Apple may make their product lines easy to understand, with simple and consistent names, but there sure are a lot of iPad 2 models. Which iPad is the best choice? I picked the 32 GB Wi-Fi model personally, but I can see cases where others might prefer a 3G or base model. Let's consider it. The iPad 2 Model Lineup There are no less than 18 different iPad 2 models: 16 … [Read more...] about Which iPad is the Best Choice?
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Are Hybrid Hard Drives A Good Alternative To An SSD?
Ask a Pack Rat A timely question from a comment on my cheap Momentus XT post and continued in my inbox: How well does [the Momentus XT] perform in a Mac laptop? What I've noticed is substantial slow-down on my older MB Pro when there's a lot of virtual memory usage (e.g. when running several apps plus Parallels.) For my next MBP (hopefully in the next 2-3 months), I'm … [Read more...] about Are Hybrid Hard Drives A Good Alternative To An SSD?
Which Hard Disk Drives Should You Use In A Drobo?
Ask a Pack Rat: Another great question, this time on Twitter: Just purchased an empty DroboFS, do you have a preferred HD to use with Drobo? TIA! Stephen's Stance I just love my Drobo, though I'm thinking of upgrading it to a Drobo S since it's getting pretty full! The ability to add and replace drives as you use it is very powerful, and I've taken full advantage of it! … [Read more...] about Which Hard Disk Drives Should You Use In A Drobo?
How Should An External Hard Drive Be Attached?
Ask a Pack Rat: Another great question in my mailbox: I bought a 3rd SATA drive, and have nowhere to put it in my PowerMac G5. I forgot there was only room for 2 inside! I do audio recording: Lots of Digital Performer, plus a bit of Pro Tools. I recently bought a new 1 TB Hitachi drive and don't know how to house it. Here are my choices: External FW400 … [Read more...] about How Should An External Hard Drive Be Attached?
Should Home Users Buy Enterprise Hard Disk Drives?
Ask a Pack Rat: Reader Dave Emery asked a question that I'm sure many others have wondered: Are "enterprise" drives worth the extra cost in a RAID enclosure? The reason I ask is I've had 2 of 4 Seagate 'consumer' (7200.12) drives fail in my (Other World Qx2) enclosure. The two drives that failed were maybe a year old, well short of any 'MBTF' expectation. Enterprise drives … [Read more...] about Should Home Users Buy Enterprise Hard Disk Drives?