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5. APPLE 27” THUNDER BOLT DISPLAY
Think fast, really fast. No, really fast. Like blink of an eye fast. This is what professionals can look forward to with Promise Technology’s new Pegasus RAID hard drive with built-in Intel’s Thunderbolt. Currently compatible only with Apple computers sporting Thunderbolt I/O structuring, these drives are prepared and designed to do nothing but kick ass and take names. Available in 4 and 6 bay configurations, each with the option of packing individual 1 or 2 TB hard drives in the bays, the drives can be customized to support up to 12 TB of storage, while delivering blazing fast data transfer speeds of up to 10 GB per second. That’s twice the speed of USB 3.0’s benchmarks, and over ten times faster than FireWire 800! The best features about these drives is that they can be used for video pass through while editing (saving you valuable hard drive space), or alternatively, you can daisy chain up to six Pegasus units together for up to 72 TB of storage. That should cover you for a while, no? Prices start at $999.00 www.promise.com
$999.00 www.apple.com
6. SANDISK ULTRA SSD
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4. PEGASUS RAID HARD DRIVE
The big “A” has set another industry standard by integrating Intel’s Thunderbolt I/O technology and a FaceTime HD camera directly into their new display. For those of you who have been living under a rock, “Thunderbolt” is Intel’s stab at a faster data transfer protocol (e.g. USB, FireWire) and connectivity hub to propel them forward through the launch of USB 3.0. Apple claims that data transfers are up to 20 times faster than USB 2.0 and 12 times faster than their own FireWire 800. Pretty impressive, huh? In addition, the Thunderbolt Display allows multiple devices (e.g. hard drives, video capture devices, or other displays) to be connected using just one cord. This is the wireless age, after all, and the convenience factor of this alone makes this an appealing product to any creative professional. The respectable and workable screen size of 27” gets you a 2560x1440 resolution. The FaceTime HD camera and built-in microphone promise more awkward moments with far-away family members. Additional features include the MagSafe power adapter, audio jacks, FireWire 800, and Ethernet ports. But still no sign of a matte version, so photographers and graphic artists can keep pining for the one feature that they’ve missed since Apple discontinued their older Cinema Displays.
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If you’re anything like me, you’re usually strapped for cash yet still pining for an upgrade to your workstation. While the fantasy of purchasing an entirely new desktop or that oh-so shiny and teeny tiny 11” MacBook Air can be appealing, sometimes, a minor tweak to your setup can make a world of difference. SanDisk recently released their newest line of Solid State Drives (SSD), the Ultra SSD, designed to increase your machine’s storage while not breaking the bank in the process. With capacities ranging from 60 GB up to 240 GB, the Ultra SSD’s will give you a little bit more wiggle room for storing your data, while providing you the benefit of a SSD with no moving internal components. Load times and transfer rates on these SSD’s are promised by SanDisk to be roughly around 280 MB per second, which isn’t anything to scoff at. Random testing by a third party suggests that these little guys could have more punch than this initial benchmarks might suggest, clocking one of the drives at a pretty impressive 3 GB per second. $130.00 to $450.00 www.sandisk.com
TECH: GEAR AND GADGETS 2.0-”Size Matters So Buck Up Big Guy” Page 55