugged Supcase Unicorn Beetle Shield Series case. Combining a polycarbonate outer shell with a flexible and shock-absorbing TPU sleeve, this case goes an extra step further by including a built-in screen protector around front to prevent scratches from ruining your Note 8’s display.

It’s otherwise a pretty standard design for a rugged case — beefy in the corners where it needs to be yet slim and sporty enough as to not turn your phone into a thick brick of plastic. You can get yours from Amazon for just $20.

See at Amazon

UAG Plasma Rugged Case

The go-to rugged case for many smartphone users, the UAG Plasma is a rugged and lightweight case that’s arguably the coolest looking case on this list — although that’s always a matter of personal opinion.

It’s a remarkably slim case with a great amount of texture and ridges along the side edges and back to assist with in-hand grip. With reinforced corners to take the brunt of any falls that also provides relief from your screen when you put your phone face down, this is a case style that’s been perfected over the years to offer maximum protection for premium devices such as the Note 8. It’s also thin enough to remain compatible with NFC and Qi wireless charging functionality.

But you will pay a somewhat steep price for all that premium design and build quality — as low as $22 for some color options and up to $55.99 for the all-black Monarch model. Completely justifiable for smartphone peace of mind.

See at Amazon

Spigen Tough Armor Case

Spigen always offers a wide array of case options, but if you’re looking for something rugged look no further than the Tough Armor case.

It offers the rugged dual-layer protection you want while keeping the outer shell clean with a matte finish and a kickstand that’s there if you need it, but otherwise kept flush with the back of the case and out of the way. It’s all shock absorbing TPU around the top and corners — the main areas to take the brunt of a fall — with a polycarbonate shell around the back. If you’re worried about adding a bunch of bulk to your phone, you can rest easy with the Spigen Tough Armor — it adds only 2.5mm of girth to the back of the Note 8. The buttons along the side are covered as you’d expect and kept flush with the design of the case, with the power button given some extra texture so you can always find it.

The Tough Armor is available in five different color options, with the base model (in black) starting at $15.99.

See at Amazon

Zizo Static Series Case

Some case makers add a whole bunch of “stylish” accents to the back of their case — Zizo is one such company.

These cases sure stand out from the rest of the pack with sharp angles around the corners and all the ridges and textures on the backside. Whether you like the look of these cases or not is a matter of personal taste, but there’s no denying that all those ridges will help with your grip and if it still manages to slip out of your hands it should survive most drops. There’s also a pop-out kickstand which is always a handy feature.

The Zizo Static Series is available in seven different color combinations, all for the low price of $11.

See at Amazon

OtterBox Commuter Series Case

OtterBox is one of the most trusted brands for offering rugged cases that are always backed by great customer service.

The OtterBox Commuter Series balances its dual-layer design while maintaining a fairly compact form for a rugged case. It’s compatible with screen protectors (of course OtterBox recommends their own brand) and features a generous lip around the screen to protect the display from scuffs and scratches.

If you’ve held off on buying a case like the OtterBox Commuter Series you’re in luck! Usually sold for $50, the case now starts at only $29.99. Backed by OtterBox’s limited lifetime warranty, you can buy with confidence.

See at Amazon

What’s your top pick for heavy duty cases?

How are you planning to keep the Note 8 safe? Or maybe you’re one of those rebels who forgoes a case — even with a phone that costs nearly $1000. Plead your case in the comments below!

Update July 2018: Updated pricing info, added the Encased case to the list, and edited to include new roundup formatting.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

• Galaxy Note 8 review
• Galaxy Note 8 vs. Galaxy S8+
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This great deal lets you learn a new language with Mondly on the cheap

Do you wish you had paid better attention during language classes in high school? Been debating going back to school to learn a new language but don’t have the time? Want to learn some conversational French or Italian for your next European adventure? Whatever your reasons for wanting to learn a new language, the hardest part is finding a curriculum that fits your schedule.

Android Central Digital Offers might have a compelling option for you with this great deal for Mondly, a digital platform for learning new languages. Using the Mondly app, you can choose between 33 different languages with a digital curriculum that’s designed to break down the learning process into short lessons and help you memorize core words, form sentences, and participate in conversations.

Typically Mondly is offered on a monthly subscription basis, but thanks to Android Central Digital Offers, you can get a lifetime subscription for just a one-time payment. If you just want to learn one language you pay just $39.99, but choose three languages and you pay just $59.99 or opt to learn five for just $69.99.

Better yet, use coupon code JULY4TH during check out this weekend and you’ll save an additional 15%. This great deal won’t last forever, but your access to the language courses will because you have lifetime access.

See at Android Central Digital Offers

TCL Roku TVs, RoboVacs, messenger bags, and more are all discounted today

Whether you’re looking for new tech gear or household items, we’ve got you covered.

We found plenty of great deals today that include big discounts on TCL’s latest Roku TVs, a Eufy robotic vacuum cleaner, a Timbuk2 messenger bag, and more! Time’s running out to take advantage of these prices, so hurry!

View the rest of the deals

If you want to know about the deals as soon as they are happening, you’ll want to follow Thrifter on Twitter, and sign up for the newsletter, because missing out on a great deal stinks!

How to take the best pet photos

Taking photographs of pets can sometimes be as difficult as shooting a starry night. At least with stars, they tend to stay put in one place for several minutes. But with a few simple tricks and camera settings to keep in mind, it’s not impossible to capture amazing, professional-looking photos of these important family members, worthy of hanging on the wall next to pics of the grandparents.

To help you take great pet photos, we spoke with Josh Norem, a pet and landscape photographer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. Norem started photographing animals when he first volunteered at local animal rescue organizations, which have a need for high-quality photos but don’t have the time or resources. You can follow him on Facebook and 500px.

How do you get your pet to cooperate?

Josh Norem: There are many tricks of the trade, but in the end it comes down to patience and being ready for that special moment when it happens. In a perfect world you’d have a “wrangler” to direct the animal to look at you, but oftentimes the cat or dog will just look at the wrangler, so it helps if he or she can stand next to you or lead the animal’s vision to where you are located. If you don’t have an assistant, try using squeaky toy apps on your phone [to draw the animal’s attention] – I use Human-to-Cat Translator and Dog Squeaky Toy on my iPhone, which are both free. The only hard part is holding the phone and the camera at the same time. Making a strange noise will sometimes be enough to get the cat or dog to look at you for a brief second – this is where it pays to be ready. You want to have your composition set and focus locked on their eyes.

At the local rescue organization where I volunteer, we usually do a play session when shooting shelter cats like Tommy (pictured above). It’s important to make them look fun and energetic, though it’s not always possible.

What type of equipment do you use?

This image was captured using a $400 50mm f/1.4 prime set to f/4. Prime lenses, as opposed to zooms, are super-sharp, lightweight, and fun to use

JN: You don’t need special gear, but a speedlight or flash is a must-have if you’re indoors. Unless you have spectacular natural light, the flash will fill in the shadows and also helps freeze the subjects, which is one of the reasons a lot of my photos look tack sharp – it’s the flash, and also a steady hand and good lenses.

If there’s one golden rule of flash photography, it’s that you never want to point your flash directly at the subject, at least not without some sort of diffuser. It will make the subject look horrible in most conditions, and can also cast shadows around them and it will look ugly. Point your speedlight up at the ceiling; the light goes up and comes down on the subject, looking very natural and even (this won’t work if you have tall ceilings). Avoid using the camera’s built-in flash, as it puts light right in the subject’s eyes and the result looks terrible.

Speaking of lenses, there is no substitute for having a good lens, period. You will see a very noticeable difference between a DSLR kit lens and a $1,000 prime lens. A 50mm prime lens is the best value.

As for specific equipment, I use a Nikon D800 with three Nikkor gold band “pro” lenses and a SB-900 flash. I shoot in aperture priority mode 99-percent of the time and use TTL metering on the flash, which is like “auto” mode in that the flash reads the scene and considers the camera’s exposure settings in order to properly set the flash power. It’s extremely accurate and very easy to use.

When using flash it’s easier to get little white “catchlights” in the subject’s eyes, which helps bring out their eyes and makes the eyes – and the subject – seem more interesting.

What are some rules to keep in mind?

JN: There are some basic guidelines you can follow. Rule number one: Always focus on the eyes. If the eyes aren’t in focus, the shot is wasted, end of discussion. The way to do this is to make sure you know which focus point is active; don’t let your camera control it, because it will usually focus on what’s closest to the camera (the animal’s nose). You can always change focus points from “auto” to “single point.” Do this (consult your camera’s manual if you don’t know how) and have that focus point right on the animal’s eyes.

You also want to pay attention to the rule of thirds, so when cropping try to get the closest eyeball in the upper or lower quadrant of the frame to give it a pleasing composition. Besides focus and composition, you need to worry about your exposure; if the exposure is too dark or too bright, adjust it using exposure compensation. The last tip is to get at or below eye-level with your subject. This will always add intimacy and a unique perspective to a shot. If you have good focus and exposure, you’re very close to the goal of getting a great image. The rest is timing, practice, and a little bit of luck.

The best tip for taking great pet photos is to get eye-level with them. That usually means laying on the floor, but it adds a unique perspective and lets you see details you might not normally notice.

How do you take those beautiful close-up portraits?

JN: To take a close-up shot of your pet with a smooth, blurred background, set your camera to aperture priority mode and your lens to the widest aperture possible (lowest f-stop number). For a good lens that will be f/2.8, or for a really fast prime it might be as low as f/1.4; on a kit lens it will be f/3.5 usually. Next, get close to your subject, and have them be a few feet away from their background. (In general the further the subject is from the background, the blurrier it will be; the closer they are to the background, the more it’ll be in focus.) The wide aperture setting will take care of the rest. Be warned though, you could end up with eyes that are in focus and a blurry nose and head. Sometimes that looks pretty cool; it’s all up to how you want the picture to look. If you want your pet’s face to be more in focus, just close down your aperture a bit (go from f/2.8 to f/4, for example) or zoom out a bit. Extra distance between you and the subject will get more in focus.

Blurry backgrounds are achieved by using a wide aperture, being close to your subject, and having them as far away from the background as possible.

How do you take photos of your pet in motion?

The trick to capturing pets in motion – like a dog in midair – is a fast shutter speed and a camera and lens that can hold focus on a moving subject. I put my camera into continuous focus mode instead of single-shot. This keeps the focus motor active the entire time, so I just hold down the back focus button, but you can also do it by holding down the shutter halfway. The second part of the equation is a fast shutter speed, which requires a lot of light to work properly. If you’re in midday sun you will be fine, but if it’s dark you will need to boost your ISO to compensate. As a general rule you can try switching to shutter speed priority mode and set your shutter speed to 1/500 or so as a starting point, and see how that looks. Going higher is okay as long as you have enough light. Ideally you’ll want the dog’s eyes in the shot, and it’s much easier to focus if they are going side-to-side instead of coming toward you. So get your shutter speed up, set it to continuous focus and fire away.

Shooting animals in action takes patience, high shutter speeds, and lots and lots of practice.

Is there a way to achieve similar results with a point-and-shoot camera?

So far, the tips mentioned revolve using a DSLR, but what about you point-and-shoot camera owners? The problem with automatic point-and-shoot cameras is shutter lag, which is the time between when you press the shutter button and the picture being taken. It can be a few seconds on some cameras, which is too long in most cases unless you have a very patient animal. Most point-and-shoots will also use the onboard flash in a lot of cases, which always looks terrible. My advice: Turn off the flash and set the camera to burst mode so you can take many pictures at once. Use portrait mode if your camera offers it, and if you can control the aperture put it at its smallest number.

Having an expensive camera is not required for animal photography, but a goodlens will help with sharpness, clarity, and detail.

(Images courtesy of Josh Norem)

Editors’ Recommendations

• Photography 101: exposure, aperture, shutter speed, and ISO
• How to photograph fireworks and capture the color of Independence Day
• Sony Cyber-shot RX10 IV review
• How to use the histogram when working with digital photography
• How to take better pictures with your camera’s automatic mode

Oculus Go vs. Lenovo Mirage Solo

Christian de Looper/Digital Trends

Where once Oculus was the defacto front-runner in the virtual reality scene, today there are a number of competitors out there all producing top-tier virtual reality hardware for PC, console, and mobile.

Lenovo hasn’t been in the market long, but its Mirage Solo with Daydream headset is already making waves. As stand-alone VR headsets, how does these two compare?

Design

Christian de Looper/Digital Trends

Looking very much like an evolved version of its bigger brother, the Oculus Go is a sleek and sophisticated looking headset. It has an off-white color scheme which helps it stand out without looking garish or cheap, and its materials give it a premium feel. The headstrap is velcro-attached fabric, which makes it easy to put on and take off, though not quite as easy to adjust as headsets with the turn dial tightening system.

The dial is something the Lenovo Mirage Solo does sport, which makes tweaking its headstrap length a little easier. However the headset itself is 0.4 pounds heavier than the Go and you can tell. It’s comfortable, but its tight fit does make it a rather hot and potentially sweaty experience. With no ability to remove the face padding, the best you can do is wipe it down frequently.

In terms of looks and feel, the Mirage Solo has a chunkier design with a hard, white plastic shell. Its heft and weight make it much more of a stationary device than something we’d want to take out and about with us, despite its wire-free design. It doesn’t have such a quality look as the Go, but its front-facing dual cameras do make it stand out. You might feel a little silly wearing it, but there isn’t a VR headset available right now that doesn’t have that as part and parcel of the experience.

Both headsets offer 3.5mm connections for headphones or earbuds, but the Go also has speakers built into the headstrap should you want a better ear for the environment around you while exploring virtual worlds.

Performance

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Both the Mirage Solo and Go are very much mid-tier virtual reality headsets and don’t exhibit the kinds of features or specifications we’ve come to expect from high-end headsets like the Vive Pro. That doesn’t mean they have weak hardware though.

The Oculus Go features a 5.5-inch LCD screen with a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440 and a standard refresh rate of 60Hz, though some apps can force it to run at 72Hz instead by sacrificing battery life. In comparison, the Mirage Solo has an LCD display with the same resolution, though its default refresh rate is 75Hz.

While the displays are comparably decent, the field of view of the Mirage is a little wider at 110 degrees — the same as the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive — while the Oculus Go is more comparable to the Samsung Gear VR at 101 degrees.

Both headsets are stand-alone, meaning they don’t require a phone or PC connection to run. All the hardware is internal. With the Oculus Go, you have a Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor and 32GB of storage. The Mirage Solo’s hardware is newer and heftier, with a Snapdragon 835 processor and 64GB of storage space. That makes the Lenovo headset much more powerful and could be why it has the same 2.5-hour rated battery life as the Go, despite featuring a 4,000 mAh battery, compared to the Go’s 2,600 mAh.

It’s also a major factor in the Oculus Go being around half the price of the Mirage Solo. The former will set you back just $200, while you’ll find the Lenovo headset more commonly sold at $400.

Tracking and controllers

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

Both headsets are stand-alone and require no external trackers, but they do have different systems for mapping where you are in the digital space. Where the Oculus Go offers three degrees of movement using its onboard accelerator, gyroscope, and magnetometer, the Lenovo Daydream headset combines that with dual inside-out tracking cameras to provide positional tracking too. That gives wearers six degrees of freedom, letting them move forward, backwards, upwards and down, as well as tilting and turning. That makes for much more immersive and interactive experiences in your favorite virtual reality apps.

Neither headset’s controllers offer such freedom. Though they can track tilts and orientation, you can’t reach out and grab things in their iterations of virtual reality. Their remotes are comparable in most other ways too, with various button inputs offering basic in-app interaction.

Content

Julian Chokkattu/Digital Trends

The Lenovo Mirage Solo with Daydream offers a decent spread of applications for new buyers, with around 250 in total. We particularly enjoyed its suite of educational experiences and video content. The 40-odd WorldSense-supporting applications that take full advantage of its six degrees of movement are the most immersive you’re likely to get in a standalone VR headset.

The Oculus Go however, enjoys a much larger library of content. While none will let you walk around in the real world to navigate them, with more than 1,000 to choose from, the content library for the Go is much broader, even if it’s not as deep.

Two tiers of headset

Christian de Looper/Digital Trends

The comparison of the Oculus Go and Lenovo Mirage Solo with Daydream is a little like the original launch of the Rift and Vive. Where both offer decent virtual reality experiences, the cheaper Oculus hardware doesn’t quite measure up to the more complete virtual reality experience offered by its counterpart. Between the Lenovo Mirage Solo and the Oculus Go, Lenovo’s is the higher-quality experience. If you want more from your VR than a standing or seated experience and don’t mind forking out $400 for it, the Lenovo Mirage Solo headset offers a more interactive, better-looking VR space to explore.

That said, we have to give the slight recommendation to the Oculus Go. It’s a nicer fit, its aesthetics are more pleasing, and — most importantly — it has a much more expansive library of content to explore. At just $200, it’s the better choice for those who are exploring virtual reality for the first time.

Editors’ Recommendations

• Lenovo Mirage Solo with Daydream review
• Oculus Go review
• Lenovo Mirage Camera hands-on review
• Qualcomm expected to reveal Snapdragon chip dedicated to VR, AR next month
• Oculus Rift vs. Vive Pro

Today is #CutTheCordDay — enter to win a Series 4 TV and Mohu Blade antenna!

Actually, they’re giving away a hundred cord-cutting bundles!

July 7 is National Cut the Cord Day. And if you’re reading this, one of two things has happened: Either you’ve already cut the cord, which is awesome, or you’re thinking about cutting the cord, which is even more awesome. As always, though, the question remains where to start. First, you need a good TV. And second, you need a good over-the-air antenna.

And as such, TCL (maker of really good TVs), and Mohu (maker of really good antennas) are teaming up to give away a 55-inch Series 4 TCL Roku television, along with Mohu’s new Blade antenna. The former is a smart TV that uses Roku’s operating system, so you can watch pretty much anything through pretty much every every streaming service without having to connect any other sort of set-top box. And the latter is an over-the-air antenna that plucks those sweet free broadcasts out of the air and puts ’em on your television. And it does so whether it’s mounted indoors or outdoors. (And it looks good doing it.)

Winners will be announced July 9. Hit up the link below for full details on the contest! (Note: This contest is from TCL and Mohu — we’re just letting you know about it!)

Enter to win a Series 4 TCL Roku TV and Mohu Blade antenna!

TCL Teams Up with Mohu for National Cut the Cord Day

America’s Fastest-Growing TV Brand Celebrates Holiday by Giving Away More Than 100 Cord Cutting Bundles, Including a New TV and Antenna

CORONA, CA, July 2, 2018 – TCL®, one of the world’s largest and America’s fastest-growing television brand, and Mohu, The Cord Cutting Company, today announced that they are working together in honor of National Cut the Cord Day (July 7) with a unique promotion during Independence Week. Since on average Americans spend an estimated $103 on cable every month, TCL is giving away 103 cord cutting bundles – including a 55″ 4K TCL Roku TV™ and the new Blade HDTV antenna from Mohu – for those looking to break free from traditional pay TV. Offering a high-quality cord cutting solution, TCL and Mohu are revolutionizing the way consumers are using Smart TVs.

Starting today, consumers who visit https://www.tclusa.com/cut-the-cord-giveaway can enter the massive giveaway. Winners of TCL’s National Cut the Cord Day giveaway will be announced on Monday, July 9 and they will receive a 55″ 4-Series TCL Roku TV, in addition to Mohu’s new Blade antenna, an indoor / outdoor antenna that combines a modern clean design with engineering innovation.

“Every year the number of cord-cutters continues to rise and since we believe that trend will only keep growing, TCL’s mission is to provide consumers with a premium home entertainment experience that offers all their favorite shows through free over the air programming and the most streaming content available on any Smart TV,” said Chris Larson, Senior Vice President, TCL. “With National Cut the Cord Day upon us, TCL is furthering its commitment to deliver the cost savings and viewing flexibility that cord cutters desire and that consumers have come to expect from our brand. Our award-winning TCL Roku TVs include a tuner as a vital supplement to streaming and are a great way to access popular network TV and live sports in high definition over the air at no additional cost.”

TCL televisions integrate the latest technology and features from the Roku TV platform together with crisp picture performance for an exceptional viewing experience. The innovative line of TCL TVs provide consumers with easy access to 5,000+ channels and 500,000+ movies and TV episodes through the built-in Roku operating system, as well as fast dual-band wireless connections, multiple HDMI ports for even more flexibility and advanced voice control remotes for select models. Currently, TCL offers four primary series of TVs in the US market, each delivering its own unique combination of design, features and performance.

“Mohu’s priority is to make cord cutting easier with innovative products like our new Blade HDTV Antenna. And with TCL’s exceptional line of smart TVs, we are excited to offer consumers the ultimate cord cutting solution,” said John Crabill, Chief Marketing Officer, Mohu. “National Cut the Cord Day is the perfect time for us to collaborate as we both share the common goal to offer critical yet affordable home entertainment devices that consumers need in order to cut the cord.”

About TCL

Already one of the world’s best-selling consumer electronics brands, TCL is now the fastest-growing TV brand in North America. TCL (The Creative Life) was founded more than 35 years ago and prides itself on delivering high quality products featuring stylish design and the latest technology. With extensive manufacturing expertise, a vertically integrated supply chain, and state-of-the-art panel factory, TCL offers innovative televisions, including the award-winning TCL® Roku TV™.

For additional product information please visit http://www.tclusa.com.

About Mohu

Mohu, The Cord Cutting Company, is a consumer electronics manufacturer dedicated to leading the TV cord cutting revolution, bridging OTA and OTT devices and content to give consumers access to the TV they want at a cost they can control. To help consumers identify which cord cutting options are best for them, Mohu created Untangle.TV, the first cord cutting recommendation tool that shows users what they need to cut the cord. The company’s approach to TV is founded on the motto “Be Set Free,” making its products simple to use, and enabling consumers to have an exceptional experience without burdensome costs or constraints. Since introducing the world’s first paper-thin Leaf HDTV Indoor Antenna in 2011, Mohu has helped its customers save more than $300 million by reducing or eliminating costly monthly cable and satellite bills. Mohu offers a full line of high-quality, easy-to-install and cost-effective HDTV antenna and cord cutting products. For more information, visit http://www.gomohu.com.