Making the switch: HDD to SSD

Solid state drives aren't new technology by any means, flash drives have been around for years but they are still not main stream.  The first SSDs burst onto the scene when Apple introduced the MacBook Air with the option of a SSD.  However today, I am using a 250 GB, 5400 RPM Fujitsu hard disk drive longing to use a SSD.  Why is this?  First:  speed.  With no moving parts the solid state drives are much faster than standard HDDs.  The RAM can access the information on the drive much more quickly making for faster boot times and starting up applications. Second:  they run cooler.  SSDs with no moving parts also run much cooler prolonging the life of your notebook.  Finally:  battery life.  With no moving parts SSDs can prolong the life of your battery.  So with all the pros for switching, why not?  COST.  These drives are expensive.  The cheapest SSD you can buy that has comparable memory to a 250 GB HDD is over $500!  Hopefully this high price tag will come down soon so SSDs can make their way into the pages of computer history and I can start using one!

Macs for fall 2008

Apple released its newest line of notebooks this fall with a beautiful uni-body enclosure.  The notebooks look beautiful but do they perform as well as they look?  At a cursory once-over in the Apple Store the notebooks look and feel amazing.  It isn't until you get one home and start using it that their few flaws pop out.  

The keyboard is very small and seemingly difficult to type on when switching from a ThinkPad T61.  The glass touchpad/mouse is hard to get used to but I can see it being useful in the future.  Even as this is being written I find that the keyboard is beginning to feel natural.  Reports of flawed wireless abilities due to the all aluminum body are nowhere to be seen.  I haven't dropped a signal yet.

Now that I have pointed out the new Mac's flaws-on to the good stuff.  The LED display and the backlit keyboard on the MacBook is a great addition to this line-up.  The standard 250 GB HDD included with the 2.4 GHz notebook is great.  The 2GB DDR3 RAM is speedy.  

New software for Mac makes it easier than ever to switch to Mac.  VMware Fusion 2 is a great alternative to parallels or BootCamp.  Toast 9 is comparable to Nero 9 for burning DVD videos and creating other media.  Adobe's newest CS4 is an all around photo and web editing software that is very powerful.  

All-in-all the New Macs are great and with the speed upgrades I can't wait to see cats fly with Mac OS 10.6 ("Snow Leopard") in 2009.