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The Room opens up to Steam next week
The Room will launch on PC via Steam on July 28, Fireproof Games announced this week. The PC edition of the game is a "fully-enhanced HD version," which the developer said has been "many months in the making and has involved recreating almost every asset in the game from the ground up." Fireproof's puzzler launched on iOS in September 2012, arriving on Android in March 2013 before achieving two million total downloads in May of last year. The game's sequel, aptly dubbed The Room 2, carried on the lock-breaking mystery in December. As for a third game in the series, Fireproof Games only noted that "all we can say is stay tuned." Head past the break for a video comparing the visuals of The Room's mobile and PC versions. [Image: Fireproof Games]
The Room 2 hits iPhone this Thursday, Android by Valentine's Day
Fireproof Games will launch The Room 2 on iPhone this Thursday and will arrive on Android "on or before" February 14, the developer confirmed to Pocket Gamer. Fireproof supplemented the news with a tweet today that the Android version will be out "within three weeks." The Room 2 first landed on iPad in December. Smaller iOS device holders will need either an iPhone 4S or fifth-gen iPod Touch or better to crack the game's puzzles. The developer also added via Twitter that it doesn't have plans to support Windows Phone at the moment.
ioSafe Solo G3 hands-on
After the heavy stench of ozone started to clear, ioSafe officially took the wraps off the Solo G3 -- the latest in its line of fire and waterproof storage solutions. Unlike previous models this one actually manages to ditch the fan, and therefore runs almost completely silent in operation. The G3 isn't for those looking for an inconspicuous device. This external data safe sports a unique design with a perforated exterior and weighs in at a staggering 15 pounds. Around back you'll find the powerjack and switch as well as a USB 3.0 port for high-speed data transfers. The G3 is available starting at $299 for 1TB of storage. Check out the pair of galleries below. Edgar Alvarez contributed to this report.
Review: ioSafe SoloPRO fireproof external hard drive
If there's one thing I always tell people who work with valuable, irreplaceable data it's "back up your files!" Thankfully most of us do back up our data. We usually use an external hard drive. Or sometimes, we only rely on cloud-based storage, like Dropbox or Apple's soon to be defunct iDisk. However, if any of you work with very valuable data -- data which would leave your business or family in dire straits if lost -- I highly recommend you buy an ioSafe SoloPRO external hard drive. I've been testing out the 1 terabyte USB 3.0 version ioSafe SoloPRO for about a week and I can't imagine carrying out future data backups without it now. You see, the ioSafe SoloPRO isn't your typical external hard drive. For one thing, it weighs almost 18 pounds. That's because it's built like a tank and it's the size of a small printer. I know, I know, people like their external hard drive sleek and sexy. And actually, the ioSafe SoloPRO is rather sexy looking. But it has its mass and bulk because the drive is built for one thing and one thing only – protecting your data from physical harm. Data protection: Cloud storage versus physical storage. This week I've debated with a friend of mine who says people who want true security for their data should just back it up to a cloud-based service. That way no matter what happens at their location, their files are always secure elsewhere. While my friend does have a point to some extent, there are some very important facts people should consider before thinking cloud-based backups are the best way to go for their most important data. First off, people need to think about cost and speed. I have another friend who produces videos for a living. For him, backing up hundreds of gigabytes of video to a cloud-based solution would be both time consuming (for the upload) and costly (hundreds of gigabytes of cloud storage costs a lot in annual fees). For huge file backups, external hard drives are the way to go. Second: easy access. I'm also a big fan of externals for sensitive data like wills and contracts. If you've got such data saved to an online storage solution and something should happen to you, would your friends, coworkers, or family know how to access it? If all they have to do is plug in an external, there's really not many accessibility problems that could arise. But as my video producing friend found out, your data on those hard drives is only as safe as the hard drives themselves. Even though he backed up his video files to three different drives, everything was lost when his studio caught fire. The drive. The ioSafe SoloPRO is both fireproof and waterproof – and when looking for the ultimate in data protection, you want both of those. If your office or house catches fire, the ioSafe SoloPRO enclosure can be engulfed in flames and hit head on with a fire hose. The hard drive that resides inside will come out without a scratch on it. As a matter of fact, the "fireproofed computer" mentioned in this article was actually an ioSafe drive, according to the company. The ioSafe SoloPRO I tested was the 1 terabyte USB 3.0 version (it also comes in eSATA and USB 2.0 flavors up to 3TBs). It worked fine on my MacBook Pro's USB 2.0 ports and will work on any Mac running all the way back to OS 8.6 or later. As for the beating the drive can take, it can survive in temperatures as high as 1550°F for up to 30 minutes. It can also survive submerged in ten feet of water for up to three days. Also, the drive includes up to $2500 in forensic recovery services should such services be required. Best of all, the SoloPRO is Time Machine compatible, and using it with Apple's backup software is like encasing your Mac in an armored safe each night. This obviously isn't a drive for everyone, especially those that need to transport a lot of data from one location to another. As I've said, the drive weighs almost 18 pounds and won't exactly fit into a pocket. However, if you run a business where your digital files are of the utmost importance, or if you simply want to ensure that all your family's documents and photos can survive almost anything, I highly recommend the ioSafe SoloPRO. ioSafe is a relatively new company in the storage scene, only having been around since 2005. However, its hard drives are some of the best I've ever tried (I'm also testing out a bullet-proof, portable dual-Firewire 800 external of theirs). Since it's at the higher-end of the hard drive world, you won't find the ioSafe SoloPRO in Apple Stores just yet, but you can buy the 1 TB USB 3.0 version that I tried directly from ioSafe and also on Amazon for US$249. %Gallery-136567%
ioSafe's Solo SSD ditches platters, isn't worried about buildings collapsing on it
Remember when ioSafe unveiled its original Solo right around this time last year? Man, that thing's looking mighty sluggish now. This year, the company is introducing the Solo SSD, which is hailed as the planet's first solid state external drive built to protect data from a building collapsing on it. Yeah, a building collapsing on it. It'll be available with capacities as large as 256GB and will get connected via eSATA or USB, and if you care to know, the ruggedness is due to the firm's own proprietary ArmorPlate steel outer casing. As for specifics, said tech helps the drive survive 5,000 pound crush forces, 20 foot drops onto rubble and blazing infernos to boot. It'll be available next month in the US for $499 (64GB), $749 (128GB) or $1,250 (256GB), with the full details / press release hosted up after the break. As soon as we catch some benchmarks on this thing, we'll be sure to pass 'em along.
ioSafe Solo hard drive places a 2TB bet on all kinds of disasters
It's Friday the 13th, and ioSafe couldn't have chosen a better time to update their Solo fireproof and waterproof hard drive line with a 2TB model. Sure, it'll cost you $399 for a USB 2.0 connection instead of eSATA, FireWire 800 or USB 3.0, but you'll never know when your yacht sinks or burns down, sending that precious Kenny G collection to oblivion. Don't go thinking you can just get the $149 500GB model and upgrade it yourself either -- you'll have to destroy the waterproof seal to get to the hard drive, as demonstrated before. Yeah, life's tough.
ioSafe announces Solo, the external, submersible, fire-proof HDD enclosure
The last time we heard from ioSafe they were taking 2.5-inch HDDs, wrapping them in armor, then stuffing them into 3.5-inch enclosures -- adding fire and water protection in a standard form factor. Now they've given up on the internal route and have gone for something a little larger and more durable, fitting Western Digital or Seagate disks into hardened external USB 2.0 cases capable of being submersed in ten feet of water for three days or surviving a raging inferno for 30 minutes. $199 gets you a 500GB model, but, since you'd probably have a hard time upgrading the drive in there without a jackhammer, we'd recommend going straight for the $349 1.5TB model -- early adopters get a tidy $50 off!Update: Jason commented to let us know they also use Seagate drives.
ioSafe 3.5: industry's first internal HDD with disaster protection
For small and medium sized businesses, data redundancy is more than a novel concept, it's unquestionably critical. Unfortunately, tight budgets don't always allow for pricey off-site storage or fire / waterproof server rooms, which is where ioSafe comes in. Said outfit has just announced the ioSafe 3.5 series, which is hailed as the "industry's first internal hard drive with disaster protection." Put simply, the company has stuffed a 2.5-inch HDD into a 3.5-inch chassis, and it used the extra room to insert matter that protects platters from fire (up to 1,400 degrees Fahrenheit) and flood (full immersion in fresh or salt water). The family will include the Pilot line ($329 to $449) -- which arrives in 80/160/250/320GB sizes with an 8MB buffer, SATA I interface and 5400RPM rotational speed -- and the Squadron line ($359 to $459), which includes 7200RPM 80/160/200GB versions with a SATA II interface. Both lots have already started to ship.[Via TGDaily]
