You can reformat and overwrite that old hard drive as many times as you want before junking it—modern forensics software can still extract data from it. The Drive eRazer Ultra, however, can expunge your sensitive data to DoD specifications. More »

Android users who are looking to sell their old devices should be wary of the possible consequences. McAfee identity theft researcher Robert Siciliano warned that personal data from Android devices is not completely removed after a user activates the built-in wipe option, The Los Angeles Times reported on Friday. “What’s really scary is even if you follow protocol, the data is still there,” Siciliano said. If you have a BlackBerry or Apple device, Siciliano said your data can be fully deleted by following the manufacturer’s directions. As for smartphones running the Android operating system and computers running Windows XP, Siciliano recommends that people don’t bother with selling them at all. “Put it in the back of a closet, or put it in a vise and drill holes in the hard drive, or if you live in Texas take it out into a field and shoot it,” he said. “You don’t want to sell your identity for 50 bucks.” To test the security of various platforms, Siciliano purchased 30 smartphones and computers from Craigslist. The researcher was able to access personal data from 15 of the 30 devices through his own hacking efforts and the help of a forensic expert. The data obtained included bank account information, Social Security numbers, child support documents and credit card account log-ins.

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Seagate's latest hard drive has hit a milestone: it manages to squeeze in a data density of one terabit per square inch. It uses some extremely complex heat-assisted magnetic recording to do that, and in the process doubles the storage capacity of current hard disks. If that's not enough to get your head round, how about this: the hard disk contains more bits in a single square inch than the Milky Way has stars. [Segate] More »

Did you take umbrage with Barnes & Noble's efforts to hoard all your Nook Tablet storage for its own content? Well, the book seller has made good on its promise to reassign a portion of your 16GB hard drive, opening up 8GB for personal content and leaving 5.5GB for Nook Shop content. As we said before, you'll need to physically take your Nook Tablet to the bricks and mortar outlets to get the storage tweak. Readers that decided to go for other Android-laced tablets have also been gifted with a Nook app update, adding support for comics and related graphical literature -- just make sure that the slab is running Android 2.2 or higher.

PSA: Nook Tablet can be repartitioned in-store, Android app adds comic support originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Mar 2012 11:56:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Acer unveiled several new Ultrabooks at CeBIT last week (we spent time with the V5 and V3) but its M3 may be the most special one of all. NVIDIA mentions it will not only be the first with a discrete GPU -- beating Lenovo's T430u to the punch -- but that the included GeForce GT640M is based on the long-awaited 28nm Kepler architecture. That should give it enough power to run the latest games while still remaining true to the ultrabook tag with a 20mm thick frame and (promised) 8 hours of battery life thanks to Optimus technology. The 15-inch Aspire Timeline M3 Ultra also breaks the mold by squeezing in a DVD drive for games you can't get from Steam, along with options for either a hybrid hard drive / SSD or SSD-only storage setup. Neither company has included a pricetag in their joyful announcements, but these no-compromise packages are expected to begin shipping later this month.

Acer Aspire Timeline Ultra M3 brings an NVIDIA Kepler GPU to the ultrabook party originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Mar 2012 23:40:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ultrabooks will remain pricey through the end of this year, with ideal pricing of $600-$700 finally being reached in 2013 according to Digitimes. Due to the high production cost associated with the computers — especially solid state drives, which are 10 times more expensive than traditional hard drive — prices are expected to remain high in order to maintain profitability. As vendors work on reducing costs, ultrabooks have chance to reach $799 in the second quarter of 2012, a significant drop from the $999 price point of the first generation models but still well above the “sweet spot” the new notebook supposedly must hit in order to be more widely adopted.

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Google is preparing to launch a new cloud storage service that will compete directly with popular start up Dropbox and similar services. The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday evening reported that Google is almost ready to announce the new service, which will be called Google Drive. Similar to Dropbox, which creates a virtual drive containing files that are mirrored on a user’s local hard drive and on cloud servers, Google Drive will allow users to store photos, videos, documents and other files in the cloud, and it will be accessible from computers as well as Android tablets and smartphones. The service will launch in the coming weeks according to the report, and it will be free to most users, though the report does not elaborate on the amount of free storage Google will provide or which customers might be charged.

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The reason people are so pumped about solid-state hard drives right now is because they're super-speedy. But if you think your SSD is fast, just wait until a new breed of laser-based hard drives comes to market. More »

Seagate took some time out from its busy earnings reporting schedule to address supply concerns stemming from the recent devastating floods in Thailand. The storage manufacturer announced that hard drives supply will likely fall 150 million units short of demand by year's end. While Seagate's own factories weren't directly hit, suppliers for the company were impacted -- as were competitors, like Western Digital. The events have also had a more positive impact on Seagate, however -- as a result of the floods, a number of large buyers have entered into long-term agreements, according to the company.

Seagate expects flood-related hard drive shortages to continue originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:11:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Boxx is a bizarre little creation. Combining an electric scooter with a very modern design, Boxx looks like hard drive on wheels. But with the ability to travel 80 miles at speeds up to 35 MPH, this thing is no child's toy, either. More »

Sometimes common "street smarts" fail you. Like when you ask the guy who's selling you drugs if he's a cop. Or when you encrypt your hard drive and refuse to unlock it for prosecutors while citing the self-incriminating clause of the Fifth Amendment. More »

My new years resolution—stop putting up with the interminably slow boot times of my desktop's conventional hard drive. With these new solid state drives from Mushkin, I may actually keep my resolution past January. More »

Despite the launch of Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 operating system and the introduction of ultra-thin Intel-powered ultrabooks, Barclays Capital analyst Ben Reitzes thinks the PC industry will see little or no growth in 2012. Reitzes recently said that he expects PC unit growth to hover around just 0.8%, down from his original forecast of 5.1%. He argued that hard drive shortages “could impact some supply” during the first half of next year and that tablets and smartphones will “continue to cannibalize the PC market — especially as docking options become more robust.” Recent flooding in Thailand affected two major hard drive suppliers, Western Digital and Seagate, causing a hard drive shortage that impacted much of the industry. Reitzes also blames the poor economy for his lowered estimates, and he argued that corporations are less likely to refresh their PCs since unemployment is still high. The analyst’s figures aren’t that far off from other industry predictions. IDC recently said the flooding in Thailand could cause PC shipment growth to fall to between 2.2% and 3.4%, down from the firm’s original forecast of 5.1% growth over 2011.

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No, it's not a Zenbook, but for those of you not in the mood to spend $1,000-plus on your next laptop, it looks like ASUS will soon be selling something at a more... palatable price point. The U32U's been popping up on the interwebs lately, and it would seem the outfit's been cooking up a 13.3-incher powered by AMD's E-4 Fusion APU. Other specs include ATI's Radeon HD 6320 GPU, 2GB of RAM, a 320GB hard drive, three USB ports (two of the 3.0 variety) and an 8-cell, 5,600mAh battery promising up to 12 hours of runtime. Unlike the ASUS U24e, the U32U seems likely to make it to the U.S. given the poster, which lists the price in US dollars: $509 for the Windows 7 Home Basic model, and $449 for the DOS version. More details at the source link, though we suspect you'll want to bide your time until next week's Black Friday scramble anyway.

Continue reading ASUS U32U with Fusion innards surfaces online, likely coming to the US for $449 and up

ASUS U32U with Fusion innards surfaces online, likely coming to the US for $449 and up originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apple’s MacBook shipments are expected to remain strong during the fourth quarter of this year, DigiTimes reported on Tuesday. There has been a bit of speculation that the company’s shipments might be affected due to flooding in Thailand, which has impacted hard drive manufacturing, and a recent order for the company’s chassis supplier to freeze its production line. The chassis supplier, Catcher Technology, was reportedly ordered to stop production in October over concerns that the company was over-polluting. Apple’s computer manufacturer, Quanta Computer, shipped 5.3 million units last month and sources speaking to DigiTimes said the increase was largely related to orders for Apple’s MacBook Pro. The MacBook Air is reportedly faring just as well. According to new NPD figures that were revealed in a recent Morgan Stanley note, the MacBook Air was responsible for 28% of all Apple notebook shipments during the first half of this year.

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Prices for hard disk drives are increasing dramatically because of the tragic flooding in Thailand. Some of the world's major HDD manufacturers based there have been forced to close factories, creating supply problems and price hikes. So what should you do? More »

Seagate's latest addition to its GoFlex line of hard drives is dubbed the Cinema and, as you've probably guessed, it's designed to hook up to your home entertainment system. Inside is a set of spinning platters up to 3TB in size, and around back are HDMI, composite, and S/PDIF hookups. This isn't just some hard drive with a marketing gimmick though. The hardware itself is capable of pumping out 1080p video in a slew of different formats (including MKV and MP4 amongst others), and even comes packaged with a remote for perusing your media collection fro the comfort of your milk crate couch. The GoFlex Cinema is available now in Europe, starting at €99 ($136) for the 1TB version and climbing to €179 ($246) for the 3TB model. No word yet on US pricing or availability.

Seagate GoFlex Cinema puts up to 3TB of media files at your TV's disposal originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Oct 2011 02:22:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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