Storage World

USB 3.0 Will Offer a 10X Speed Boost Over USB 2.0

Intel and a group of companies including HP, Microsoft, NEC, and Texas Instruments have begun developing the successor to USB 2.0. The third generation of USB will transfer data at speeds of up to 4.8 gigabits per second, ten times faster than USB 2.0’s 480-megabits-per-second transfer rate. The new standard will be backward-compatible with existing USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 devices. According to Intel, the USB 3.0 specification will be designed for low power consumption and improved efficiency. US...

New Sleepworking Drive Saves Battery Life

Microsoft and Samsung Electronics recently showed a prototype hard drive that can record data while idling, a twist that has the potential to significantly cut power consumption in notebooks. The trick is that the hard drive contains a 1GB flash-memory chip. Incoming data is directly recorded to the chip. When the chip is close to full, the hard drive wakes up, takes the data, records it, and goes back into idle. Typically, hard drives rotate, but in the hybrid model, the drive rarely spi...

The Future Of Hard Drives

Serial ATA The SATA (Serial Advanced Technology Attachment) interface is coming to prominence for internal hard drives due to its convenient form factor and technical advantages. SATA carries data on a single thin cable, which creates more room in the chassis and allows for smaller cases. SATA cables are also faster than EIDE (Enhanced Integrated Device Electronics) and can extend to lengths up to 1 meter, providing more flexibility working in cases without disconnecting everything. Hybrid f...