flash

Flash memory isn't just for cell phones anymore. Flash drives are moving up into PCs and servers, and Intel wants to get in on the action with a new drive.

The company formally launched the Intel Z-U130 Value Solid-State Drive (just rolls right off the tongue) on Monday, promising to deliver the drives to PC and server companies as either replacement hard drives or performance enhancers. These drives aren't going to be replacing your hard drive in most situations--at least for now--but could provide a more reliable low-cost way of storing infomation in PCs for emerging markets, said … Read more

It's no secret that we're not terribly fond of uber-combo devices, particularly when mice are involved. But the "Mini-Memory Mouse" may be an example of one worth having.

This little guy includes flash drive storage for up to 1GB of data as well as functioning as an optical mouse with a retractable USB cable, according to Red Ferret. It can't point lasers or do yoga, but depending on the price (which wasn't provided), it could be a good two-fer deal.

It's almost too bad: If my IT department buys hybrid hard drives, I won't have time every morning to get a cup of coffee and disparage the beloved New York Knicks of News.com's Charlie Cooper while my PC boots.

Samsung is shipping three MH80 hybrid hard drives--a combination of a traditional hard drive and flash memory--to PC makers, it announced Wednesday. The drives, in 80GB, 100GB, and 120GB sizes, will help PCs boot in half the time it usually takes, according to Samsung.

Because the drives use either 128MB or 256MB of flash memory, they also … Read more

Apparently no gadget is safe from mad scientists who want combine all manner of functions into a single device. The latest target of Dr. Frankenstein wannabes is the lowly USB drive.

The prosaically christened "5-In-1 128 Camera Memory Stick" from Aggeggi takes photos, records video, stores music, provides Webcam feeds and holds 128MB of data in its USB flash drive. (It also looks about as exciting as its name.)

As Ministry of Tech says, none of the $195 device's features is very impressive on its own, but it does deserve some credit for combining so many things … Read more

Given that we just saw a USB drive that you can smell, it makes perfect sense that we'd find another to assault our senses in a different way. The "Exclusive USB Sound Flash Drive" from eNecessities is, contrary to its manufacturer's name, hardly something we must have. Quite the opposite, actually.

The last thing we need is a USB key or any other device to start chattering away on its own from the moment it's plugged in. Everything USB notes that the sound files, which can play for 10 or 20 seconds, are designed to … Read more

Lexar this morning announced its first Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) memory card. Part of the company's Professional line, the 4GB card carries a 133x speed rating, which Lexar translates into a minimum sustained write speed of 20MB per second. For those unfamiliar with the new SDHC standard, it was developed to let SD memory cards reach capacities larger than 2GB.

Of course, a new standard also means that SDHC cards aren't compatible with older readers or cameras that aren't SDHC compatible. Because of that fact, Lexar includes a small USB 2.0 SDHC reader with the … Read more

Slava Tyukalov is one busy inventor-slash-entrepreneur. Only a few months ago he generated tons of interest in his handmade wireless mouse, a beautiful creation of graphite, aluminum and Italian leather. Now SlashGear says he's come up with a USB drive that features an important addition: titanium.

Why? Because he apparently wanted to make it as close to indestructible as possible, being waterproof, anti-shock, anti-vibration and anti-static. (For a demonstration of its durability, check out the YouTube clip below.) We have just one question: Why are people so determined to abuse their poor USB drives anyway?

By the end of this year, Apple could be planning to shift all of its iPods over to flash memory storage, according to an analyst report.

The report, from Prudential Equity Group analyst Jesse Tortora, was spotted by AppleInsider. Tortora believes that by late 2007 Apple could shift the video iPods over to flash memory as part of a redesign of the product. The iPod Nano and iPod Shuffle already use flash memory.

Flash memory has many advantages. It has no moving parts, unlike hard drives that can fail from repeated jostling or falls, and it allows Apple to make … Read more

Digg's Labs section launched last year with new ways to visualize Digg activity. Last week BigSpy, a new visualization tool that's eye candy in the purest sense of the word, quietly popped up. New stories appear at the top of the page, which offsets the rest of the stories in a wavelike motion. The more popular a story, the larger it is and the bigger the "wave" it causes on other stories. It's a mesmerizing effect.

One of the other Digg Labs' tools, Stack, was also updated. Stack essentially shows the popularity of a story … Read more