hdd camcorders :ph34r:

First microdrives, then flash.  It’s happening just as I have planned.

Muhuhahahahaha… :twisted:

You only think you’re winning, Flash!

Flash will be in many devices, just not the main form of storage…the MD is not flash.

Erik

[quote author=“tifosiv122”]Flash will be in many devices, just not the main form of storage…the MD is not flash.

Erik

You guys kill me.  If you look at all of my posts on flash, I do not suppose that flash will be the primary storage medium.  I only envision a time where we can run a fully functional laptop (like the TR) without a mechanical drive.  This would save weight, heat, power, and should make the system more efficient overall with little or no performance drop off.  If all it does is make the laptop lighter and make the battery last all day, then I’m happy.

I expected MicroDrives to come first.  It is the logical progression of things getting smaller, lighter, and consuming less energy.  Keep in mind that MicroDrives use a flash based interface (CF).

[quote author=“TruthSeeker”][quote author=“tifosiv122”]Flash will be in many devices, just not the main form of storage…the MD is not flash.

Erik

You guys kill me.  If you look at all of my posts on flash, I do not suppose that flash will be the primary storage medium.  I only envision a time where we can run a fully functional laptop (like the TR) without a mechanical drive.  This would save weight, heat, power, and should make the system more efficient overall with little or no performance drop off.  If all it does is make the laptop lighter and make the battery last all day, then I’m happy.

I expected MicroDrives to come first.  It is the logical progression of things getting smaller, lighter, and consuming less energy.  Keep in mind that MicroDrives use a flash based interface (CF).

We know, but it’s more fun to banter.

No, they don’t. CF is just a form factor and connector spec. There are lots of non-flash CF devices like WiFI cards, BT cards, VGA out cards, etc. Microdrives are just really small ATA hard drives. The “flash” in the name CompactFlash is just that, a name.

The interesting thing is that you seem to be 180 degrees wrong at this point. Tiny hard drives are getting more common in things like MP3 players and there’s a lot of talk now about putting them in cell phones.

[quote author=“Drachen”]

The interesting thing is that you seem to be 180 degrees wrong at this point. Tiny hard drives are getting more common in things like MP3 players and there’s a lot of talk now about putting them in cell phones.

Although I appreciate your direct candor, only time will tell.  Personally, I think hard drives in a cell phone is a bad idea.  Battery times will suffer, and phones will run hotter.  I accept that micro drives will be a temporary fix for these gadgets (MP3 players and camcorders) until flash gets a little faster, higher capacity, and less expensive.  I would not expect flash to be implemented now, given the current specs and pricing for such a technology.  However, it will happen.  MicroDrives are just the stepping stone.

I think one of the reasons we constantly like to “banter” about it is because some of us who have been following this stuff for a long time see more of the economic/technical reality of it all.

Previous notions of Hard Disk vs. Flash Memory technology don’t always hold true anymore and can be challenged.

For instance, there’s a notion that Flash memory uses a lot less power than a Hard disk. This is no longer completely true. New technologies are allowing hard disks to run more efficiently and consume less power even as capacities are increased. On the other hand, as Flash memory size increases, more transistors are required which requires more power. I’m not saying more than hard disk technology but it’s increasing and not necessarily going down. In a lot of devices, the hard disks can spin down completely when not in use and draw almost no power.

Also, hard disks are shrinking (and continuing to do so) while capacities are rising faster than flash for similar sized units. This trend continues to erode Flash’s advantages for the forseeable future.

I think that mechanical based mass storage will eventually fade but I don’t think transistor based “flash” memory will be the thing that takes over.

I find this hard to believe about flash using similar power and heat compared to hard drives.  However, I respect your input here.  Are you speaking theoretically or do you have real specs to back it up?

I found this article interesting:
 
Its long and like a year old but was very helpful to me.  Especially towards the end of the article when they postulate the potential future of this technology.