Mini-ITX: The Next De Facto Desktop PC Platform

A Mini-ITX motherboard in a Bitfenix Prodigy (Pinterest)

The rise of the mobile computing devices (smartphones, tablets, wearables, etc.) are slowly and surely relegating the desktop PC factor from everyone’s computer down to workstations and the enthusiast segment. This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, as the smaller, portable computers make for a more inexpensive and practical solution for most mainstream needs.

That being said, the humble desktop will still be with us for many years more. With so many PC hardware manufacturers and plenty legacy equipment in use, it would simply be impractical for it to be ditched as a standard computing platform. What will more likely happen is that it will become increasingly more compact and sport more modern connectivity options.

The Mini-ITX form factor, established by VIA Technologies in 2001, was designed for low-power, embedded PC designs that could be implemented as low-cost, mainstream use machines for non-power and processing intensive tasks such as internet browsing and word processing. For one reason or another, the standard didn't catch on until the second half of the decade.

At first it was just the industrial integrators and computing appliance manufacturers that were utilizing Mini-ITX in their designs, but even the home PC and enthusiast markets eventually realized that this compact form factor was pretty much just the right size to be able to carry full-sized desktop components (processor, memory, video and sound cards) while being a mere 17 by 17 centimeters. There are smaller form factors, but they could only mount laptop and notebook-specific parts, which tend to be significantly more expensive, and often not enthusiast-grade.

Kontron KTH81/mITX

The then-growing home theater PC (HTPC) builders’ scene found the Mini-ITX motherboard to be an ideal platform for their set-top creations, since streaming audiovisuals to the screen didn't take high-powered PC components to pull off.

Motherboard manufacturers eventually responded to gaming enthusiasts and compact workstation proponents to create Mini-ITX motherboards that could handle higher power, performance oriented desktop components, and out came the pocket rockets of the gaming system builders, equipped with the very same high performance parts, fancy, albeit compact chassis, and exotic cooling solutions that their bigger desktop cousins had.

Corsair Obsidian 250D Mini ITX Case

The modern crop of Mini-ITX motherboards are every bit as capable and fully-featured as its ATX and micro-ATX cousins. With more manufacturers building motherboards and other PC parts and accessories compatible to this form factor (even high performance video cards are being made more compact in order to fit in smaller Mini-ITX chassis), it is inevitable in this writer’s mind that this form factor of PC motherboard will eventually replace ATX and micro-ATX as the platform of choice for desktops.

About the Author

Stacey Thompson is a professional writer, marketer, entrepreneur, and a lover of weird little animals. She is based in San Diego, California, and is currently building herself a Mini-ITX gaming and productivity (yeah right) rig, with the help of her #pcmasterrace friends.

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Why Backing Up Your Small Businesses Digital Data Is Crucial

Losing important data can devastate a small business. According to a recent survey of business executives disaster recovery was the primary reason that company's chose to use a data storage service. In the recent NAS vendor Avere Systems and Gatepoint Research Report 63% of the 100 business executive respondents said that disaster recovery was the primary motivation behind their companies using a data storage service.

While protecting your data from an unforeseen disaster is certainly a very good reason to set up a data storage solution it is not the only one. Below you can find some of the major advantages of using a data storage solution to protect and store your data. Bear in mind that even if your company diligently backs up it's data, it remains important to plan for the worst and make sure that you have an approved local data recovery vendor in place. This will ultimately save your company time and money should the worst happen. If your business is located in London, then Easy Recovery offer a great range of services.

Preventing prolonged downtime

Prolonged downtime is a disaster that many businesses will never recover from. This downtime is often caused by the loss of key data. The reason for data loss doesn't have to be due to natural disaster such as an earthquake, fire or flood. Human error is a common cause of the loss of data due to mistakes or failure to save key files.

Critical if you are audited

Regulatory and tax agencies will want to see a complete set of your financial records. Failure to present these can mean that you are not compliant and can result in significant fines. Loss of data due to oversight, lack of systems in place, or disaster will not be accepted as a reason to fail to produce accurate records.

Avoiding work needing to be repeated

having to repeat work is a massive waste of company resources. If work is not properly stored and cannot be easily retrieved then the work will frequently need to be done over once again. This may involve having to recreate spreadsheets, presentations of re-invoicing customers.

It can be automated

If you choose to use an online backup service or NAS device you won't have to worry about manually backing up your files. These data services work in the background and automatically update your data. Some data services will back up your data according to a schedule that you have set, where as other backup services will be constantly backing up your data whatever changes are made.

Types of backup solution

There are a number of different types of backup solutions that you can use to back up your small business company data. Some of these include:

Flash drives

These are small devices which are inserted into a USB port. Flash drives can hold anywhere up to around 64 GB of data for and are great for selective backup. Because flash drives are small and easy to carry they are great for backing up important documents.

CD and DVD's

CD and DVD are able to hold less data than a flash drive, but they do tend to be much cheaper than flash based memory and can also be used to store data on an permentant basis. Backing up data onto compact disks can take longer to complete than a flash drive backup, but they also offer the opportunity to keep data neatly organised since disks can be stored in chronologic order on cake spindles.

External hard drives

External hard drives are perhaps the most practical backup solution available for small businesses. External drives can often hold up to six terabytes of data, there are relatively easy to use, and they make organising your information easy. Many external drives also come with free automatic backup software, and some even use RAID to backup your data to multiple drives at once (mirroring).

NAS devices

A NAS device is similar to an external hard drive but with a few additional features. They attach to a small businesses network and can be accessed by all of the networked computers at the same time. This allows the businesses employees to back up and access their stored information simultaneously without having to attach an external drive to each of the computers.

Online Back up Service

This type of service provides access to remote data storage servers which can be accessed by a business over the Internet. Either through a browser interface, or more commonly through a program which automatically backs up any files that are added to a pre-specified list of folders. Data is updated either when a file changes, or on a daily basis according to a set schedule. Data can be accessed from any location and can be recovered using any device. Online data storage offers one of the most flexible solutions for backing up company data though it can be expensive.

In conclusion

Safely storing your data is critical for your small business. Without easy access to your company's data your business operations could potentially grind to a halt. No matter what your data storage needs, there is likely to be a data solution to match.

About Author:

By Nick Davison

Advanced Data Recovery are London's leading data recovery experts. For more information on corporate data security and RAID recovery, check out our blog.

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The Explosive Growth Of Flash Storage In 2013

In 2013, enterprises around the globe have made flash standard equipment for their storage arrays.  As the end of the calendar year is only days away, it is difficult to foresee a new enterprise-class storage array being developed and deployed without incorporating flash in one form or another.

Flash memory has taken the staid storage industry by storm.  First utilized in consumer products, such as the iPod, flash storage has now become the new star of enterprise IT.  A primary reason for this is speed.  At speeds of up to 400 times faster than standard rotating disks, flash-based solid state disks, or SSDs, are capable of proficiently handling the growing storage needs of today’s evolving enterprise IT.  When comparing flash storage vs SSD, the speed differential becomes apparent in no time at all.

As an established mainstay in enterprise environments, flash storage is a significant driver of faster system responses and communication channels.  Through the use of flash storage, social networking companies, such as Facebook, are able to better respond to increased traffic burdens.  Flash storage is also behind numerous new cloud-based services.  This new technology is creating a rising demand for enterprise-level storage and digital content distribution.  The demand for flash storage and its implementation will only increase as storage costs continue to decline.

Flash has also been widely adopted as an aide to storage controller DRAM.  Flash modules now fill many PCI cards, allowing them to inflate the effective memory cache capacity of enterprise storage arrays, further enhancing their performance and providing possibly the fastest flash acceleration options.  Although this same approach can also be taken with server-side flash, enterprise IT did not fully embrace this option in 2013.  Perhaps this is due to the unwillingness of infrastructure teams to exchange a few additional IOPS for the disturbance that takes place when installing software drivers and new cards into critical business servers.

Interestingly, there was an overwhelming absence of trade press stories indicating any problems whatsoever with flash reliability.  This lack of news was welcomed by flash storage companies given the fact that initial concerns regarding the potential wear-out of flash cells was well-publicized.  Recognizing the importance of flash technology, storage vendors have addressed this early concern by implementing bad-block management and wear-leveling software.  These techniques, it appears, have worked as advertised.

Throughout 2013, the silicon factories of flash vendors transitioned from producing 32nm-class flash dies to 19nm-class dies, which are much smaller and denser.  This transition, along with the widespread use of multilevel cells, has enabled the creation of enterprise-class 800GB SSDs, a substantial improvement over the 200GB options on offer only one year ago.  Although there has been one vendor touting the development of a 10nm die, there are still some questions regarding whether or not substantially more capacity can be extracted from flash memory.

Thanks to economies of scale, popular flash manufacturers have been able to increase the storage capacity of their products while lowering their prices.  Although flash memory is not necessarily cheap, enterprise vendors have adopted inventive ways of offsetting this cost, including experimenting with forward error correction to eliminate penalties associated with RAID capacity.

Throughout 2013, no new storage technologies were developed that threatened the persistent spread of flash in enterprise storage systems.  At the same time, however, storage vendors continued to promote memristors, carbon nanotubes, phase-change memory, spin-torque transfer, and other alternative memory technologies.  While these technologies certainly are interesting, they have thus far failed to prove to be worthy competition to enterprise flash storage.

Although the production lines seem ready to produce large quantities of memristors and phase-change memory technology, there are a myriad of factors that are delaying investment.  Such factors include their high cost of fabrication and widespread uncertainty as to when flash will no longer benefit from performance enhancements and lower pricing.  Only at such a time will new enterprise storage technologies become a viable alternative.

Competition aside, there was quite a significant amount of jockeying for position and pack-shuffling within the flash market itself throughout 2013.  Of the handful of enterprise flash startups that benefitted from substantial funding, two announced plans for an IPO launch, two were acquired, and two dissolved.  In addition to this activity, the major enterprise storage vendors released product roadmaps that placed a heavy emphasis on all of their flash products.

There have been few enterprise storage technologies in recent years that have been as rapidly and widely adopted as flash was in 2013.  With a current stronghold on the enterprise storage industry, the flash trend seems poised to continue throughout 2014.

Jared Jaureguy is a technologoy consultant for large enterprises.  You can read more of his thoughts on his personal blog, Technology Hall.

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Safely Disposing Of Old Electronic Devices | Protect The Environment

If you are like most Americans, your home is filled with electronic devices. Unfortunately, these devices, unlike many other things, tend to become out of date very quickly. New, updated models with lots of fancy new features are always being released, and you may want to upgrade to the latest models.

Protect The Environment

However, this raises the issue of how to safely dispose of your old electronic devices. Many potentially toxic or dangerous chemicals and substances are used in the manufacture of these devices, so you do not want to just throw them in the trash and have them carted off to the landfill. These toxic chemicals could pollute the air or water if you do.

Another good reason not to simply throw them away is that they also frequently contain rare materials that can be recycled and reused. Old electronic devices can be very valuable. By reusing the materials in them, you can help protect the environment by reducing the need for more mining.

It is therefore a good idea to find a recycling center for old electronics in your area. By taking your old computers, TVs, cell phones, and other devices, you can make sure that these stay out of the waste stream. Instead, they can be recycled and reused. Any components that cannot be recycled can be disposed of safely so that they do not pollute the environment.

E-Steward Certification

Look for a recycling center that follows the "e-Steward" guidelines. These are high standards for the recycling of electronic equipment that ensure that your device will be properly disposed of. When you look for the "e-Steward" certification, you can feel confident that the recycling center is following these standards.

Local Retailers

If you cannot find an electronics recycling center in your area, you may be able to take your devices to a local retailer. A number of nationwide chains accept electronic devices for recycling, including Staples and Best Buy. Call up your local store and ask them about their policies to see if they will accept your old devices.

The Manufacturers

Most manufacturers of electronic devices also offer recycling programs for old equipment. Contact the manufacturer to find out what their policies are. In most cases, they will pick up and recycle your old device for free. You may even qualify for a credit or cash back offer for your device!

Cell phones are among the easiest devices to recycle due to their size. For most major brands, all you have to do is mail the phone back to the manufacturer and they will take care of the rest. There may also be drop boxes in your area where you can put your old cell phone.

Erase All Your Data

Be sure to erase any personal information or other data from your devices before you send them off to be recycled. You do not want someone to be able to get your sensitive data from your hard drive or phone.

To protect the environment, it is important to make sure that you dispose of your old electronic devices properly. The tips you have read here will show you what to do.

Vince Bradley is an appliance repair technician. He loves to write about appliance and electronics. He is currently working for ABCAuthorizedRepair in Studio City, CA.

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Facebook vs Google+ | Who Will Be The Winner | Social Networking

Facebook Vs Google+
Source: Sam Steiner, cc-by-3.0, flickr

What is better Google + or Facebook? So many hours have been wasted pondering over this very subject.  So we have decided to launch a full investigation to determine which the best is!  Does Facebook frenzy with its large user database dominate the social network, or does Facebook fall in the shadow of Google +, with its more reputable owners and sleeker interface?  Let’s find out.

Google +: 

Interface: The Google + news stream is customisable, there are different layouts to choose from, and easy filtering depending upon your circles. The images in the news stream allow the benefit of high resolution photographs and videos to play inline. An easy to use collapsible toolbar along the left hand side, allows easy navigation of the rest of the website without navigating away from the page you are viewing.

Profile: You can now upload a large image to your Google Profile, and can edit your details at any point, including your name.  You can customise the tabs you have on show for friends to view, making it very easy to allow certain friends to have access to certain tabs.

Chat:  Google chat is hidden on the right hand side of the screen, until you need it, it doesn’t tell you who is online and available to talk, nor does it show you a full list of your friends, instead it chooses which it shows you.  It does have some additional functions such as blocking other users and snoozing notifications, as well as video chats in ‘Hangout on Air’.

Facebook:

Interface: You can’t customise the layout, and approximately a third of your news feed is cluttered with adverts and there is no way to quickly filter through the news feed.  Photo’s and videos are all the same size, and if you want to view it larger you have to navigate away from the page.  Facebook keeps users up to date with likes and comments, and gives suggested posts. The navigation bar, though cluttered and in part useless, allows easy navigation of the site.

Profile: Facebook differs from Google + in the sense that it has a timeline rather than a profile, separated into two columns, updates on the right and summary on the left. You can edit your profile without any annoying tabs or pop-up windows.

Chat: The chat function on Facebook can accessed from two places, it shows you exactly who is online and/or available on mobile, and you can easily search for friends. You can create group chats and video chats and saves your messages even if you are offline.

An Overview:

• The best interface goes to…easily Google +
• The best profile goes to… Facebook, but it is a close one.
• The best chat provider goes to…Facebook, due to it offline features.
• The best friends options goes to… Google +, though it is perhaps less personal, the circles method is much better.
• The best posting Updates goes to…Google + offers more options, is more flexible and allows you to control who sees it better.
• The best site for uploading Photos goes to…It’s a close one, but Google + has more features.
• The best Privacy Policy goes to…though they both excel in this department, Facebook has simplified its privacy settings, making them easier to control.

Overall, Google + is the winner, though it was a close one!

Language Connect, a Times Fast Track 100 company, provide efficient translation services in over 150 languages. With a global presence and renowned reputation, Language Connect are well poised to meet your immediate translation requirements. 

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Hyper Terminal - A Terminal Emulator - Advanced Features

Users of out dated technology have always found terminal emulators as their only rescue option. Had terminal emulators not existed, all these users would be stranded with no choice but to leave all the data and records behind and migrate on to the newer technology set. Such a migration would definitely bring disastrous results for everyone. As most of the legacy programs (legacy programs are those which are meant for optimal functioning on outdated technology) would be incompatible with the new technology platform, all of the user data, customer records and other indispensible data would be lost. But thankfully, there are terminal emulators in existence. In this article we will discuss in brief, Hyper terminal, a terminal emulator from Microsoft. Hyper terminal has won many industry standard awards for its outstanding reliability and features. Let’s take a look at some of them:

Purpose of Hyper Terminal:

It is a terminal emulator that is used for facilitating communication with older computers. Older generation computer systems, especially those of the likes of character based computer systems are biased from the current technological standards. From today’s advanced computing point of view they are completely incomputable with any existing program. It does means that they cannot be used according to today’s standards but they are still indispensible as a lot of information produced in 80s and 90s is stored on these computer systems. Hyper terminal is one such terminal emulator that allows the user to communicate with them. Telnet sites and BBSs (an acronym for Bulletin Board Systems) have faded away but with the help of hyper terminal a user can still connect to them and retrieve information.

Advanced Features:

Even though the primary function of hyper terminal is to facilitate communication, still it encompasses a many other capabilities. For example it can be used to exchange large files from older computers, much like today’s peer to peer system functioning but since older generation computer do not support peer to peer protocol, hyper terminal can be used to achieve the same effect. Another versatile feature that it supports is the capability to transfer data without the establishing a network. While most of the modern computers would not transfer data on another computer system unless they are connected by a network, with the help of telnet data communication can be achieved without a network by using serial ports.

Data Logging:

Hyper terminal has the capability to record the incoming as well as outgoing data to and from the computer system respectively. While most of the terminal emulators of its class allow for the logging of incoming data only, hyper terminal goes a step ahead and records the outgoing parameters too. This recording feature may not strike out to be very useful to general users but it is an indispensible feature for a technician as with the help of data logging it becomes very easy to troubleshoot the computer system and find out the source of the problem. The emulating window of hyper terminal is scrollable, a feature absent in most of the terminal emulators. This scrollable window allows easy access to older messages and data.

Daniel D is an expert of older generation computer systems. He has written many articles on terminal emulators and has even provided his valuable suggestions for the development of hyper terminal.

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When Did The Modern Era Of Technology Begin? Motor Technology to Biotechnology

Advanced Technology
Source: QuotesEverlasting, cc-by-3.0, flickr

Technology has completely revolutionised the way we live our lives, changing everything from how we gather news to how we know when the cookies are ready to come out the oven. Nothing has been left untouched by this powerful and omnipresent influence.

But when exactly did the era of modern technology begin? Let’s take a quick look at some forms of modern technology and the history behind them, so that we can determine when everything began to change.

Motor Technology

Travelling is a necessity in life, and has been made so much easier with the creation of the motor engine. The days of horse-drawn carriages are a thing of the past, even though it’s a rather charming image.

We can thank a shamefully unknown Swiss called François Isaac de Rivaz for bringing forth the era of the motor engine. His invention in 1806, the hydrogen powered engine, was the world’s first internal combustion engine, which of course features in most vehicles today. Without this early stroke of genius, the ICE may not have been invented for years to come, if not at all.

Instant Communication

How amazing is it that we are able to instantly and rapidly communicate with someone on the other side of the planet? It truly boggles the mind, but fortunately its simple beginning is much easier to get your head around.

The advanced electrical signals which makes instant communication possible is considered to be a development of Alexander Graham Bell’s first transcontinental telephone call in 1915, using the audion.  This one simple call led to much effort being put into setting up a transatlantic cable network (1956), and then to the 1964 invention of fibre optics. Mighty oaks from little acorns grow...

Electronic Data Processing

A computer’s ability to process vast amounts of complicated data should be at the top of the list for reasons to love technology. No longer do we have to face such a monumental task, our face distorted with confusion whilst clawing for the paracetamol.

The first example of electronic data processing begins in Blighty in 1951, with the J. Lyons and Co. catering company developing a computer to process all their commercial data. Marked the Lyons Electronic Office, it became widespread throughout the 1960s and 70s, until software began to rear its wonderful head and took over the task.

Electronic Data Storage

Of course before you can process any amount of data, you have to have some way of storing it. Today, unimaginable amounts of data can be stored on a memory card the size of a pea. Minimalism at its absolute best. Looking back on the older, much larger forms of electronic data storage though, it’s easy to see why we wanted to go smaller.  

As computers began to emerge during the 1940s, so did the first form of computerised data storage. Called the Selectron tube, this 1946 invention could store very little indeed, and so they were quickly scrapped. But seeing as we were using hole-punched cards to store data before the Selectron tube, it should definitely be considered what sparked the progress within this form of modern technology.

Biotechnology

Without the development of medicinal drugs, food production or even genetic engineering, through the use of biotechnology, it’s safe to say that humans would be in the history books alongside the Dodo.

Biotechnology began in 1919 with a Hungarian called Károly Ereky, who developed slaughterhouse technology to convert raw materials. Albeit distasteful, this radically improved the production of food.

Similarly, during the 1970s, the notion of “food from oil” (growing single-cell proteins on oil to be used as food) was birthed to tackle food shortages. The biotechnology involved then led to the field of genetic engineering, which blew the roof off of how we now develop proteins and therapeutic drugs.

Looking to the past like we have, it would appear modern technology can find its roots within the first half of the 20th century. Although the history of communication technology can be traced as far back as the 1840s, it is the 20th century which witnessed the biggest surge in technological advancements.

Overall it is safe to say, it is during this century that the era of modern technology dawned, and we can only hope that we continue to prosper from it for many years to come.

Are you wise to the history of modern technology, and can you think of anything else to add? Share your comments below.  

Ben Kettlety is  a writer and gadget-lover who is enthralled by the history of modern technology, and can’t wait to see how it will develop in the future.

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The Future Is Bright For Data Storage Technology | SSDs and HDDs

Hard Disk
Source: cc-by-3.0, sxc.hu

Which came first, the chicken or the egg? People with a philosophical bent have debated this question and others like it (one hand clapping, anyone?) for ages, so they might as well consider this: does business’s growing need for big data drive data storage capacity, or does increasing data storage capacity drive the need for more data?

We’re not going to try and answer that question here (and the only thing we’ll say about eggs is that they’re nice scrambled on toast), but we are going to look at where the future of data storage is headed and what that means for business data (especially big data).

The future is shiny and bright

It’s been quite a big year for data storage with many exciting developments and announcements. For example, Seagate and TDK announced that they are working on a 20TB hard drive that they’re hoping will be ready for public consumption by 2016. Helium drives are starting to make waves, and there are new technologies that help businesses make the most of the space they have, so that they don’t have to fork out for excessive storage capacity.

Now, as we look to 2014, we’re seeing all sorts of IT experts come up with predictions for what the year will bring and if they’re to be believed, it looks like 2014 will be an even bigger year for data than 2013. Let’s look at three of the most anticipated trends.

1)     The battle between SSDs and HDDs will be even out, and the two technologies will even be used to complement one another.

According to InfoStor’s Paul Ruben, solid state drives (SSDs) will continue to gain market share as prices continue to fall. He says that it’s unlikely that SSDs will become as affordable as HDDs in the next 12 months, but he believes that prices will fall enough to put them within reach of many small businesses (and private individuals) who could previously only dream of their high performance and reliability. More than that, however, Rubens sees business enterprises using SSDs and HDDs together in a way that makes data storage super-efficient. He says that instead of just short stroking several HDDs to get the perfect IOPS (Input/Output Operations per Second), businesses can add an SSD or two into the mix to get even better performance and free up even more space for less expense.

Philip Hunter also believes that SSDs and HDDs will be used in combination to optimise storage capacity, minimise costs, increase performance and improve energy efficiency. This is because businesses and data centres don’t really have much choice but to start getting creative with the way in which they blend data storage systems. Big data has grown (and will continue to grow) so rapidly that existing storage hierarchies have to be optimised because new technologies haven’t yet been developed. The new technologies that are being developed are taking their cue from the well-improvised hybrids and are looking at ways to more smoothly merge SSDs and HDDs to produce even better performance.

2)     Data centres will use increasingly sophisticated systems based on old and new technology.

Rubens is quite excited about helium-filled drives and their potential to, if not revolutionise, at least revamp data centres, thanks to their low energy demands and high storage capacity. They will come in particularly handy for businesses that have or would like to have their own data centres, as opposed to the major centres run by the likes of Google and Amazon. Rubens is careful to add that the technology is still so new that it has yet to prove itself in production environments, but it definitely shows great potential.

According to Hunter, data centres will combine three grades of storage so that they can increase their storage capacity and provide more comprehensive services at more affordable rates. Hunter says that advantages of flash/SSD, HDD and tape-based storage technology can be used to create a perfect (or near perfect) balance of reliability, efficiency, speed, accessibility, security and capacity.

Hunter also talks about the emerging “Software-Defined Data Centre” (SDDC), but that’s a topic for another day.

3)     The cloud will become even more important from a data storage point of view.

There is a proliferation of cloud storage providers, and while they might not all have Amazon’s reputation for reliability and stability, many offer very good services at very affordable rates. The range of services is also increasing and business enterprises are able to enjoy greater scalability, so that they get the kind of data storage and protection that they really need. According to Rubens, not only will more businesses migrate to the cloud, but they will also start using cloud storage for more than backups and archives; they will start storing all of their primary data in the cloud.

Twenty terabyte hard drives notwithstanding, it looks like the data storage industry is in for some exciting times and that can only bode well for businesses with big (and small) data needs, not to mention hoarders who can’t stop collecting TV series, music and movies. 

Jemima Winslow is a part-time freelancer, so she doesn’t have big data that has to be stored, but she does have an addiction to Joss Whedon and cheesy horror movies, and all of that TV time has to go somewhere. That’s why she’s quite interested in what’s on the horizon as far as data storage goes. 

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The Future Of Flash Storage | Flash Storage Versus Hard Drive

Traditional memory options are being replaced in the industry by flash storage. This replacement was sparked by the demand for cost effective storage solutions. Cloud storage emerged to address this situation. Since cost-effective storage on large capacity HDDs is the goal, every company is looking to flash storage as the answer. To find out more about the flash storage versus hard drive debate, here's what you need to know.

Flash Storage
Source: cc-by-2.0, smartphotostock

The HDD Versus Flash Storage Debate

Flash storage, depending on the solution, can deliver performance that's up to seven times greater than other solutions. Every application will achieve a significant increase in performance when flash is used. Businesses must remain competitive and having the best performing storage will help them retrieve documents in record time, and flash is the solution that will help them realize their goal.

Major companies have incorporated the use of flash storage in response to the HDD versus flash storage debate. They simply do not want to be left behind and want their company to exceed the competition. Flash memory startups have emerged to address the needs of companies managing big data and other complex data structures.

How the Transition to Flash Storage Will Affect Companies

Transitioning to flash storage will affect companies. One of the biggest concerns is that it will cause a rapid increase in interest in PCIe-based storage options. Future SATA storage is also expected to be transferring to PCIe-based storage options.

Companies are also transferring from traditional DRAM storage to non-volatile flash memory. Flash-based DIMMS are emerging on the scene to help companies make decisions in the industry. As more improvements are made with flash storage, performance will increase, but this will take some time.

New flash technology will be introduced at conferences in 2014. Progressive companies can go and determine how the new changes will affect their companies progression. Pundits think that the growing pains will only be associated with the integration and re-training. Afterwards, companies are expected to be more efficient and responsive. With increasing interest in flash storage, designers are searching for ways to boost efficiency and responsiveness.

Hybrid Solutions for Flash Storage

HDD companies are joining forces with older storage suppliers to provide a more economical and better performing unit. Flash memory has combined with HDD to bring companies a higher profit margin than they were accustomed in the past. These units are said to have a higher return on capital investment. Most hybrid flash storage units will increase the performance by 10 times more. SSD is quickly becoming the go-to solution for many enterprises.

The Future of Flash Storage Units

New technology will help companies achieve up to 10 terabytes in the future. This should occur within the next 10 years. These 3.5-inch HDD storage capacities are impressive. Heat assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) HDDs will help companies propel forward. When these solutions exceed 20 terabytes, companies will not suffer from data storage performance issues. Every company should make an effort to work towards adopting the technology of the future.

Plan for the Future and Find a Flash Storage Solution for Your Company

If your company needs to improve, flash storage is a consideration. Most companies do not consider how their storage is making a difference in their productivity, but slow storage retrieval and poor organization can significantly affect the efficiency and productivity of a company.

There are so many ways that flash can improve the way companies do business. When the capacity reaches 20 terabytes, companies will be more efficient and competitive in the industry. Keep abreast of the flash storage versus hard drive debate to learn what your company needs to do to handle data and tasks faster than their competitors. The task seems simple, but it can be quite daunting if the proper technology is not chosen for the company.

Jared Jaureguy is a technologoy consultant for large enterprises.  You can read more of his thoughts on his personal blog, Technology Hall.

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10 Most Successful Israel Based Hi Tech Start Up Companies

Israel has not earned the moniker of Startup Nation for nothing. If you speak to Israelis, they will tell you that technology is the top export of the nation and they will not be wrong. With 4,800 startups in Israel it has become the hottest country for hi-tech startups and created a sort of excitement that has not been seen since the dotcom bubble burst very painfully in 2000.

Before you start leafing through all the 4,800 hi-tech startups in Israel, here is a list of the 10 most successful ones.

1. Waze

There was a rumor not very long ago that Apple was going to buy this company. However, it did not happen. Waze is perhaps the hottest hi-tech startup in Israel. It is doing very well and its co-founder, Uri Levine, has turned into an angel investor and helping other startups across Israel. Waze is a map and navigation app that is used across the globe by 30 million drivers. By using this app, drivers report the traffic problems that they are facing, allowing other drivers with the app to get real-time information related to traffic.

2. Wix

Although a 5-year old company, Wix is creating waves in the world of hi-tech startups. It offers low cost websites, sometimes even free websites, to people who are technically challenged. It allows people to create beautiful and attractive websites without having any technical knowledge. Today, this startup hosts 30 million sites.

3. BillGuard

There are some companies that can put charges onto your credit card without your knowledge or approval. This is where BillGuard comes in. It monitors your transactions and if anything is fishy, it will help you get a refund, which is free for up to three credit cards. There is a nominal annual charge of $80 to protect up to 10 cards.

4. Soluto

This hi-tech startup offers remote control software that makes it easy for people to assist their parents, children and family members with tech-related problems. The software can help train non-technical users on how to use just about everything – Windows, Internet and file sharing sites like Dropbox.

5. Commerce Sciences

This startup studies the purchase habits of people and then helps personalize their visit to ecommerce sites. Commerce Science offers its users coupons, ability to Tweet and also check out their Facebook friends’ recommendations.

6. Conduit

This hi-tech startup has become the first billion dollar Internet company in Israel after it was evaluated for $1.3 billion in 2012. The company offers over 260,000 publishers, such as Groupon, Time Warner Cable, Fox News and Travelocity, web toolbars and a marketplace for their web apps.

7. GetTaxi

This is the most popular app to hail a taxi in Tel Aviv. It has been launched in London, where it is performing well, and has also been launched in New York, where it is expected to perform equally well. The app allows you to pay for your taxi using your smartphone.

8. PrimeSense

Do you know Microsoft Kinect? Then you definitely know PrimeSense. The 3D gesture sensing technology used in Kinect has been invented by PrimeSense. Microsoft along with many other companies are licensing this technology from PrimeSense which is being used in 20 million devices across the world.

9. Bizzabo

If you are organizing a conference, you can hire the services of Bizzabo to create a database of the attendees. This will allow you to connect with them on different social media platforms. Basically, you can change your conference contacts into social media connections using Bizzabo.

10. MyHeritage.com

This is a very popular genealogy website not just in Israel, but across the world. The website has 72 million members and hosts 27 million family trees and 70 million photographs. This tech startup has done so well that it has gone ahead and acquired other smaller genealogy websites. It has received funding from a famous Israeli angel investor, Yuval Rakavy.

These are the top 10 hi-tech startups from Israel. If you are looking to start your own technology company, Israel would be the perfect place. You will be able to find investors willing to invest in your dream project.

Moshe Kahn is the lead attorney of Moshe Kahn Advocates in Tel Aviv, Israel

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How Windows 8.1 Update Increases The Visiblity Of Cloud Computing

Windows recently released the latest version of its software in October and it is now available in its finalized form as Windows 8.1. The new operating system has had positive reviews and many people are now running it on their machines. A key feature of the new OS is its heavy integration of the cloud into the system. The popularity of Windows and this new update is likely to put cloud computing even more on the map than it has been in recent years. As an integral part of the new Windows, cloud computing is expected to see a dramatic increase in its visibility as people adopt the new technology though this major update.

Cloud established with Sky Drive

Even previous versions of Windows have already established the cloud as a part of the system with the popular program Sky Drive. This program is a cloud storage service such as Mac’s iCloud or Dropbox. With the new version of Windows, however, Sky Drive is much more integrated into the system and is an important part of the Windows experience. Anytime you save a document using Microsoft Office you will be encouraged to do using your Sky Drive ‘Documents’ folder rather than a folder on your C drive. Using Sky Drive to save important documents will make it quicker and easier to access those files from anywhere at any time. You can use cloud storage as a kind of backup that will be treated like any other folder on your computer. With Sky Drive storage you will never lose your files and other Windows apps automatically save files to the cloud such as photos taken with the camera app to ensure you can always access it later.

Cloud is no longer just an alternative

Now with the updates to Windows 8.1, the cloud is no longer just an alternative option that technology buffs can choose it is becoming streamlined into a major operating system. Sky Drive is now part of the usual quick links on your computer and can even become the default option for saving files. With the cloud playing such an important role in this new system, Windows has even increased the amount of storage available for free on its new devices. Earlier versions of the Surface Pro included 7GB worth of free storage to anyone who bought one to supplement the small amount of built-in storage on the device. It gave users the ability to store larger files that would be impossible without the extra cloud storage. The newest version of the Surface now includes 200GB of free storage along with the purchase of the device. This huge amount of free storage is a sign that cloud computing is becoming a much more integral part of modern computing.

Expect more cloud

Anyone that purchases a new Microsoft device or operating system for their computer will now be using the cloud and familiarizing themselves with the benefits of this new technology. As Windows further embraces the cloud it seems that it will continue to evolve because other companies like Apple and Google are likely to respond with even more cloud integration into their systems as well. People will begin to see cloud storage as an important part of their computing system.

Leo Hart has become a virtualization expert thanks to his years of experience, his current focus is VPS hosting for Custom Cloud. 

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