# Summary of ##hplusroadmap IRC Log (Feb 21, 2014)

• ShareLaTeX, a collaborative LaTeX editor, was announced as open source software with its code repository available on GitHub (https://github.com/sharelatex/sharelatex).

• A discussion about DNA sequencing technology focused on the MiniIon device, with participants questioning whether its $900 single-use cartridges could be rinsed and reused, concluding that this limitation makes it impractical for hobbyists.

• Participants discussed open-source DNA synthesis technology, specifically the POGO/POSAM DNA arrayer project, which appears to have multiple software components and repository locations.

• Transcriptic, a "cloud laboratory" startup for life sciences, raised a new round of funding ($4.1M) as reported in TechCrunch, continuing the trend of automation in scientific research.

• A technical paper on distributed systems was shared: "Time, clocks, and the ordering of events in a distributed system" (http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/359545.359563).

• An interesting connection was noted that the Bitcoin developer "gmaxwell" is the same person who created the JSTOR academic paper dump torrent, linking cryptocurrency development with open access activism.