All About Storage

16GB WATERPROOF SD CARD

2009-07-14T21:50:00.000-07:00

Greatnews for the Adventurist, and those who does not know how to take care of your electronics equipments. This new waterproof technology may save your precious data, images and video if you are doing your shoot outdoor.

The new WATERPROOF technology Based on Kingmax patent PIP technology, the new SD card is waterproof, dustproof and can perform in extreme weather conditions. The PIP technology has passed the waterproof test and receives IPX7 (equivalent to JIS waterproof grade 7) certificate from SGS. In addition, the unique packing technology safeguards the new SD card from piracy, claims the company.

Moreover, the card has built-in ECC (Error Correcting Code) to detect and correct transfer errors and supports CPRM (Contents Protection for Recordable Media) mechanism to ensure the licensed contents could be duplicated safely.

The new SD card also complies with RoHS, halogen free and PFOS/PFOA directives. Available in 2GB, 4GB, 8GB and 16GB capacities, the card carries the global lifetime warranty.

Via :

Techtree

USB memory watch

2009-07-07T00:09:00.001-07:00

ThinkGeek have this awesome Watch + Usb Memory.

This watch carryies 2GB, 4GB or 8GB of capacity for your valueable data such as Mp3,Documents, pictures rather than just displaying time.

The USB Memory Watch has a built-in USB connector and can transfer files to and from most computer operating systems. The USB connector is cleverly stored in the watch band and flips up for easy connecting. There is also a LED light that indicates the device status. The watch is surprisingly sleek and lightweight

- it is not a bulky watch. The band is comfortable and very flexible.

- THINKGEEK

Super 5D DVD

2009-06-02T07:56:00.000-07:00

New DVD format records information in 5 dimensions!! Yeah you heard me alright! 5Dimensions!

A new “five-dimensional” recording system for DVD-sized discs that can store 1.6TB of data (compared with Blu-ray’s current 50GB limit), able to store 300 movies, 250,000 songs and leap tall buildings with a single bound.

Many technologists have wondered what format of optical disc will inevitably come to replace the current generation of HD and BluRay DVDs. While there has been no shortage of new formats developed and considered, a new design has been gaining attention as a conceivable, and realistic possibility for the future.

Building on Pink Floyd's research into lasers (joke), the new format is called "5D DVD" and on these DVD-sized discs, up to 1.6 TB of data can be stored utilizing 5 dimensions.

sing nanometre-scale particles of gold as an inscription medium, data is burnt on to the optical discs using lasers that burn information similiar to a regular DVD process involving the 'regular' three spatial dimensions. With 5D DVD however, the recording process doesn't stop after the 3D is done.

Because of the "gold nanorods" color -- which is determined by electromagnetic wavelengths -- can also be used as the fourth dimension of information encoding on the 5D DVDs. The '5th D' is polarization: the surface can be altered to adjust the angle that light hits the disc, so this in turn adds a much greater capacity to the DVDs by allowing for information to be stored in all 5 of these ways.

Go go Australia's Swinburne University of Technology!!!

Resource

IT WIRE

What is a firmware?

2009-05-31T08:53:00.000-07:00

Firmware is a term sometimes used to denote the fixed, usually rather small, programs that internally control various electronic devices. Typical examples range from end-user products such as remote controls or calculators, through computer parts and devices like harddisks, keyboards, TFT screens or memory cards, all the way to scientific instrumentation and industrial robotics. Also more complex consumer devices, such as mobile phones, digital cameras, synthesizers, etc., contain firmware to enable the device's basic operation as well as implementing higher level functions.

Firmware is a combination of software and hardware.In conclusion, it represents the small programs that control a myriad of electronic devices. Examples of firmware are computer chips that have data or programs on them.

Devices that do not update via the firmware itself can be updated by downloading the file extension upg file from the manufacturer website. Once the file extension upg has been downloaded, the proper way to open the file extension upg is to simply double click it in its current location. This should start the set-up process to upgrade. Simply follow the instructions provided by any dialogue boxes that appear and this will ensure that the firmware is upgraded properly.

File Extension PRC

2009-05-30T11:18:00.000-07:00

File Extension PRC, or .prc files you found in your Palm PDA stands for Palm Resource Compiler.PRC files were originally intended to identify a Palm Database containing "database resources".

All programs on a Palm OS device are PRC databases, with the resources being the actual program code. However, not all PRC databases are programs. It is possible for data files to be PRC databases, and products like the MobiPocket reader for PalmOS store documents with a File Extension PRC.

There are also some E Book Readers that uses File Extension PRC like Mobipocket, Palm eReader and PalmDOc. These are used widely in two types of extension which is PRC and PDB and accepted for storage in the device. Both files are readable without the need of renaming.

Iomega Screenplay

2009-05-24T06:57:00.000-07:00

The new Iomega® ScreenPlay™ Pro HD 1.0TB* Multimedia Drive.

The new ScreenPlay Pro HD Multimedia Drive creates a convenient link between the home network and the home theater, giving users in the Middle East a convenient way to show off their family photos, play music, and enjoy their videos from the best seat in the house.

The Specifications:

The ScreenPlay Pro HD Multimedia Drive weighs just 2.16 pounds (0.98 kg) and measures 5.7" by 3" x 7.26" (145 x 76 x 184 mm, L x W x H).

Inside the ScreenPlay Pro HD Multimedia Drive is a 1.0TB 3.5 inch 7200 RPM hard drive formatted with the NTFS file system. PC connectivity options include 10/100 Fast Ethernet and USB 2.0. Video connection options include HDMI, component and composite video. Audio connection options include composite RCA and coaxial S/PDIF outputs. Contents include cables for USB, HDMI video, and composite video, along with a remote control.

Using the HDMI or component outputs, the user can choose video settings from 480i/480p/720p/1080i. Supported media formats include MP3, AC3 (Dolby® Digital Encoding), DTS, PCM, AAC, WAV, WMA, MPEG-1, MPEG-2 (HL/ML), MPEG-4 (AVI/DiVX 3.11, 4.x, 5.x, 6.x/XViD), mov, iso, vob, mp4, mkv, JPEG, and BMP.

System Requirements

The Iomega® ScreenPlay™ Pro HD Multimedia Drive is designed for use with the following PC operating systems: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home/XP Professional/XP Professional x64, Windows Vista™.

Availability:

The Iomega ® ScreenPlay™ Pro HD 1.0 TB Multimedia Drive USB 2.0/AV is available in Europe, the 500GB model will retail for 219.90 USD, and the 1TB model will retail for 269.90 USD

Dress code for the digital age

2009-05-13T06:32:00.000-07:00

Normally we see sci-fi movies, they will always wear uniforms, or just simply a full suit with mens tie and cufflings. Actually where is the future? whatever we see in the future, it reflects us nowadays anyway, so in this digital age we are still wearing suits with some S Buckinghams accessories, 10 years ago, we still wear suits, 20 years ago, well still the same, even 50 years ago the fashion is almost the same.

So what is for nano technology future dresscode will be?

Puzzled!

File Extension GED

2009-05-03T05:50:00.000-07:00

GEDCOM, an acronym for GEnealogical Data COMmunication also known as .ged file or File Extension GED. A GEDCOM file is plain text (usually either ANSEL or ASCII) containing genealogical information about individuals, and meta data linking these records together. Most genealogy software supports importing from and/or exporting to GEDCOM format.

In a simple word, GEDCOM file or File Extension GED Stores family history and genealogical event data in the standard GEDCOM genealogy format; saves data in an ASCII text format that can be opened by different genealogy programs on multiple computer systems.

To open a File Extension GED, Begin by ensuring that the file that you want to open is truly a GEDCOM file, and not a family tree file created in some proprietary format by a genealogy software program. A file is in GEDCOM format when it ends in the extension .ged. If the file ends with the extension .zip then it has been zipped (compressed) and needs to be unzipped first.

Here is an example of GEDCOM file:

sample.ged

0 HEAD

1 SOUR Reunion

2 VERS V8.0

2 CORP Leister Productions

1 DEST Reunion

1 DATE 11 FEB 2006

1 FILE test

1 GEDC

2 VERS 5.5

1 CHAR MACINTOSH

0 @I1@ INDI

1 NAME Bob /Cox/

1 SEX M

1 FAMS @F1@

1 CHAN

2 DATE 11 FEB 2006

0 @I2@ INDI

1 NAME Joann /Para/

1 SEX F

1 FAMS @F1@

1 CHAN

2 DATE 11 FEB 2006

0 @I3@ INDI

1 NAME Bobby Jo /Cox/

1 SEX M

1 FAMC @F1@

1 CHAN

2 DATE 11 FEB 2006

0 @F1@ FAM

1 HUSB @I1@

1 WIFE @I2@

1 MARR

1 CHIL @I3@

0 TRLR

If you have a family tree file on your computer you should always make sure you have a recent backup before opening a new GEDCOM file. This will allow you to revert to your original file in case something goes wrong when you're opening/importing the GEDCOM file.

Battery Powered photo hard disk

2009-04-26T00:02:00.000-07:00

120GB Pocket Size USB2.0 Digi Photo Backup Hard Drive with Built-in Battery. Excellent for back up photos from digital cameras or data from computers. Powered from USB port and internal battery & running without AC power source makes this small size, light weight hard drive really portable! With a built-in rechargeable Lithium-Ion battery, this drive works without an AC adapter via the USB port connection. Just connect the USB cable to your PC's USB port, and the unit will start to work. It comes with an 5V AC/DC power adapter to charge the battery or power the drive when AC power source is available.

Features:

DIGI DRIVE" - Combination of a 2.5" notebook hard drive and USB2.0 Aluminum External Enclosure with All-in-One card reader/writer into one handheld unit

3 openings located on the top and the side of the enclosure for memory card plug-in

Single push on the "copy" key, data from memory cards will be transferred to the hard drive in seconds

Bright LCD screen provides an indicator on the transfer progress from each card location

PC and Mac compatible

High speed USB 2.0 interface

Specifications:

Super scale LCD screen (2 in.) with blue backlight

USB 2.0 Port for easy plug and play to a laptop or PC

60GB to 120GB storage capacity at your selection

Transfer rate from memory card to hard disk is: 2 - 2.5MB per second

Supports the following memory cards: CF I/II, MD, SM, MS, MS-Pro SD, Mini-SD, MMC Card, XD, etc.

Operation System: Windows 98SE and up, Mac OS 9.0 or later

Power Supply: Built-in 1200mAH rechargeable lithium battery; for a charge time of 3 hours, the usable time is 2 hours without any extra power from USB port.

Dimensions (W x L x H): 3" x 5: x1" ( or 78 x 125 x 26 mm).

More info: http://www.bixnet.com/60poushadrwi.html

File extension AMR

2009-04-25T23:50:00.001-07:00

AMR file is an Adaptive Multi-Rate compressed audio. Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) is an audio data compression scheme optimized for speech coding. Adaptive Multi-Rate (AMR) is an audio data compression scheme optimized for speech coding. AMR was adopted as the standard speech codec by 3GPP in October 1998 and is now widely used in GSM. It uses link adaptation to select from one of eight different bit rates based on link conditions.

AMR is also a file format for storing spoken audio using the AMR codec. Many modern mobile telephone handsets will allow you to store short recordings in the AMR format, and some commercial programs exist to convert between this and other formats such as MP3, although it should be remembered that AMR is a speech format and is unlikely to give ideal results for other audio. The common filename extension is .amr.

The easiest way to open an file extension AMR is to double-click on it and let your PC decide which default application should open the file. If no program opens the file extension AMR file then you probably don't have an application installed that can view and/or edit AMR files.

File extension AMR is executable by Apple's Quicktime Player and RealNetworks' RealPlayer can both open these files for listening. Users who wish to edit must convert to another format supported by their editing software. Mobile Media Converter is a free conversion program for Windows and Linux, that handles both audio and video conversion using ffmpeg. The program supports many of the common formats like .mp3, .ogg, .wma, .wav, .mpeg, and .3g2. Allok MP3 to AMR Converter, Mobile Ringtone Converter, Mobile AMR converter, FLAC MP3 Converter, and EZ Ringtone are other programs available conversion of .amr files.

File Extension Cache

2009-03-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

File extension CACHE with an extension of Snacc-1.3 VDA file, is a temporary storage area where frequently accessed data can be stored for rapid access. Once the data is stored in the cache, future use can be made by accessing the cached copy rather than re-fetching or recomputing the original data, so that the average access time is shorter.

The easiest way to open a CACHE file is to double-click on it and let your PC decide which default application should open the file. If no program opens the CACHE file then you probably don't have an application installed that can view and/or edit CACHE files.

If Windows cannot open file extension cache, there might be corrupted or missing registry files within your system. The best way is to run the driver detective update.

Tips: Use Notepad or another text editor to open the file extension CACHE file. Many files are text-only files meaning no matter the file extension, a text editor may be able to properly display the file's contents. This may or may not be the case with CACHE files but it's worth a try.

File Extension INDD

2009-03-28T02:47:00.000-07:00

Windows cannot open file extension INDD files? If Windows is unable to open file extension .INDD you may have registry related errors or may not have the appropriate program installed.

The file extension INDD identifies Adobe InDesign documents. This is a desktop publishing program to create layouts with graphics and typography. Incorrect associations are the cause of many file extension errors. Scan your system to prevent, identify and repair file extension INDD association errors.

Adobe® InDesign is a desktop publishing software program for a personal computer. InDesign is the Adobe version of Aldus PageMaker. With InDesign you can create page layouts for a variety of different documents, including:

• Newsletters

• Brochures

• Flyers

• Business Cards

• Calendars

• Manuscripts

• Yearbooks

• Catalogs

• Journals

• Web Pages

What is .mkv?

2009-03-26T01:46:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wondered what is .mkv and why its file size is bigger than .avi and why is the picture 100 times better?

First of all .mkv is the extensible open standard Audio/Video container, known as Matroska. It is usually found as .mkv files (matroska video) and .mka files (matroska audio).

First, it is essential to clarify exactly "What an Audio/Video container is", to avoid any misunderstandings:

It is NOT a video or audio compression format (video codec)
It is an envelope for which there can be many audio, video and subtitles streams, allowing the user to store a complete movie or CD in a single file.
Matroska is designed with the future in mind. It incorporates features you would expect from a modern container format, like:

Fast seeking in the file
High error recovery
Chapter entries
Selectable subtitle streams
Selectable audio streams
Modularly Extendable
Streamable over internet (HTTP and RTP audio & video streams)
Menus (like DVDs have)

Why would anyone want to use MKV instead of AVI?

The added features. As stated above, AVI is ancient. It does not support newer codecs (like the increasingly popular H.264/AVC, or Vorbis, or AAC) without very ugly hacks. There are also other things that you can stick into MKV that AVI does not support. "Soft" subtitles is one example ("softsubs" refers to subtitles that are not encoded into the video, but is displayed on top of it when you play it back, and therefore can be turned off). Another thing that casual users can appreciate is chapters (like on a DVD). There are also several other more technical features that are mostly interesting to encoders, which I won't mention here. Visit the Matroska website for more information, if you are interested.

Want more informations?

Click here:

TheFluff

Matroska

File Extension PLS

2009-03-23T08:37:00.000-07:00

Playlist files with File Extention PLS are being used more than one software for their own purpose of storing information (caches) on song title, artist name, album and length of song. Among the famous software formats are from Shoutcast, Napster, Real Mp3, Winamp, iTunes, XMPlay, VLC Media Player and foobar.

Though errors are uncommon with these files the biggest issue with them is in relation to Microsoft Windows. The Windows operating system and its default software do not recognize the File Extension PLS and will not utilize it. Windows Media Player will only use the .pls if the K-Lite codec is installed. Even then WMP will not recognize .pls play lists automatically. They will have to be manually loaded to work properly. Users can convert their .pls files to .m3u format using Sprintbit Playlist Manager.

What if Windows Cannot Open File Extension Pls?

If Windows cannot open file extension pls, there might be corrupted or missing registry files within your system. Remember, your hard drive might crash or hang because of the missing files.

Try Driver Detective to solve the File Extension PLS problems if you have one.

New hard disk to double file transfer speeds

2009-03-23T08:06:00.000-07:00

Seagate has unveiled the first hard disk that uses the new, faster SATA interface. The company has teamed up with AMD to demonstrate a prototype of its new Barracuda hard disk, which uses a 600MB/s interface.

Seagate claims that the hard disk will offer twice the transfer speeds of those that are available today, which offer maximum speeds of 300MB/s.

For most users, it is unlikely that hard disk using the new 600MB/s SATA interface will hit speeds that are noticeably faster than the 300MB/s hard disks available today. This is because the speed of most current SATA hard disks is still hindered by their spindle speeds (how fast the physical discs spin), which mechanically dictates how long it takes to read data.

Thankfully, the new SATA 600MB/s interface is backward compatible with the older cables and hard disks running at 300MB/s, and even original SATA hard disks that have 150MB/s interface speeds.

Man! i really cant wait for faster data transfer! it took up years just to back up 1 disk

via - Expertreviews

File Extension M4V

2009-03-23T07:26:00.000-07:00

In our computer hard drives, we normally use files that is familiar to us and our operating systems, in this case files with extensions which we are familiar with for our daily use, such as mov, avi, mp4 and etc. What most of us not aware of is, there are times that we encounter unknown files with unfamiliar extensions and we tend to leave it as it is because we are afraid of losing some files that may be important to the computer.

When we install or uninstall a software and drivers, they often leaves some traces or remnants behind your registry, over time this unknown filetypes will slowly accumulates and slow down your computer. If this problem is not solved properly, this can lead to many computer problems such as not recognising file extensions, system crash, program not responding and system freezes.

If Windows cannot open File Extension M4V, there might be corrupted or missing registry files within your system. We strongly recommend you run a Drivers Detective to update and Fix Your Computer Problems.

With Driver Detective, The award-winning Drivers Updating Software, you can be assured that your computer can open File Extension M4V and is running at peak performance!

Operating system : Any Windows Version (including Vista)

Download size : 1MB (10 seconds on most Internet connections)

Download Driver Detective now for detecting File Extension M4V

SSD price will match Hard Drive

2009-03-21T22:31:00.000-07:00

Solid State Disks (SSD) are becoming increasingly popular in IT deployments, and improvements in Flash technology and pricing are creating demand for different form factors and connectivity options.

Solid-state drives, which use flash memory chips as the storage medium, typically offer much better performance than hard-disk drives. But they cost more. Currently, opting for an SSD instead of a hard-disk drive will add anywhere between $100 and $600 to the cost of a laptop, depending on the capacity of the SSD.

Brian Beard, flash marketing manager for Samsung Semiconductor, tells CNET News, "Flash memory in the last five years has come down 40, 50, 60 percent per year. Flash on a dollar-per-gigabyte basis will reach price parity, at some point, with hard disk drives in the next few years." So what is the price-per-gigabyte sweet spot for SSD later this year? Well, for consumers looking to upgrade, it's "definitely" going to be 128 moving to 256 GB, says Beard.

I personally like flash memory compared to hard disk for its non volatile memory properties, and easier faster data transfer rate and no mechanical movement in SSD. So bye bye Hard Disk in 3 years to come.. hehe

Via - CNET

Toshiba battery sized hard disk

2008-09-25T15:24:00.000-07:00

OKay, the new MKxx29GSG (yups thats the name of the hard disk) is 5,400rpm SATA 1.8" hard-drive family. The new drive features 120GB and 160GB capacities and can take advantage of the SATA-II controller standard, of which the transfer rate reaches up to 3 gigabits per second.

The world record holder for the smallest hard disk which is 0.85" hard drive and have a capacity of 2GB and 4GB units in 2005. They are about the size of a postage stamp is Toshiba (just for your information). Now its 120 - 160 GB, hooray for Moore's law.

Via - CNET

What kind of data storage used in jetfighters?

2008-09-24T17:22:00.001-07:00

Haha! all of you must be wondering what kind of data storage are used in jetfighters or fighter planes like f-16, B-2 Stealth Bomber, NATO AWACS, C-5 Galaxy, and F-15 now fly with the storage systems and flash cards by SanDisk, and modified by Targa, a leader in providing ruggedized data storage solutions to the military and aerospace markets, with standard, industrial grade Type II flash memory PC cards.

Source - Targa

Kingston Mini Slim USB Flashdrive

2008-09-23T15:45:00.000-07:00

Kingston finally came out with its new trendy mini flashdrive in 3 colors!. The flashdrive holds up to 4GB of you know what a flash drive do and have 2 years warranty.

Dear Kingston, why did u you made in only 3 colors? and flashdrives should have lifetime warranty right? sigh..

Via - CRN

slotMusic anyone?

2008-09-21T22:23:00.000-07:00

"Musicians will find slotMusic cards offer a compelling new way to express themselves to their fans. With 1GB1 (gigabyte) of capacity, slotMusic cards can hold songs, as well as liner notes, album art, videos, and other creative content that an artist may choose. Consumers can also add their own content to a slotMusic card, creating a personal plug-and-play media library."

The 1GB SanDisk slotMusic microSD cards are preloaded with DRM-free 320kbps MP3s, and are aimed primarily at mobile phones.

Okay first of all, would you go to a store and browse the slotMusic micro sd cards with a magnifying glass to choose a music album? secondly, will it look good on your shelf to have micro sd line up for display?, thirdly, these tiny things can easily breaks and misplaced!, fourthly, its not easy to open up a phone and change the micro sd because mostly micro sd are placed inside and behind the phone batteries.

So why SanDisk? Why??

Via - SanDisk

Store an Elephant in LaCie

2008-09-21T21:33:00.000-07:00

Okay, a simple question, if you have 100 million dollars to be spent in one day what would you buy?

Now, if you have 6 TB (Tera Bytes!!!) of storage, what in the world are you going to put in? elephant? good answer! err.... hehe (lets cut the joke shall we). An abnormal (hahaha) user can store about 1,980,000 3MB Mp3s or 6000 movies.

So be it, LaCie is the leader in bulky storage. The 4big Quadra Raid incorporates external Serial ATA (eSATA), FireWire 400/800 and USB 2.0 interfaces. It’s stackable and chainable where you can scale up to four units to operate together at once.

Via - Macworld

80GB PS3 for Malaysians

2008-09-21T21:15:00.000-07:00

After 2 years of delay, finally! PS3 is officially launch in Malaysia. Priced at RM1599 or USD 500 with 80GB.

Naoi Sudo the managing director of Sony Malaysia said; " The introduction of the PS3 coincided with Sony’s vision of delivering full high-definition entertainment to the home. The timing of the PS3 launch couldn’t have been better as the market for high-definition products and broadband infrastructure to support the media was growing rapidly."

Yeah right!, so if you want to play ps3 you are compulsory to buy HDTV? how much does one HDTV cost? another RM1000 or USD 250? so that makes your PS3 RM2599 or USD750. Do you know that is actually damn expensive for Malaysians?.

Via - The Star

Whats up DAVE?

2008-09-21T15:47:00.000-07:00

So this year, DAVE wont be joining your dinner party, halloween party, first memorable kiss, spy shots photo or your first child very first word video. Why? because the CEO of Seagate the number one leader of hard disk company (is it?), Bill Watkins plans to mix hard disk with flash drives in order to make DAVE which is a fancy hard drive that communicates with a cellphone wirelessly. DAVE can make your life easier for you to store your latest photos, videos, any multimedia your phones are able to pick up. That is, if your phone does not have enough memory left of course.

Well, that makes me think, why is the need for this drive anyway? phones have flash cards that can hold up to several gigs now. Haha why dont you just make a flash drive + Backup Battery? Sounds more reliable right? If cellphones, PdA or any portable device ran out of batteries, they can suck the power from the flash drives. (Hey somebody please hire me to work with you big companies, my ideas are really great!)

Source - NY times

Hey MACbook Air users, here is a good news for you

2008-09-21T15:23:00.000-07:00

A perfect match made in heaven indeed! now MAC Book Air users can have their external hard drive as slim as their MACs. Iomega came out with its new line of eGo products, the eGo Helium. Why Helium? because Helium is the lightest element for gas. The 320GB eGo Helium is just .63 inches, and its sleek exterior casing is anodized silver to match perfectly with Inside the chassis, you'll find a slim 2.5-inch portable drive and the whole device weighs a svelte 7 ounces. It prices at around $140 plus.
Nice innit? Hopefully one day, Iomega can come out with a new SSD hard drive as slim as your credit cards. Then they can name it CardDrive! (uh i think i just made a brand name, yups now its copyrighted by me!)

Source - CNET

Toshiba's Solid State Drive (SSD) Race.

2007-12-09T23:56:00.000-08:00

Toshiba announced its entry for NAND-flash-based solid state drive (SSD) with a series of products featuring multilevel-cell NAND flash memories designed primarily for notebook PCs.Toshiba's first solid state drives offer three densities: 32 gigabytes (GB), 64GB and 128GB. SSD realize low power consumption, a fast boot time, and lightweight (lighter than HDD).

he new SSDs are based on the new 56-nm processes, The maximum read speed is 100MB a second, and the maximum write speed of 40MB a second with the SATA2 interface (transfer rate of 3Gbps), which is compliant with high speed serial interface. The operating life is 1,000,000 hours.

Other SSD Manufacturers: Samsung, SanDisk

Via - Design Taxi, Engadget, Toshiba

LaCie Hard Disk

2007-12-06T18:06:00.000-08:00

This new designer Hard Disk designed by Neil Poulton,A graduate in Industrial Design from Edinburgh University and Milan's Domus Academy, has only 1 specialty which is the design.

Pure, discreet and smart design
Refined lines and mirrored polished storage device
Surprising blue LED effect for an ambient underside glow
Quite, fanless operation with large storage capacities

If the LED effect is in Red color, it might gain some initiative in terms of marketing. Now everyone is into blue, like Blu-Ray. In Star Wars, i guess the most famous character is Darth Vader, and his light saber is Red in color and his lifesuit was mirrored polished black. Black and Red can add some 'villain'ish looks to the hard disk. It send's a simple message to other storage companies " The Force is with us ".

Well this is what Neil Poulton comments on his design;

"The idea was to design a polished black marble slab. Mysterious. Impervious. Black mirror finish. Giving no idea to its function ".

LaCie Hard Disk Spec

Capacity : 320 Gb, 500 GB, 750 GB, 1 TB
Interface : Hi-Speed USB 2.0
Rotational Speed (rpm) : 7200
Cache : 8MB or greater
Interface Transfer Rate : Up to 480Mbits/s (60MB/s)
Burst Transfer Rate : Up to 30-35MB/s
Fan : Fanless
Size : 4.6 x 7.6 x 1.8 in. / 117 x 193 x 45 mm
Weight : 33.5 oz. / 950 g
System Requirements : Computer with USB 2.0 (USB 1.1 compatible); Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista™ / Mac OS X 10.3 or higher; Pentium II 350MHz processor or greater / G3, G4, G5 Mac Intel processor or greater; 32MB RAM minimum
Box Content : LaCie Hard Disk, Design by Neil Poulton
USB 2.0 cable
External power supply
Quick Install Guide
LaCie Utilities (preloaded on the drive): User Manual, LaCie ‘1-Click’ Backup Software (Windows & Mac), LaCie SilverKeeper Backup Software (Mac)
Warranty : 2 Year Limited Warranty

Price Ranges

320 GB : $119.99
500 GB : $149.99
750 GB : $249.99
1 TB : $399.99

Source: LaCie, Neil Poulton

Super Talent 256GB SATA Solid State Drives (SSDs)

2007-12-04T20:43:00.000-08:00

Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules,has launched a pair of 256GB Serial ATA (SATA) solid state drives (SSDs).

Super Talent’s new FSD56GC35M is 100% interchangeable with standard 3.5-inch SATA hard disk drives, but offers all the advantages of an SSD including greater resistance to shock and vibration, significantly lower power consumption and faster performance. FSD56GC35M supports a 0C to 70C operating temperature range. Super Talent also offers an industrial temperature (I-Temp) version of this drive, SS56GA6C35I, which supports an extended -40C to 85C operating temperature range. All I-Temp rated SSDs are tested at their rated temperature extremes to ensure functionality.

Backed with a three year warranty, these 256GB SSDs are designed and manufactured in Super Talent’s San Jose, California headquarters. Super Talent sells its SSDs directly to OEM customers worldwide. Both products are sampling now. Pricing is available on request.

Source - Super Talent

Western Digital 320GB Passport Portable

2007-12-04T00:02:00.000-08:00

Going anywhere? here is the passport that could possibly store anything, Western Digital (WD) announced the latest 320GB of its Passport portable hard disk drive. The Mac and PC-compatible USB 2.0-equipped drive . The drive weighs less than 5 ounces, runs on the latest and greatest platters, and will set you back $230.

The drive is available in black. It works without an external power supply and powered by the USB interface itself. Although it’s Mac and PC-compatible, software on the drive that provides sync and data management is Windows-only. The drive includes a USB cable and documentation.

Source - Engadget, Macworld, Mobile Mag

GDrive - Online Google Storage

2007-12-01T03:30:00.000-08:00

"Storage is an important component of making web apps fit easily into consumers' and business users' lives," wrote a Google spokesman in an email to Byte and Switch this afternoon. "The applications people use every day, such as email, photo sharing, and word processing, are moving to the web."

Google is planning an online storage and backup service that would essentially offer people a Web-based hard drive for accessing and sharing information that resides in their home computers.

Online storage and backup services aren't new to the Web. Google rivals Microsoft and Yahoo offer services called SkyDrive and Briefcase, respectively. In addition, there are a variety of niche players, such as Box.net; and companies like Mozy that provide a fairly extensive backup service.

This is a good news, for those who likes to back up and share data over the internet, or doesn't want to use your own hard disk for some security purposes or maybe privacy matters to save data's.

Via - Byte & Switch, Abishek

SDHC memory card race

2007-11-18T17:52:00.000-08:00

It wasn't that long ago that we though SanDisk has the largest capacity for SDHC 8 GB, recently Transcend announces their new SDHC 16GB card in the Class 6 family will be available soon, the card guarantees a minimum write speed of 6MB/second, includes ECC (Error Checking & Correction) to automatically detect and fix errors during data transfer, preventing data corruption and missing files.

There are also some news a few months ago by Patriot Memory, who announced the addition of 16GB Class 6 SDHC to its flash memory line. While Toshiba as the leader of Digital Storage estimated their 16GB SDHC cards to arrive in October for ¥40,000 or the US Dollar equivalent of $350. The capacious 32GB SDHC cards will reportedly be available in January for twice that amount.

Source - Aving, Engadget, Gadgetell

World Smallest Hard Disk Drive (HDD)

2007-11-06T20:28:00.000-08:00

The new 0.85-inch HDD, Toshiba delivers gigabytes of capacity packed into a tiny hard drive in the size of a stamp. Never before has something so small held so much. In fact the postage stamp sized 0.85-inch HDD was named the smallest Hard Disk Drive in the 2005 Guinness Book of Records.

With the development of 0.85-inch HDD, Toshiba expects to see a further expansion of the market for small form factor HDD, and looks for continued leadership in that market. Toshiba's 0.85-inch HDD will bring storage to a new generation of products including mobile phones, tiny MP3 players, digital camera, and camcorders.

Toshiba micro drive comes in two types of model which is :

MK2001MTN: 0.85 " HDD 2GB

2.0 Gigabytes
Small Size
Lightweight, less than 10 grams
Low Power Consumption

MK4001MTD: 0.85 " HDD 4GB

4.0 Gigabytes
Small Size
Lightweight, less than 10 grams
Low Power Consumption

More Info - Toshiba

Eye - Fi - No more hussle!!

2007-11-05T04:52:00.000-08:00

Remember those days when you have to connect a cable from your camera to your PC to upload photos? or removing the SD card from you camera and put it into SD card reader to transfer digital photos?.

Eye-Fi has simplified the problem by applying wireless communication in its flash memory cards. This has made life easier to transfer photos to your PC wirelessly within your local Wi fi network.

The Eye-Fi Card is a wireless memory card. It automatically uploads pictures from your digital camera to your PC or Mac and to your favorite photo sharing, printing, blogging or social networking site.

No cables, no waiting, no hassles.

More info - Eye-Fi

SanDisk Sues 25 Flash Memory Company

2007-11-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

SanDisk a leading manufacturer of flash memory-based products has filed lawsuits against 25 makers of flash-powered products accusing them in patent infringements.

The list of companies accused of infringing various SanDisk system-level patents include such companies as:

ACP-EP Memory
A-Data
Apacer
Behavior Computer (d/b/a Emprex)
Buffalo
Chipsbank
Corsair Memory
Dane-Elec
Edge
Imation/Memorex
Interactive Media (d/b/aKanguru)
Kaser
Kingston
LG Electronics
Phison Electronics
PNY
PQI
Silicon Motion
Skymedi
Transcend
TSR (d/b/a T.One)
USBest
Verbatim
Welldone Company
Zotek/Zodata (d/b/a Huke).

SanDisk action on suing these 25 companies for patent infringements is to ensure to protect their investment in research and development by obtaining a fair return on that investment.

SanDisk strong action can best put into words as " Ohh yeahh!! if you steal,you are going down!!! ". Its a clear message not to mess with them as the leading manufacturer of flash memory-based products.

SanDisk Standard Memory SDHC 8GB

2007-11-01T18:44:00.000-07:00

SanDisk proudly announces its latest technology - the 8GB memory card.This new technology features the Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) – available in 4GB and 8GB capacities. Memory card is rated Class 2 for speed and performance based on SD 2.0 specifications.

Having 8 GB size memory means you can store up to 8000 high quality pictures, or 2000 mp3's or even 8 divx movies in one shot.The memory card technology will one day replace Hard Disk Drive Technology as it is smaller in size. This is favourable to any company thatuses gadget in small size and need big memory for example Video Camera, Small Music/Movie Player.

The price for the 4 GB memory card is around $80.00, and 8 GB is around $120. According to SanDisk official website," the SDHC new card format is not backwards compatible with legacy SD format host devices ". Which means you cannot simply plug and play the new format to the old interface as it only Supports SDHC compatible host devices.

Specifications:
Capacities available: 4GB and 8GB
Speed performance rating: Class 2 (based on SD 2.00 Specification) Supports SDHC compatible host devices Non-volatile solid-state; no moving parts maximizes battery power.
Data is not lost when power is turned off
Low battery consumption to maximize battery life in small portable devices
User selectable mechanical write protect switch on the exterior card casing Operating shock rating of 2,000Gs, equivalent to a 10-foot drop to the floor Security level complies with both current and future Secure Digital Music Initiative (SDMI) portable device requirements.

Get More info - http://www.sandisk.com/

Nobel Prize for Hard Drive Physics

2007-11-01T09:20:00.000-07:00

Albert Fert & Peter Grünberg received the Nobel Prize for Physics on the 9th October 2007. Both of the French and German physicist had discovered phenomenon of "giant magnetoresistance" (GMR), in which weak magnetic changes give rise to big differences in electrical resistance.

To make it easier to understand, the discovery that these two brilliant scientist made has made enables greater amounts of data to be packed into ever-smaller areas. This means, in the future, digital storage will be so small than you can imagine and have million zillion of bytes that can be stored inside it.

Imagine in the future, we will have greater storage capacities more than we can imagine that we don't even know what to store inside it!!!

More Info - BBC News

Specifications

2007-10-01T05:09:00.000-07:00

Welcome to All about storage.

All About Storage, was founded somewhere in October, 2007, is a weblog dedicated discuss and review about Digital Storage News, Updates, Companies, Gadgets, Applications and Technologies obsessively.

All About Storage is edited by Noor Ashraaf, (Asher) an amature blogger from Malaysia. This project is one of his experimental blog for research purposes and to enhance his knowledge on Storage Technologies. He describes it as an intresting easy way to study on storage technology broadly.