Storage drive makers Seagate and LaCie on Wednesday announced an agreement that will see the former buy a majority, 64.5-percent share in LaCie. The deal will see about $186 million change hands, and the product portfolios will be merged. The focus will also be on expanding the storage market in Europe and Japan.
Sony has confirmed to CNet that Sony tablet owners in all regions will receive an over-the-air update to Android 4.0 by the end of May. Sony had previously announced the coming availability of Android 4.0 for all of its tablet models, though the company had not announced a specific timeline until now.
Unconfirmed reports of Apple testing Ivy Bridge-based MacBook Pro prototypes with latest-generation SSD storage may suggest that the company is considering making the faster drives part of the standard configuration of the new machines, which are expected to utilize a super-thin redesign like the MacBook Air and debut sometime in the near future. Whether the machines would continue to offer room for traditional notebook HDDs is unknown.
On May 15, LaCie announced an addition to its network attached storage (NAS) line of products. The LaCie 2big NAS joins the product lineup. The new drive case is fully compatible with Apple's Time Machine software as well as Windows 7 Backup. Remote access is by way of FTP, SFTP, or HTTP file transfer. Cloud storage is accessible by an iOS application.
Other World Computer has announced a new 32GB Memory Kit for 2011 iMac and 2010 27-inch iMac models. The OWC PC3-10600 DDR3 1333MHz chip has been fully tested to meet all Apple memory design and compatibility specifications and comes with a lifetime replacement warranty and step-by-step installation video. The upgrade kit can be purchased for $360, $240 less than Apple's own 16GB RAM kit.
Toshiba has added two higher-capacity models to its Canvio line. The line is now buttressed by the Canvio 3.0 and Canvio Basics 3.0, which now offer up to 1.5TB of storage space. The Canvio 3.0 includes software allowing OS X to both read and write the NTFS file system.
Google slipped a new feature into its Google Docs online productivity suite today, adding the ability to conduct Google searches within the document. In addition to making it easier to search for additional information, the new tool incorporates a number of other features, streamlining the construction of a research document. This marks the second major feature addition to Google Docs in as many weeks.
The FTC-imposed transfer of assets by hard drive maker Western Digital (WD) to Toshiba is now completed, the company announced on Tuesday. The move was required by regulatory bodies due to monopoly concerns after WD revealed its intention to purchase Hitachi's Viviti hard drive maker. Previously, Viviti was known as Hitachi Global Storage Technologies.
After posting a mysterious teaser photo of a new product, ASUS has gone ahead and released all the specs of its latest, chic BDXL burner, the SBW-06C2X-U. Apart from the ability to write at 6x speeds to Blu-ray discs and the 100GB BD-R(TL) or 128GB BD-R(QL) media at 4x speeds, the external drive can also play back Blu-ray 3D content. It sits on a metal stand that can hold the drive in either a horizontal or vertical orientation.
Yesterday's OS X 10.7.4 update also brought with it more preparation for Macs equipped with Retina displays, observes AppleInsider. One example is the icon for TextEdit, which was previously a 209KB image measuring 512x512, but now takes up 1.7MB, and has doubled in resolution to 1024x1024. Other icons have grown in size without doubling in resolution; these include ones for Address Book (from 279KB to 484KB) and Dashboard (from 130KB to 226KB).
Leveraging the popular home and SOHO Pogoplug network and internet storage system, Pogo is unveiling Pogoplug Team. Pogoplug Team is a cloud enabled server system designed to be installed on existing IT assets, creating a private cloud for group access to files on any computer, web browser, mobile device, or tablet.
Dane-Elec unveiled the first products in the Pro Sport USB3 line today. The red 8GB, 16GB blue, and 32GB black USB3 flash drives will be available on Amazon in late May. The Pro Sport flash drive boasts speeds up to 80MB/sec read and 30MB/sec write when plugged into a USB3 host connection.
In an update on the Google Docs Blog, the Google Docs Team announced the availability of 450 new fonts and 60 creative templates. The new fonts and templates, part of an array of new features and updates announced today, expand the range of documents users can create, bringing Google's offering more in line with the capabilities of its main productivity suite competitor, Microsoft Office.
Macintosh upgrade specialist OWC has developed and released a dual-drive upgrade kit for the 2011 Mac mini. Leveraging the unified architecture between the server and home editions of the Mini, the kit includes everything a Mini owner needs to install a second drive in the non-server edition of the Mini.
Taking advantage of the new USB3 interface, Verbatim has unveiled the latest in the Store 'n' go flash drive line. Boasting up to two times quicker data transfer, the drives are available now.
Today's deals from DealNN include price breaks on external hard drives, Blu-ray players, and more. Macmall.com has recently dropped the price of the refurbished LaCie 500GB External hard Drive, complete with plug-and-play functionality for both PC and Mac computers, a USB 2.0 and FireWire interface, shock-resistant design, and transfer speeds up to 800Mbps. Currently featured at DealNN, this hard drive can now be purchased for only $84.99 and offers savings of up to 43%.
The US Department of Justice stated Monday that a Hitachi-LG Data Storage executive had admitted to price fixing charges. Senior Sales Manager Woo Jin Yang agreed to face reduced prison time of six months, as well as pay a $25,000 fine, for artificially raising the bidding prices of CD and DVD drives sold for HP PCs. Between August 2006 and February 2009, Yang, three others, and an unnamed company had swapped information on prices, market share, and sales data at HP contractor shows to establish higher prices rather than compete for HP's business.
Chinese mobile hardware maker Huawei has boosted its research and development budget to $4.5 billion for this year, representing a 20 percent increase from 2011, ComputerWorld reported. The money will go towards introducing new technologies to smartphones, including inexpensive cloud storage and gesture control. The tech would use the front camera to capture the motion of a user's hands for three-dimensional interaction.
The Chrome OS developer channel has been updated to add Google Drive integration, which means that users of Google's fledgling Chromebook line will likely soon see the search giant's cloud storage solution popping up in the next wide-release OS update. The addition of Drive, revealed earlier this week, is expected to address one of the major obstacles to file management on the line of web-only netbooks.
Apricorn, designer of data security products has launched a new version of its Aegis Padlock drive series- the Aegis Padlock 3.0. Now equipped with a USB3 super speed connection, data transfers have increased in speed by up to 500 percent from the previous USB2 version.
A Wired interview with Sundar Pichai revealed that an upcoming update to Google's Chrome OS will see tighter integration between the netbook OS and Google's new cloud storage offering, Google Drive. The update is expected to greatly improve the file system functionality of Chrome OS.
Samsung's optical disc drive division has just unveiled what it touts as the industry's skinniest external DVD burner. The SE-218BB is 0.55 inches (14mm thick), or 18 percent thinner than regular DVD burners. The smaller size also translates to weight savings, as the company said it's eight percent lighter than its standard external burners.
Solid state drives, a critical component in many thin, high storage-density mobile devices, could see dramatic price drops in the coming months due to a burgeoning price war among the major SSD suppliers. According to DigiTimes, industry sourcesin Taiwan are indicating that large suppliers are preparing to drop prices on SSDs precipitously.
Sony announced Tuesday that all owners of its Digital Cinema 4K products will be able to apply a software upgrade to their projectors that will improve the frame rate for video playback. The upgrade will improve image quality both in 2D and 3D content, raising the maximum frame rate from the standard 24 frames per second (FPS) to 48FPS for 2D content and 60FPS for 3D content.
Google posted Tuesday that users of Google's free email service would be receiving a 33 percent boost in storage capacity. Gmail users will now have access to 10GB of storage.
We've given Google Drive a quick tour to gauge how well it works as well as give a preview for when the eventual iOS app arrives. It promises relatively tight integration between Google services, but does it work well, and is there anything to make Dropbox users switch? Read ahead for a quick look.
Google as hinted has launched Google Drive, its own turn at cloud storage. The platform focuses on not just accessing files but working on them, including live collaboration through Google Docs on formats it supports. Drive makes details searchable and will convert scanned-in documents to text as well as check images for recognizable landmarks that can be searched later.
Today's deals from DealNN include price breaks on hard drives, Blu-ray players, and more. Buy.com recently lowered the cost of the Buffalo MiniStation 500GB USB 2.0 Portable Hard Drive, which includes USB 1.1 backwards compatibility, a maximum external data transfer rate of 60MBps, and support for both Mac and PC. Currently featured at DealNN, the hard drive has now dropped 54% in price and can be purchased for only $72.99.
Google’s long-rumored Google Drive cloud-based storage service dubbed is tipped by insiders to arrive as soon as today. Hints that a launch may be imminent include an increase in Google Docs default storage from 1GB to 5GB that is starting to roll out, as well as a direct reference to the yet to be launched service in Google support materials.
Microsoft quickly confirmed rumors and has posted preview versions of both Windows Vista/7/8 and OS X Lion desktop apps while curbing the reach of its cloud service. The software now lets users more directly organize their cloud storage, automatically syncing anything loaded into a SkyDrive folder and sorting its contents as though it were offline. The iOS app has also been updated (App Store to get native iPad support, including for the higher-resolution visuals of the new iPad along with deleting renaming, and moving files in the cloud.
Microsoft's SkyDrive desktop app could imminent. A new tip from sources for The Verge had the app coming to Windows 7 users, preceding the Windows 8 version (pictured), in a matter of a few weeks. The web version would get small interface changes to adapt to the Windows 7 app, and would have an option to add a computer by using the software as a hook.
Google's answer to cloud storage, Google Drive, made an inadvertent appearance at a Google+ hangout video very briefly available today. A developer was demonstrating a new app's sharing capabilities, and the previously leaked multicolored triangular icon rumored for the service was shown in the available destinations. The leak was discovered quickly, leading to the video being pulled and replaced with another version of the video lacking the footage in question.
Sony will bring its PlayMemories Online cloud storage service to PlayStation users next week, the company revealed on Friday. Unveiled at CES, the service will offer 5GB of online storage space to PlayStation Network members in six countries, including the US, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, and the UK. Users will have the ability to upload their photos taken by Sony cameras using PlayMemories Home software for Windows and OS X platforms as well as their smartphones.
Users of Intel Macs that have not, for one reason or another, yet upgraded to either Snow Leopard or Lion may be rewarded for their lethargy: an e-mail sent out to qualifying MobileMe customers offers them a free copy of Snow Leopard so that they can then upgrade to Lion and maintain their MobileMe account and address through iCloud. Respondent simply click on a special link to log into their MobileMe accounts and are directed to a registration form.
Sony has revealed a next-generation optical disc archive storage system aimed toward companies that require long-term protected data storage, particularly video. The corporation will also organize an Optical Disc Archive Advisory Group to promote the new format. Initial versions should range from 300GB to 1.5TB and use USB 3.0 to keep the storage running at full speed.
Microsoft's SkyDrive cloud storage service is getting an update today, with features expected to increase the usability of the service. The new features expand the range of formats supported on SkyDrive, while making file sharing easier.
The often-rumored Google Drive might have at last settled on a more definitive launch plan that would include true cross-platform access. A draft press release sliped to The Next Web had the service more closely following the Dropbox formula, where files were stored in a syncing folder or folders on a Mac or Windows PC. Although widely suspected, it's now believed to have an iOS app to match the Android and desktop components.
Intel began its week by introducing a new and relatively uncommon blend of performance and lower prices among solid-state drives in the SSD 330 series. While inexpensive, they the most recent 25-nanometer, multi-level cell memory and matching controllers to give performance that today is still considered high-end. At 500MB per second in peak read speeds and 450MB per second in writes, the SSD 330 is pitched as ideal for gamers and others who want fast apps or booting but don't need it to replace a larger content drive.
The G-RAID Thunderbolt drive introduced in the fall of last year is now shipping. The external drive houses two 4TB, 7,200RPM Hitachi Deskstar hard drives and offers a 10Gbps connection through Intel's Thunderbolt connection, making it suitable for use with Macs and upcoming Windows PCs. It's also the largest external drive of its kind that has RAID 0 striping.
Western Digital on Monday timed the launch of a larger VelociRaptor drive with the NAB media expo. The new, 1TB capacity almost doubles the prior 600GB peak and is seen as a way to give video editors the capacity they need while still giving performance above and beyond conventional disk drives. It continues to spin at 10,000RPM versus the usual 7,200RPM and comes inn an "Ice Pack" heatsink that cools it down while serving as a mount for a 3.5-inch drive bay.
Seagate chief Steve Luczo in an interview published late in the week remained skeptical of flash memory. In the sit-down with Forbes, he saw systems like the MacBook Air and Windows ultrabooks as still far too cost-prohibitive to make sense for most users. Befitting his company's heavy dependence on rotating storage, he saw many of those systems either needing a hybrid flash and rotating hard drive or else leaning heavily on cloud storage with a conventional disk.
ATTO Technology has unveiled the beginnings of a full lineup of Thunderbolt breakout boxes that allow TB-enabled Macs and future Windows or Linux systems that incorporate Thunderbolt to use devices that leverage SAS/SATA storage, Fibre Channel and even 10Gb Ethernet to increase the adaptability and flexibility of Intel's high-speed bi-directional connector. The company will be showcasing the products at the upcoming NAB conference.
(Update: may be shelved) Portugal's opposition-status Socialist Party has made a proposal that could, in at least some cases, hike the prices of computers and mobile devices. Although ostensibly to focus on professionals, what Portugal's Exame Informatica saw (via TechEye) would add a levy of 20 euro cents per gigabyte on storage up to 1TB and 2.5 euro cents for devices over 2TB. The rate would climb to as much as five euro cents per gigabyte for external "multimedia" drives.
SSD maker Fusion-io has introduced its ioFX PCIe-based solid-state drive for workstations that contains 420GB of storage. Meant for HD video editing in the movie industry for special effects work, the card uses a less costly internal design than other Fusion-io cards. There are four flash channels, or a quad-die package, so there is half of the write I/O per second performance of the previous products.
ASUS Chairman Jonney Shih recently spoke at Business Next in Taiwan about the future of computers and technology. The talk, embedded as a video below thanks to NetbookNews, included talk of the social, location, and mobile experience in future products, though it especially contained an announcement about a cloud service due from the company. Shih said ASUS will unveil its "total solution for the ubiquitous cloud computing at Computex this year."
Almost exactly one year after launching the original 8GB Mobile X2 SDHC memory card, Eye-Fi has used a Japanese launch to introduce another example with the Direct Mode built-in. The 4GB card ships with the Direct Mode enabled out of the box, letting users send photos over Wi-Fi from their cameras to, initially, their Android tablets or smartphones. An included and pre-set 10-digit pairing code won't even require users to start computers for the setup.
Western Digital on Wednesday started shipping a new version of its Scorpio Blue hard drive tailored for ultrabooks and otherwise thin notebooks. At 7mm tall, it fits in spaces where regular 9.5mm drives won't but can still have as much as 500GB of space. The design has the simultaneous upside of lower power consumption and is purportedly the most efficient spinning hard drive in the field.
Micron has announced that it has expanded its SSD lineup to include mSATA models geared for ultrathin notebooks. The new drives are based on the company's existing RealSSD C400 drives, but with a Mini SATA connector and stripped away housing for notebooks that require a 3cm x 5cm footprint.
Kingston has just introduced its latest SSD range, the Hyper X 3K, meant to appeal to budget buyers who still want some performance. Available in 90GB, 120GB, 240GB, and 480GB capacities, the drives are powered by the second-gen SandForce SF-2281 prcoessor. Their 6Gbps SATA Rev. 3.0 interface lets them achieve rated sequential read speeds of 555MBps and sequential write speeds of 510MBps. For extending life, they have the SandForce DuraClass tech onboard.
Although going without a formal announcement, a new solid-state drive has surfaced from Intel meant for ultrabooks. The SSD 313 has just 20GB or 24GB of storage, and is intended as a boot drive that sits next to a more conventional, rotating disk. Peak reads per second (160MB for 24GB drives and 220MB for 20GB) and writes per second (115MB for 24GB and 100MB for 24GB) aren't as fast as Intel's best drives, but are still quick enough to hit Intel's responsiveness goals.
