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FlashMate turns hard drives into hybrids
A hybrid hard drive can help a laptop boot faster, operate more effectively and quietly, and run longer on a single battery charge. Flash memory maker SST and firmware/BIOS company Insyde Software announced earlier this week a technology they're calling FlashMate that gives standard hard drives hybridlike functionality. Actually, it does more. Whereas hybrid hard drives use flash memory as a data cache when a system is running, FlashMate will let you access the full contents of your hard drive without needing to power on your laptop. Using a combination of hardware, software, and firmware, FlashMate creates an … Read more
Newegg.com has the Fantom Titanium II 500GB External Hard Drive for $99.99, after a $20 mail-in rebate.
WinDirStat knows what's eating your memory
Over the weekend, I found myself on a digital precipice. My laptop's hard drive had maxed out its 90GB, there were less than 5 to go. My external hard drive, The Tank, was about to get tanked: Out of the 250GB it could hold, I was down to less than 4. I still needed to upload a bunch of RAW format photos, with each image closing in on 10MB. What to do?
I remembered a recent article we ran about good system utilities and identifying where your precious gigabytes are going. Sure enough, WinDirStat came up. I was hoping that there was some unknown cache taking up all my space, or at least enough to be able to save without fear of outrunning the hard drive's limits.
Drive Alert Master: A new angle on drowsy driving
We've seen all kinds of innovative concepts lately from car manufacturers trying to prevent people from falling asleep at the wheel. From Infiniti's Lane Departure Warning system to BMW's vibrating steering wheel to Volvo's coffee-break notification system, these optional systems use all kinds of technology to keep drivers conscious, but they nearly always come as part of pricey technology package. Fortunately, it turns out there is a budget option for those wanting to stay awake at the wheel in the form of the Drive Alert Master. This $15 device hooks around a driver's ear in … Read more
Domo-kun sinks teeth into Mimobots
Having never jumped on the Mimobot bandwagon, we weren't terribly excited when the Halo series made its debut last week. But then we realized that it had stolen the spotlight from the real star in our book: Domo-kun.
Our favorite sharp-toothed character from Japan has shown been incarnated in a line of Mimobot USB flash drives that blow away all others. In addition to the classic Domo X, they also come in Ninja Domo and--best of all--Rasta Domo.
As with other Mimobots, they have storage sizes ranging from 512MB to 4GB. But as far as we're concerned, the … Read more
IVDR devices: Like flash cards, but with hard drives
CHIBA, Japan--A group of about 50 companies is trying to put hard drives in your pocket.
The IVDR Consortium is developing technologies and prototypes that effectively allow hard drives to act as a portable storage device. (IVDR stands for "information versatile disk for removable usage.") Stick a 2.5-inch drive in a stylish case into a kiosk and download a movie. If you plop one into a video camera, you can record footage, and then you can stick it into a computer or video-editing machine.
Some IVDR products are already out. Some consortium members--there are about 50 including … Read more
Hard drives break out of basic black
LaCie may be one of the more flamboyant players in the market, but it's not the only one producing hard drives that are making fashion statements.
Western Digital is adding some vibrant splashes of color to its already-stylish "Passport" line of portable hard discs. Realizing that there's more to the spectrum than basic black, the company is introducing models in green, red and white, according to Chip Chick. We fully anticipate cables by Prada and Armani next.
USB Transformers challenge Mimobots
As much as we like Mimobot drives, and especially their latest Halo family, they wouldn't last a day once our kids got their mitts on them, which they would surely do. But there's a way to revel in your inner (or outer) geekdom with a USB key more discreetly while paying homage to Transformers to boot.
A 2GB Decepticon and a 1GB Autobot are available only in the U.K., according to GeekAlerts, for some unknown reason. Either will easily hold its own in the USB-bot community at large. And they also can be worn on one's … Read more
Iomega targets Apple fans with new hard drive offerings
Iomega announced today that the company is expanding its lineup of products geared towards the Mac community. The announcement, made at the Apple Expo 2007 in Paris, covers both existing and new products. Support for the HFS+ file system, new designs, and a wider array of connection options are designed to attract the attention of Apple fans.
Dual-drive RAID products: The UltraMax Pro Desktop Hard Drives feature two hot-swappable SATA-II drives for RAID 0 and RAID 1 configurability. The industrial design mirrors that of the Apple Mac Pro desktop line. The UltraMax Pro lines comes in two configurations. The first … Read more
