Intel/Micron to Release a 10tb SSD?

Intel SSDBack in early 2015, Intel and Micron suggested that work they were doing could result in a 10tb 2.5 inch SSD. Now that Micron is apparently beginning to manufacture its new 3D flash chips, that 10tb SSD might not be too far off.

Want to make the switch to SSDs but feel they don’t offer enough storage space? Then you might want to hold off making any purchases for a while because Intel, in partnership with Micron, is reportedly getting ready to unveil SSDs with 10TB of storage capacity.

Right now the largest SSD that Intel offers has 4TB of storage.

The increase in capacity is made possible by Micron’s 3D NAND flash, which it is now able to produce in volume. Samsung and Toshiba already make use of 3D NAND flash technology in their SSDs, but neither have hit the 10TB mark.

If you can’t wait for that, Fixstars sells a 13TB SSD, though it will set you back around $13,000.

Microsoft Screwed Vista Customers to Placate Intel

Personally, I’ve been using Windows XP on the numeours computers I have to use, and I don’t plan on ever using another Microsoft OS. Ubuntu’s Good Enough(TM) without all the bullshit like this that Microsoft is constantly pulling,

A new court filing reveals disputes at Microsoft’s highest levels leading up to Windows Vista’s release — including CEO Steve Ballmer describing former Windows chief Jim Allchin as “apoplectic” over a move to lower the standards for the “Windows Vista Capable” logo.

. . .

Allchin, who has since retired from Microsoft, took the opposite view [over whether Microsoft should give the “Windows Vista Capable” logo to machines running the Intel 915 chipset]. The filing quotes from one of his e-mails:

I’m sorry to say that I think this plan is terrible and it will have to be changed.

I believe we are going to be misleading customers with the Capable program. OEMs (computer makers) will say a machine is Capable and customers will believe that it will run all the core Vista features. The fact that aero won’t be there EVER for many of these machines is misleading to customers. …

We need to meet on this. Please set this up ASAP. We need something simpler in my view. I know we don’t want to hurt the OEMS, but end-customers must be the top priority. We must avoid confusion. It is wrong for customers. And we probably will have to change your current plans.

Of course Allchin was overruled by Ballmer. What’s a little misleading of consumers between MS and Intel? Allchin resigned from Microsoft the same day Vista was officially released.

Comparing Apples to Intels

MacCentral is hyping a New York Times article which regurgitates what a lot of other people have noted: the Pentium IV sucks. In fact most benchmarks suggest that it is slower lower end Pentium IIIs, except with software that is specifically re-compiled for the Pentium IV. But is this time for gloating for Apple fans?

Dennis Sellers thinks so, writing,

He explains how that megahertz ratings are valuable only when making speed comparisons between chips in the same family: comparing a Pentium III with another Pentium III, for example. They’re meaningless when comparing different chips.

“That’s why, for example, a 500-megahertz Macintosh chip is much faster than a 500-megahertz Pentium III,” he says. “Getting excited about a chip just because it runs at 1.5 gigahertz is a little like pouncing on a house just because it’s $50,000; first you’d better find out whether it’s a Taj Mahal or a tool shed.”

Megahertz is definitely not the end-all, be-all of a computer system and the 500mhz Macintosh is certainly much faster than a 500mhz Pentium III. But that comparison isn’t very helpful either.

Here’s a much better comparison. I can buy a 900mhz Athlon system with nice 3d graphics card, 40 gig hard drive, 128mb memory, and 17-inch monitor, for about $1300. For anything I’m going to do, the Athlon system is going to be at least as fast and probably faster than a G4 500mhz system.

A G4 500 mhz system with similar components costs about $2,500 without a monitor. That’s simply an insanely high price given what people can buy in the Wintel-compatible market. Sure you’re stuck using Windows with all its attendant problems, but is the Mac’s usability really worth $1,200? For most people the answer is no.

Intel has made a number of missteps lately, but its mistakes will likely create further openings for AMD and other competitors rather than spur Apple’s growth until Steve Jobs and others find a way to bring Macintosh hardware costs in line with Wintel hardware costs.

Apple today is in much the same position as Dell. Dell has an exclusive arrangement with Intel whereby it only sells computers with Intel processors — as Intel has misfired, Dell’s sales and its stock price have both suffered. Aside from the fact that I have friends who work at Dell, I could care less. If I can’t get the machine I want from Dell I’ll just go buy from any number of manufacturers who sell Athlon-equipped machines. Apple, like Dell, would do well to reconsider its business model that ties its operating system to a single chip vendor prone to missteps.