Excellent Security related blog: http://radajo.blogspot.com/

RaDaJo (RAul, DAvid and JOrge) Security Blog
Turning Information Security Inside-Out

This site has some very good reading/information on IT security related items. For those that really know tech stuff and need to keep up on security... enjoy.

http://radajo.blogspot.com/

RAID, What is it?

Here's an excellent article (.pdf) that explains the various hardware RAID levels... from Adaptec. Enjoy your geek reading! : )

Lexar Media plans to release 32GB and 64GB Solid State Drives

Crucial.com preps 32GB, 64GB Solid State Drives
by Peter Cohen

Jan 2, 2008 5:12 pm

Lexar Media has announced plans to release in the first calendar quarter 32GB and 64GB Solid State Drives (SSDs) in 2.5-inch form factors, designed as replacements for laptop hard disk drives. Pricing was not announced, but Lexar suggested it would happen some time in the first calendar quarter of 2008. They'll be released under Lexar's Crucial brand.

Solid State Drives use non-volatile flash memory to store data, rather than a hard disk drive mechanism. As a result, there's no spinning motor, which means that performance is better and battery power consumption is less, according to Lexar. Lexar also claims that SSDs produce less heat and have lower weight than hard drives. The downside is that SSD capacities hold only a fraction of the amount of data that hard drives can hold. The larger of the two SSDs that Lexar plans to release can hold less than one-fifth the amount of data as the largest hard disk drive mechanism available in the same form factor.

Complete posting.

This seems to be the future, we'll see.

Hitachi announces 500GB laptop drive

Hitachi announces 500GB laptop drive
by Peter Cohen
Jan 3, 2008 7:48 am

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies has announced what it says is the world's highest-capacity 2.5-inch mobile hard drive: Its Travelstar 5K500, with 500GB of storage capacity. The new drive is expected to be available beginning in February, 2008. Pricing was not announced.
The Travelstar 5K500 will be available in both 400GB and 500GB capacities, as well as an "Enhanced Availability" (EA) version designed to work in server environments. The drive employs a Serial ATA (SATA) interface.

Entire posting.

Dell selling at Best Buy. Good idea?

I think so. Lot's of folks want to see and touch a laptop before purchase... here's another opinion... (remember, these are not business model laptops or desktops, though!)
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Dell hopes Best Buy partnership reverses market share slide
By Joel Hruska Published: December 06, 2007 - 03:15PM CT

This past year hasn't been particularly kind to Dell. The company's US market share declined to 29.1 percent during the third quarter, down from 32.3 percent in the third quarter of 2006. The company isn't sitting by and watching this happen; Dell has signed deals that put the company's systems on the shelves of several major retailers, but it hasn't managed to stop the leak. Sam's Club/Wal-Mart was Dell's first partner back in April and deal with Staples came in late October. Today, Dell announced another addition to its list of retail sales outlets—Best Buy.

While Dell's deal with Sam's Club focused on the low-cost Inspiron notebook series, Best Buy will be carrying a complete line of Dell products. Expect to see the XPS M1330 (white only), the Inspiron 1521 (in blue and black), and the Inspiron 1420 (black only). Desktop models will include the Inspiron 530, 531, and 531s. For the moment, Dell appears to be reserving the red systems for itself, but the company does note that additional system models and colors will be available later in 2008.

As you might expect, Dell does its best to put a good spin on this arrangement, going so far as to say that buying from a store like Best Buy is actually an illustration of how Dell is applying its direct sales model in retail. I'm not sure how selling from a retail store is actually a demonstration of direct sales in action—it sounds more like what everyone else does—but at least we know that Dell's PR machine is firing on all cylinders. The company goes on to make the (far stronger) point that by selling in a retail outlet, Dell is giving customers the chance to evaluate systems before they purchase. That's an important issue for Dell to address, as the lack of a hands-on laptop experience is one factor cited in the company's market share dip.

Complete article.