First SSD to Use SATA 6Gb/s Link Announced

Micron Technology released the new RealSSD C300 – the fastest SSD for notebook and desktop PCs to date and the first solid-state drive (SSD) to comply with the SATA Revision 3.0 (SATA 6Gb/s) specification. A 6Gb/s SATA link will help address the throughput bottleneck that today’s solid state drives face, making SSDs one of the major markets that benefit from SATA 6Gb/s. The move from SATA 2.0 to SATA 3.0 doubles the speed of link available to the SSDs. The Micron SSD will theoretically provide read speeds up to 355MB/sec and write speeds of up to 215 MB/sec.
So what makes these high speeds compelling?
New SSD options now available to consumers enable users to enjoy a better computing experience, from a faster OS boot times to quicker application loading, data transfer and file copying. There are many benefits to be gained by making the transition to SSDs. The video below provides a demonstration of advantages achieved when using Micron’s RealSSD C300 drive versus a hard disk drive (HDD).
Comparison of the Micron C300 SSD vs. HDD

The SSDs will be available in 1.8 inch and 2.5 inch form factors and in 128 GB and 256 GB sizes. Micron is sampling the C300 SSD in limited qualities and plans to enter production in Q1 of 2010.
Early in the development of the SATA Revision 3.0 specification, SATA-IO collaborated with test equipment companies to review testing parameters. Test platforms operating at the margin of SATA 3Gb/s will likely fail if they are not updated to meet SATA 6Gb/s requirements. SATA 6Gb/s compliance and certification will be needed to ensure interoperability in the SATA ecosystem.
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SATA Specification & Testing News

Google Chrome OS Detailed for Industry

Last week, Google held a small event at their headquarters and outlined the company’s direction for Chrome OS. Chrome OS is Google’s entry into the operating system market, joining names like Apple OS X, Microsoft Windows and many Linux variations – Ubuntu, Suse and Moblin – to name a select few distributions. Google is promoting Google Chrome OS as a cloud service, with most applications running from the internet rather than on the local system. Examples of this include the popular Google services Google Docs, Gmail, Google Reader and others. In doing so, Google has already attracted the ire of some commentators. Michael Gartenberg in a column for Engadget disagreed with the approach, expressing that not all computer users spend 90 percent of their day in a browser doing their work, e-mail and networking.
Yet, it does seem as though the cloud holds enough promise for a broad enough group of users that Chrome OS will gain some traction when it does launch, which is anticipated for next year. Chrome OS would provide users of netbooks a lightweight, free and easy to use operating system, though the question remains – How long will netbooks be viable? As the market encounters more powerful cell phones and greater connectivity, some pundits are placing bets on smart phones being the future, and not netbooks. It is important to point out that Google has already placed a bet on smart phones with the introduction and continued uptake of the Android smart phone operating system.
Google’s efforts with Chrome OS have interesting implications for those developing hardware. The growing variety of operating system choices result in the need for increased testing across a wide array of devices. With entries like Chrome OS and Moblin gaining market traction, firms producing everything from cameras to keyboards now must consider how their customers will interact with devices. For many years, Microsoft Windows and Apple offerings combined for near market saturation – resulting in a manageable test and interoperability scenario for producers of both software and hardware. Now the picture is becoming much less clear for which operating system a consumer might be bringing their new hardware home to.
If you want to review Google Chrome OS yourself, we recommend downloading it from gdgt.com, as their hosting is the fastest way to get Chrome OS.

New HDD Dock features USB 3.0 support

On November 19, Sharkoon introduced the USB 3.0 Quickport HDD dock, a docking station with an external USB 3.0 interface for SATA hard disk drives. A SATA hard drive inserted into the docking station can utilize the greater speed provided by USB 3.0 when connected to a SuperSpeed USB supported computer. HDD docks are utilized primarily by those in the IT industry, a useful tool for manipulating data on numerous hard drives without the burden of enclosing those drives in an enclosure or PC.
External hard drives are one of the areas that can benefit most from the increased speeds of SuperSpeed USB technology. The dock is compatible with 2.5 inch and 3.5 inch SATA HDDs. And compatible with both Windows and Mac OS X systems, the QuickPort dock connects to PCs via USB and uses a DC connection for power.
The company simultaneously launched a PCI expansion card, which allows users to upgrade their desktop PC with SuperSpeed USB technology, making it possible to utilize SuperSpeed USB peripherals. Sharkoon’s HDD dock has a retail price of around $75. The USB 3.0 host controller card contains an NEC µPD720200 chip and two SuperSpeed USB ports which can connect directly to the PCI-x1 slot on a PCs motherboard and is available for $60.
Industry firm In-Stat predicts that SuperSpeed USB technology will have a broad release by 2012, with around 70 percent of external hard drives, desktops and notebooks containing USB 3.0 ports. SuperSpeed USB compliance and certification will be critical to ensure interoperability in the USB ecosystem.