SSD Solid State Disk Drive

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A Solid State Disk Drive (SSD), some times called a solid-state disk drive or electronic disk is a data storage device that uses solid-state memory to store persistent data with the intention of providing access in the same manner as a traditional block i/o hard disk drive. SSDs are different from traditional magnetic disks such as hard disk drives (HDDs) or floppy disk drives which are electro-mechanical devices containing spinning disks and movable read/write heads. In contrast, SSDs use microchips which retain data in non-volatile memory chips and contain no moving parts. Compared to electro-mechanical HDDs, SSDs are typically less susceptible to physical shock, are silent, have lower (i.e. faster) access time and latency but are more expensive per gigabyte (GB). SSDs use the same interface as hard disk drives, thus easily replacing them in some applications that require faster speed and smaller size.

As of 2010, most SSDs use NAND-based flash memory, which retains memory even without power. SSDs using volatile random-access memory (RAM) also exist for situations which require even faster access, but do not necessarily need data persistence after power loss, or use external power or batteries to maintain the data after power is removed.

A hybrid drive combines the features of an HDD and an SSD into one unit, containing a large HDD, with a smaller SSD cache to improve performance of frequently accessed files. These can offer near-SSD performance in most applications (such as system startup and loading applications) at a lower price than an SSD. These are not suitable for data-intensive work, nor do they offer the other advantages of SSDs.

MicroSD

MicroSD is the format for flash memory cards that can be in used in pairs and removed easily from mobile phones or other digital devices that use this memory format.  And the meaning of SD is Secure Digital. A lot of MicroSD memory cards have been sold in the market, with Micro SD memory capacity up to 64 GB (Gigabytes).

MicroSD is a super-compact memory card with the smallest size of 11 mm x 145 mm x 1 mm, almost the size of a fingertip. Very compatible and comfortable to use on mobile devices and mobile phones. Formerly this product was called T-Flash, then changed its name to TransFlash after it was officially renamed to MicroSD and endorsed by the SD Association.

Hard Drives

Hard drives, hard disk drives or fixed disk drives are random access digital magnetic data storage devices. Hard Drives are very important part of a computer. Most of desktop computer and servers in use today contain one or more hard-disk drives. Every mainframe and supercomputer is normally connected to hundreds of hard drives because they need more space for their work. You can even find VCR-type devices and camcorders that use hard drives instead of tape drives. These billions of hard drives do one thing well and they store changing digital information in a relatively permanent form. They give computers the ability to remember things when the power goes out. Seagate, WDC Western Digital, HP / Compaq, Samsung and Hitachi/IBM are the best companies for hard drives. Most computer users are using 250 GB-520 GB Hard Drives. If your computer is more powerful then you can use use more data storage capacity. A computer will not function to well without hard drives. So hard drives are very important for computers to function.

Combo Drives

A Combo drive is a type of optical drive that combines CD-R/CD-RW recording capability with the ability to read (but not write) DVD media. The term is used almost exclusively by Apple Inc. as a name for the low-end substitute for their high-end SuperDrive, which was designed to both read and write DVD and DVD recordable media. The device was created as a mid-range option between a CD burner and a DVD burner, which at the time the Combo drive was introduced was generally an expensive option costing in excess of US$300 a unit.

Combo drives are becoming less and less common on new systems, though they do occasionally appear in lieu of CD-only drives on low-end computers and business computers to lower production and sale costs. The cost difference between a Combo drive and DVD burner has been steadily declining in recent years, so most new PCs (except for the low-end budget computers) have a DVD burner (which also reads and writes CDs).

In current Apple computers, none contain Combo Drives. As of October 2008, the MacBook comes with a SuperDrive as standard, and as of March 2009, the Mac mini comes with a SuperDrive as opposed to the usual Combo Drive

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XQD - The high-End Memory

Many memory card formats have vanished unable to cope up with the taking over of SD cards. CompactFlash has managed to survive because of its high capacity and transfer rate. But to be competitive, it needed improvement.

The newly designed cards with XQD format use PCI express technology to achieve astonishing 2.5 GB per second transfer rate initially and 5 GB per second later. These cards will write data at a minimum speed of 125 MBps. CompactFlash cards found today top out at about 100MBps. CompactFlash card users will have a wide variety of memory options available. The new design will be licensed in early 2012

 

Smartphones Can Reduce Your Phone Bill

By installing a few smart apps on your phone, you can start making free calls to any other phone or computer connected to the internet. Skype for instance is a free computer to computer call service provider which is now being implemented on most of the smart phones. This application only uses the internet connection of your phone to connect and call to other people. So, just subscribe for the unlimited data plan and you are done with your phone bill. There are Google Voice and Skype applications built for desktops and smart phones. So you can now take advantage of internet connectivity of your mobile phone to make phone calls to computers and phone numbers around the world. By doing this you can greatly cut down the cost. The amount charged by services like Skype is much less than the amount charged by your service provider for making international calls.

How To Choose The Best Tape Drive Repair Depot

When your tape drive breaks and your backup is down it can become a critical decision making process choosing a tape drive repair company since so much rests on backing up your computers data. Many selection factors should be considered before you ship your backup device off to a tape drive repair depot if it is near by or across the continent. Some times the nearest repair company is not the best one.

The first point to consider involves the turnaround time or time it will take to get the repair done. Some depot repair houses for tape drives can get the work done in 1 or 2 days for an extra expedite fee. Some repair houses could take up to 4 weeks if they do not have the parts and need to order parts. Most reputable repair facilities can repair your drive in about a week. Make sure you know if they have ample parts to do the work before sending your drive in. And consider that this time period is not including shipping time into the facility or back to your location. So if you are in a hurry do not ship the drive across country via UPS Ground which could take 5 days to arrive at the destination. It might pay to ship the drive in overnight and have it shipped back overnight. The shipping in and back is paid by you not the repair house unless you make that part of the price.

The second point to go over involves the warranty on the repair. Is it 1 month, 3 months or 6 months in length or longer? Naturally, the longer the warranty the better. If you can buy an extended warranty even better. So compare apples with apples when it comes to the length of the warranty when choosing a repair vendor and comparing pricing.

Third, find out what is covered under the warranty? Does the warranty cover just parts replaced or does it cover the whole drive or unit? If it is only the parts replaced then make sure you know which parts were replaced. Ask for a detailed breakdown on the parts replaced when you get a bill or invoice. You may need this information if you have a warranty issue in the future. If the warranty does cover the whole unit the process is much clearer but do know what parts the warranty covers before you ship your drive out.

Fourth factor, find out how long the repair company you are considering has been in business, how long they have been repairing tape drives and how good is their reputation? This can be done easily by asking the company and checking via the Better Business Bureau and checking online. The longer the company has been in business and the better their reputation the more likely you are to get your repair done quickly and professionally. A tape drive repair company that is not well established may not be around next year to honor the warranty that you paid for. The company should have an established return RMA numbering process. The return material authorization (RMA) number should be assigned to your repair job in advance and that number is put on your shipping box and referenced if needed via communications with the repair house. Some vendors have this process online which is very convenient.

Lastly, when you add in all the above factors, how competitive is the price quoted for the repair job? Is the price a flat fixed rate or will there be extra costs added on later? Is the price quoted including the tape drive head? Note a complete fixed price or flat rate price will include the head but some vendors will get your drive in to their facility and then start adding costs on after they get your drive so ask in advance or get them to commit to a flat rate price even if the head is bad before you send the drive in. If the drive cannot be repaired do find out if a bench fee will apply also or not. If the repair is on an estimated basis or labor plus parts basis do get all the details on how that works before you ship.

Armed with the above information about your depot tape drive repair company you will be better equipped to choose or select the best place for your broken tape drive to be fixed.

Visit tape drive repairs to get more information on Pinnaclemicro's tape drive, autoloader and tape library repair services. All major types of drives are supported 4mm, 8mm, DLT, SDLT, LTO, MLR They guarantee to beat any competitors price by 5%.

AIT Tape Drive Repair - Not all AIT Tape Drive Repair Companies Are Equal

One of the possible reasons you are reading this article is that you are searching for a guide on choosing an AIT tape drive repairs center. Or you are on this page because you have consulted a repair center previously that maybe you were not satisfied with their services and or products.

Some times it is really a tough challenge to choose a repair company especially now a days. It seems there are lots of repair center that can fool you by saying they are the best and they can fix anything under the sun. So, you need to put time and efforts into just finding the right service center that really specializes in tape backup products such as libraries, autoloaders and tape drives.

The right repair center must be able to provide repair, sales and support. The company should be able to diagnose, evaluate, repair and test the unit. It should also provide products for sale so that the spare parts that might be needed by your unit are readily available and so then you don’t have to wait for a number of days for the spare parts to arrive.

How To Select The Best Tape Drive Repair Company

When your tape drive breaks and your backup is down it can become a critical decision making process choosing a tape drive repair company since so much rests on backing up your computers data. Many selection factors should be considered before you ship your backup device off to a repair depot if it is near by or across the continent. Some times the nearest repair company is not the best one.

The first point to consider involves the turnaround time or time it will take to get the repair done. Some depot repair houses for tape drives can get the work done in 1 or 2 days for an extra expedite fee. Some repair houses could take up to 4 weeks if they do not have the parts and need to order parts. Most reputable repair facilities can repair your drive in about a week. Make sure you know if they have ample parts to do the work before sending your drive in. And consider that this time period is not including shipping time into the facility or back to your location. So if you are in a hurry do not ship the drive across country via UPS Ground which could take 5 days to arrive at the destination. It might pay to ship the drive in overnight and have it shipped back overnight. The shipping in and back is paid by you not the repair house unless you make that part of the price.

The second point to go over involves the warranty on the repair. Is it 1 month, 3 months or 6 months in length or longer? Naturally, the longer the warranty the better. If you can buy an extended warranty even better. So compare apples with apples when it comes to the length of the warranty when choosing a repair vendor and comparing pricing.

Third, find out what is covered under the warranty? Does the warranty cover just parts replaced or does it cover the whole drive or unit? If it is only the parts replaced then make sure you know which parts were replaced. Ask for a detailed breakdown on the parts replaced when you get a bill or invoice. You may need this information if you have a warranty issue in the future. If the warranty does cover the whole unit the process is much clearer but do know what parts the warranty covers before you ship your drive out.

Fourth factor, find out how long the repair company you are considering has been in business, how long they have been repairing your type of tape drive ( 4MM DAT, 8MM DAT, DLT, SDLT SuperDLT, Ultrium, LTO, Travan, Data Cassette, MLR, 9-Track, VXA, 3480, 3490, 3490E ) and how good is their reputation? This can be done easily by asking the company and checking via the Better Business Bureau and checking online. The longer the company has been in business and the better their reputation the more likely you are to get your repair done quickly and professionally. A company that is not well established may not be around next year to honor the warranty that you paid for. The company should have an established return RMA numbering process. The return material authorization (RMA) number should be assigned to your repair job in advance and that number is put on your shipping box and referenced if needed via communications with the repair house. Some vendors have this process online which is very convenient.

Lastly, when you add in all the above factors, how competitive is the price quoted for the repair job? Is the price truly a flat fixed rate or will there be extra costs added on later? Is the price quoted including the tape drive head or not? Note a complete fixed price or flat rate repair should include the head but some vendors will get your drive in to their facility and then start adding costs on after they get your tape drive for the head and other parts. So always ask in advance or get them to commit to a flat rate fixed price even if the head turns out to be bad after you send the drive in. If the drive cannot be repaired do find out if a bench fee will apply also or not. If the repair is on an estimated basis or labor plus parts basis do get all the details on how that works before you ship.

Armed with the above information about your depot tape drive repair company you will be better equipped to choose or select the best place for your broken tape drive to be fixed.