8gb MD

A local retailer has an 8gb MD for $119US. Pretty good IMO. I don't know if it's locked or not.

Anyway, this isn't an info post, it's me speaking out loud about how large and cheap flash and MDs will get in the *very* near future. It's inevitable.

It's tempting/exciting to think about having 20-30gb in a hpc. It's also insane to think I could carry *all* my data with me wherever I go. Some folks I've tried to convert to hpcs complained there wasn't enough storage for them. That was when 2gb cards were $400. Fair enough. With 20-30gb available that barrier will be gone. The hpc community might see many more converts. You never know.

With such enormous storage available it will change the way I backup and generally the way I compute. Mass storage and disc burning are the only obstacles to me ditching my desktop. I don't know if disc burning will ever become a reality for a hpc/ppc but the mass storage eventually will.

Does anyone have any tech details to add? I know Samsung has a 32gb flash card. It's just a matter of waiting for the price to drop.

What's the largest pcmcia hdd available now? IIRC it's around 30gb. They will get cheaper with time.

IMO hpcs will be *far* more attractive to everyone when they have tons of storage

Woh, I did not know that those cards are at 32 GB!

It'll be three years at most. Once the new vertical recording HD technology hits the market, you'll be seeing desktop computers with 3TB hard drives, 300Gb Ipods, and 30GB Microdrives. I don't know if flash memory has progressed as much, but yeah I've seen the reports of 32GB flash cards too.

Does make one wonder what the maximum drive capacity that WinCE FAT32 can handle. I seem to remember 32GB for some reason, but not sure.

btrimmer, 32 GB per partition.

wally, i always have all my data with me. the PC is always running and is connected to the internet. i have gprs internet everywhere and can do remote desktop... and yes i do use it fairly often to get some data, etc...

Edited by cmonex 2006-05-05 1:23 PM

Cmonex, I travel to areas with no cell coverage so gprs is no use in those circumstances.

I personally find the mass storage issue to be the most important development going on right now. Our hpcs have enough ram and cpu speed for what we do, pretty much, right?

Add 30+ gb to the mix and every movie or song or datafile that is important to you can come along. Wow! It's like carrying your desktop in your pocket. Pretty amazing stuff.

edit: I watched Johnny Nmenonic a day or two ago so maybe that re-sparked my storage interests

Edited by wallythacker 2006-05-05 10:57 PM