In 23 things #7 I mentioned diskless computers. Another big thing about to hit the market is the solid state disk drive. SSD's are in production and have capacities up to 63 gigs. They are sure to have an impact on both the notebook computer market, and the server market. How about an mp3 player with 63 gigs!!!!
These silent SATA compatible devices have no moving parts so are less prone to failure than the standard hard drive (I know of 2 people in the library that have experienced the dreaded "click click click" of a failed hard drive). They also cut boot and shutdown time in half, are lighter in weight, and produce less heat than a conventional hard drive.
About the only down-side is the "limited" capacity. The 63 gigs should be enough for most operating systems for a while, but I'm sure the capacities will grow in short time.
Crucial claims that it will be selling the devices in the first quarter of '08 (see http://www.crucial.com/promo/index.aspx?prog=ssd). Also check out Samsung for some great information: http://www.samsungssd.com/
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2 comments:
Peter, if there are no movable parts in these new diskless computers, then how can you fix the computer when it breaks? Does this mean the whole thing is broken at once, rather than only one part breaking? Maybe it's a silly question, but I'm not a computer expert. I could ask my spouse, but he's traveling abroad right now.
ray,
These drives are just like hard drives with a SATA interface. So if it goes south, you just have to replace the drive. However, because there are no moving parts, things are less likely to die. Moving parts are often where damage happens - parts wear, tolerances are exceeded... On a regular hard disk, there are platters that move, read/write heads which track - all driven by little motors. Eventually they will wear out. If you drop your computer, these parts may "move" too far (break) and that's it for the hard drive.
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