Data storage for the truly paranoid...

[blackwave]

Originally posted by astcell
I wonder about the 1GB drives through, if they can handle many read/writes, and thus be used as a main PC drive.

Could be a fun little project...

[astcell]

Oh it can handle being th drive, I wonder if it can handle being the RAM, the flash card that is. The cards have a r/w capability of about 100,000 r/w, whixh is great for digital cameras but for computer memory, it'll last a few days.

Yea, great to test and find out but not on MY dollar!

[blackwave]

Originally posted by astcell
I wonder if it can handle being the RAM, the flash card that is.

Sounds like over complicating and paying more for than something would be worth.

[astcell]

Speaking of paying more, why is 128MB SDRAM going for $11 but a 128mb flash card is $99?

[blackwave]

At yesterday's meeting Freaky whipped out his usb token and mentioned that it is the kind that has that middleware 'security'... unfortunately he said this security feature doesn't work on anything other than windows.. ;)
I will get mine soon... it would be too funny if I used a windows box to 'protect' the data, and then if I mounted it on an *nix/BSD box would it just show me the data?... oh well we shall see. <laughing hysterically>

[astcell]

Well if anything needs security it's Windows! The fact that it only works on windows just compounds the error. It's like having a padlock that will not work on a vault, it will only work on a shoebox.

[blackwave]

Originally posted by astcell
Well if anything needs security it's Windows! The fact that it only works on windows just compounds the error. It's like having a padlock that will not work on a vault, it will only work on a shoebox.

haha, nice analogy... I will check to see if this is the case when it comes in. :)

[zero]

Originally posted by blackwave
I will get mine soon... it would be too funny if I used a windows box to 'protect' the data, and then if I mounted it on an *nix/BSD box would it just show me the data?... oh well we shall see. <laughing hysterically>

Unlikely....I'd suspect, since it's the easiest to do, that they've created a crypto driver for windows but not other platforms.

[blackwave]

Originally posted by zero
Unlikely....I'd suspect, since it's the easiest to do, that they've created a crypto driver for windows but not other platforms.

I am still waiting to get mine. It would be lame if all required was not to use their new driver and still be able to access the data. But however lame it may be, it certainly wouldn't be surprise in the least.

[astcell]

Speaking of data storage for the paranoid (are we?) can I use two IBM 1GB Microdrives in PC Card slots and have a RAID on them?

[mfreeck]

Originally posted by astcell
Speaking of data storage for the paranoid (are we?) can I use two IBM 1GB Microdrives in PC Card slots and have a RAID on them?

I've heard from various sources that microdrives die in about a year, and also have a long "warm up" time before they recognize correctly.

[astcell]

They have a 1 year warranty...figures. I wonder if they die more when used in a computer vs. a digital camera? I guess that means I'll stick with CF cards.

[mfreeck]

Originally posted by astcell
They have a 1 year warranty...figures. I wonder if they die more when used in a computer vs. a digital camera? I guess that means I'll stick with CF cards.

I heard a long rant from someone (a journalist I think) who hated microdrives... I am not even sure they made it through warranty. I have also heard from someone who used it in a mobile computer who said it was 1yr. CF cards also last ~1yr in a computer if you are silly enough not to do something about the tmp files.

[astcell]

I believe that if a microdrive gets corrupted you lose one file, but if you drip it you can lose all your data, and a CF card can survive a drop while a corrupt sector can lose all the data on the card.

I thought about the possibility of using the CF card for RAM, but apparently the CF can only be written and read about a million times, which is fine for digital photography but not for RAM.

[mfreeck]

Originally posted by astcell
I believe that if a microdrive gets corrupted you lose one file, but if you drip it you can lose all your data, and a CF card can survive a drop while a corrupt sector can lose all the data on the card.

I hadn't heard about possible corruption. I believe though that when the CF dies (stop being able to write), you still have all the data there, unlike a HD. That's how it worked for my PMP300 anyways.

I thought about the possibility of using the CF card for RAM, but apparently the CF can only be written and read about a million times

Heh, yeah, I wouldn't recommend that. :) CF with a ramdisk on the other hand would be happy. So far 1G CF is down to ~$450, but that is still alot for one measly gig.