states

2008 is the year of the solid state drive. That's what Sun Microsystems believes as reliability finally measures up to the rigorous requirements of server storage and the cost per gigabyte plunges.

On Wednesday, Sun announced that it is preparing to introduce solid-state drive (SSD) technology that "will completely change how server and storage infrastructure is designed and deployed in enterprise data centers." Sun said it is already shipping Solaris ZFS software "optimized" for SSDs.

Though Sun is not specifying suppliers, Intel confirms that it has collaborated with Sun on SSD development for servers. Intel … Read more

If there was any doubt about the state of solid-state drives, Computex seems to be putting it to rest.

SanDisk, TDK, and Intel, among others, are announcing new solid-state drives while Asus is launching the Eee PC 1000 with a larger-capacity drive.

Solid-state drives (SSDs) are used increasingly instead of hard disk drives in small computers like the Asus Eee PC and devices like the Apple iPhone because SSDs use less power and are generally more rugged--due to the fact that they have no moving parts.

The Asus Eee PC 1000, for example, will be offered with SSDs up to … Read more

Future versions of the MacBook Air will pack larger-capacity but lower-cost solid-state drives, emblematic of the next generation of flash storage that will make a quick descent from current stratospheric pricing.

Today, a consumer pays dearly for a solid-state drive (SSD). For example, for only 64GB of SSD storage on the MacBook Air, a consumer must pay a premium of about $1,000 over the 80GB hard disk drive model.

But the cost per gigabyte of solid-state drive storage will drop as notebook PC makers like Apple switch to solid-state drives with capacities above 100GB based on multilevel cell (MLC) … Read more

On Thursday, Intel introduced a flash chip that stores more data, paving the way for its rollout of upcoming high-capacity solid-state drives.

The chipmaker, along with Micron Technology, announced a 32-gigabit (Gb) NAND memory device built on a 34-nanometer manufacturing process.

The smaller 34-nanometer process bests Toshiba, which recently said it has begun using a 43-nanometer process that will enable solid-state drives with capacities as large as 256GB.

And Samsung said last week that it is slated to bring out a 256GB solid-state drive later this year.

Intel's 32Gb chip will enable more cost-effective solid-state drives, "instantly doubling … Read more

Samsung has developed one of the largest-capacity and highest-speed solid state drives to date.

CNET site ZDNet Korea reports that Samsung announced the development of a 2.5-inch, 256GB solid state drive (SSD) at the fifth annual Samsung Mobile Solution Forum in Taipei, Taiwan.

Typical solid state drives shipping in notebook PCs today have a storage capacity of 64GB.

With a sequential read speed of 200 megabytes per second and sequential write speed of 160MBps, Samsung is claiming some of the fastest SSD data transfer rates to date.

Like upcoming Intel SSDs, Samsung's drive will use multi-level cell (MLC) … Read more

Most of the software in the world is written by enterprises that never intend to sell it. They write it for internal use.

Think of all the good that would come by sharing that code between enterprises with similar needs. Think long enough and you'll come up with Stuart Cohen's Collaborative Software Initiative (CSI).

CSI hit the news this week for some intriguing work with the state of Utah, which promises to deliver the world's first open-source infectious disease management system and break down the walls between enterprises to introduce a new era of sharing code.

At least, that's the promise. It starts with one state. Where it goes next is what CSI (and open source) is all about. According to CSI's statement:… Read more

Solid-state disks, which use flash memory instead of spinning magnetic platters to store data, may have just won an endorsement from a demanding, high-prestige customer: Google.

According to a Monday report in DigiTimes, Google is using Intel SSD technology combined with Marvell controller chips in servers at the company's headquarters. The technology is due to ship late this quarter, the report said.

SSDs offer energy consumption and performance advantages over conventional drives, but they can't match the earlier technology on capacity so far. Google, with thousands of servers, is very sensitive to all those issues.

Given the increasing … Read more

Russ Ledford and comrades have found a high-energy middle-ground between steamy, blues-fired Southern rock and more angular indie strains, with arcing vocals to top it off. A Georgia double-bill of the Whigs and Morning State would amount to a rock aficionado's dream show.

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Toshiba is planning to ship 512GB solid state drives by 2009 when it expects these storage devices to claim one-fourth of the market, according to Japan-based reports.

Toshiba is currently getting set to ship 128GB solid state drives (SSDs), which it plans to offer by June in its Dynabook SS RX1 and Portege notebooks. SSDs are based on NAND flash memory, a market that Samsung and Intel also compete in.

The market for SSDs used in notebook PCs will surge on average 313 percent per year through 2011, according to a report from Nikkei Business Publications. The report referred to … Read more