SSD

In today's podcast we talk about a concept laptop that has four screens, as well as new SSDs the size of business cards that should make for even smaller notebook computers. We also get CNET News reporter Greg Sandoval in the studio to talk about MySpace's upcoming movie download service.

Today's stories:

HP unveils Skyroom video collaboration tool

Netflix awards $1 million for outdoing Cinematch

Toshiba brings out business-card-size solid-state drives

Sony catalog comes to Amie Street--with fine print

Intel debuts concept notebook with four displays

Official Gmail push comes to iPhone, Windows Mobile

MySpace, Hulu working on new video service… Read more

Intel and Microsoft will hold an event next week to discuss collaboration on improvements to Windows 7.

The event, on September 1 in San Francisco, will "share how the two companies collaborated on key enhancements during the development of Windows 7," according to Intel. Steve Smith, vice president and director, Intel's Digital Enterprise Group Operations, and Michael Angiulo, general manager of Windows Planning and PC Ecosystem at Microsoft, will talk at the event. Microsoft plans to launch Windows 7 on October 22.

Windows 7 collaboration will be demonstrated by engineers from both companies, according to Intel. Not … Read more

Memory chip makers will offer more sophisticated flash drives for smartphones--technology that will be comparable to the solid-state drives found in laptops today.

Today's flash drives, which typically range up to 32GB in capacity in products like Apple's iPhone, often use relatively unsophisticated techniques for reading and writing data. In general, the technology is not very different from that used in basic cell phones or digital cameras, according to Brian Shirley, vice president of Micron's memory group.

But as smartphones--and possible future tablet devices--become more like personal computing devices and less like basic MP3 players, memory chip … Read more

Updated at 9:10 a.m. PDT: adding analyst comments.

On Tuesday, Intel and Micron Technology announced the development of high-data-capacity flash memory technology for flash cards and USB drives.

And in a related announcement, Intel said Monday that it has validated a fix for its new 34-nanometer X25-M solid-state drive, which is based on similar flash memory technology. The bug affects users who set a BIOS drive password. That update is available here.

The two chipmakers, which partner in the manufacture of flash memory chips, said Tuesday that they have developed NAND flash memory capable of 3 bits per … Read more

Toshiba has begun volume shipments of solid-state drives ranging up to 512GB in size, as these hyper-fast storage options bulk up on capacity.

Drives are also offered in 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB capacities and are built on a 43-nanometer manufacturing process using multi-level cell (MLC) technology. MLC technology allows drive makers to increase capacity while keeping production costs under control.

All drives come in either a 1.8-inch enclosure, typically used in ultraportable laptops, or a 2.5-inch housing, the standard size for mainstream laptops.

Toshiba said in December that it would begin shipments of a 512GB drive this year. … Read more

Windows 7 will be more than just a better interface. Under-the-hood changes will allow chips from Intel, Nvidia, and Advanced Micro Devices to ratchet up Windows 7 performance above previous Microsoft operating systems.

Microsoft on Wednesday said it has finalized the code for Windows 7, set to ship with new PCs starting October 22. Improvements will include how Windows handles multitasking, graphics acceleration, and solid-state drives.

Microsoft is working closely with Intel, whose chips will power the vast majority of PCs running Windows 7. A July 22 post from Intel's Joakim Lialias, Alliance Manager responsible for Microsoft, described how … Read more

Intel is introducing new solid-state drives with increased performance as these devices find a more welcome home in Windows 7.

Intel said Tuesday it is moving to a more advanced 34-nanometer manufacturing process for its X series of solid-state drives (SSDs). To date, Intel has built drives on a 50-nanometer process. The more advanced process allows for higher data densities, enabling Intel to pack more data onto the same number of flash chips and reduce cost.

Solid-state drives typically offer better performance--in some cases, dramatically better performance--than hard disk drives. But SSDs cost more per gigabyte than hard drives, limiting their use to performance-sensitive applications such as high-end laptops, gaming PCs, and servers.

The new price for the 80GB version of the X25-M drive is $225 for quantities up to 1,000 units, a 60 percent reduction from the introduction price of $595 a year ago, Intel said. The 160GB version of the Intel X25-M drive is now $440, down from $945 at introduction.

However, the actual price drop in the market will be lower, Troy Winslow, marketing manager for the NAND Products Group at Intel, said in a phone interview. Intel had already announced an interim price reduction in January, below the original $595 and $945 price tags, he said.

"In the marketplace it will be around a $100 drop on the 80GB drive and almost a $200 drop on the 160GB drive," he said. The X25-M comes in a standard 2.5-inch form factor, which is the size of most hard drives used in laptops.

Winslow also addressed rumors circulating on Monday about higher-capacity drives. Intel will not introduce a 320GB SSD this year, he said. "What we decided to do is split 34-nanometer into a two-step process," he said. The first step will be to cost-reduce existing 80GB and 160GB drives. "And what we'll do later--and it's not even going to be this year but first half of next year--we will introduce, also on 34 nanometer, a performance enhancement and a doubling of the capacity," Winslow said, meaning that larger capacity drives, such as those over 300GB, won't appear until next year. … Read more

The market for consumer solid-state drives just got slightly more diverse.

Lexar Media announced Monday its latest line of solid-state drives (SSDs), the Crucial M225 SSDs. Lexar has been a known flash storage device maker, while Crucial is a known brand for computer system memory, or RAM.

The M225 SSDs come in three versions, 256GB, 128GB, and 64GB, and offer throughput speeds up to 250MBps in reading and 200MBps in writing.

These drives utilize a SATA 2.0 (3Gbps) interface and feature MLC NAND flash components housed in an industry-standard 2.5-inch drive enclosure. This means they are compatible with … Read more

Bozeman, Montana, has decided they need everyone's social network log-ins and passwords to conduct background checks on prospective employees. So cute. They call it Face Page. Plus we talk about the iPhone lines, and go to town on the need for copyright laws. Turns out we may not need them.

Live blog: iPhone 3G S launch day http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10268140-37.html http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-10268774-37.html

How to tether your iPhone running OS 3.0 without jailbreaking, for … Read more