Performance:
If you are a professional photographer, it’s a pain when your DSLR camera has to freeze up for a few seconds to wait for the data to get copied over from the cache to the memory card. It’s annoying when you realize that you finally have a great camera but the cheap included memory card is a bottleneck. Although speeds aren’t necessarily an issue for casual consumers, those making their way into professional photography will find many situations when fast write speeds are necessary. Sports games and keynote presentations are great examples of when the burst mode demands fast write speeds. SanDisk’s Class 10 SDHC memory cards hopes to solve those problems.

These cards claim theoretical transfer rates of up to 30 MB/s. After running some benchmarks, I found that read speeds clocked in at around 26 MB/s and write speeds were around 22 MB/s. A powerful Windows 7 machine took about 14 seconds to copy 50 JPEG images totaling in at 110MB over to the SDHC card. Copying over a single 100MB video file took drastically less time than multiple files that take up the same amount of space. That’s probably due to a file system delay to create a header to a new file. Overall, you won’t need a benchmark tool to tell you that this card is faster. The first time I copied some files over, I saw a noticeable difference over my older SanDisk Extreme 4GB Class 6 card.

The Extreme Class 10 SDHC is also perfect for those with new DSLR cameras that sport HD video recording capabilities. The Nikon D5000 or the Canon Rebel T1i are perfect examples. According to SanDisk, the card’s transfer rates apparently surpasses the requirements needed for HD recordings. That makes this an excellent complement for those planning to record HD videos. On another side-note, if you’re into extreme weather photography, the card apparently can operate in temperatures low as 13 F and high as 185 F.

Recovery Software:
With a premium card, it’s important to include recovery tools. Although it shouldn’t happen, memory cards sometimes get corrupted. Although cameras are designed to avoid issues from abruptly being turned off while saving images, it still happens. SanDisk graciously includes a license to RescuePRO which has a $40 value. If your card were to become unreadable, just install this program. Insert the card and let the program do its work. There’s a good chance that the program will be able to do some magic to recover those images that your standard Windows or Macintosh file system browser can’t do.

Experience at CES:
Skatter Tech was put this to the test on our Canon Rebel XSi during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Snapping images rapidly of glimpses of new products on stage and of rapidly moving sideshow presentations wasn’t an issue with this card. The entire process was smooth, the Class 10 speeds were handy. However, once I threw an included 4GB SDHC Class 2 memory card, the difference was quite apparent. The camera constantly choked up after a few shots. While a Class 10 might not be necessary for everyone, if you have an entry-level DSLR, at least consider getting a Class 6 card.

Price:
SanDisk offers four Class 10 Extreme SDHC cards in 4GB, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB capacities. The MSRP for these are $70, $119, $195, and $388, respectively. SanDisk’s pricing is usually drastically higher than what it actually ends up retailing for. For example, the 32GB SDHC card with an MSRP of $388 is actually available for as low as $219 on Amazon.com. For Class 10 cards, the 16GB and 32GB models are available for the most gigabytes per dollar, but those are a bit too expensive for the average consumer to pick up. I would definitely recommend Class 6 SDHC cards to the mass market since they are much cheaper. If you’re a professional photographer, the convenience of not having to swap cards and the ability to record HD videos and snap photos rapidly makes this worth the price. Plus, if there’s ever a problem, SanDisk includes a Lifetime Warranty.

Buy: SanDisk Extreme 32GB SDHC
Links: SanDisk.com Extreme SDHC Card Lineup

What can adding more RAM do for you?
RAM acts as a fast memory cache for system processes. Having more memory allows more programs to run simultaneously without having to access the slower virtual memory on the hard drive. Because DDR2 memory for laptops and desktops has become so cheap, adding more gives you the biggest bang compared to other hardware upgrades. Given that both Windows Vista and Windows 7 are particularly memory hungry, 2 GB of RAM is the sweet spot for most users, however if you are multitasking with resource intensive applications (i.e. Photoshop, Video Editing), consider getting more. (Note 1/2/10: I should mention that a 32-bit system won’t be able to utilize 4GB of RAM to its entirety.) With as little as $25 of RAM making a noticeable increase in performance, it’s a great way to stretch the life of a computer. Of course, upgrading your hardware is second to basic computer maintenance. Neglecting to disk defrag, optimize your start-up processes, update your drivers, and keep your registry clean will have a substantial impact on computer performance which adding more RAM won’t solve. Since the latter are all free, it would be wise to do some much-needed maintenance before deciding if you really need to upgrade.

Choosing the right RAM

• Speed – the clock speed, referred to by either the standard name or module name
• Capacity – the total size of the memory modules on the DIMM
• Pin count – the number of pins and their configuration
• Voltage – the voltage required to achieve the rated clock speed
• Timing - the refresh rate of the clock cycles, which the CAS latency is dependent upon

Using the improper RAM can not only lead to boot issues, but also cause costly damage to other components. For example, Intel i7 users should be aware of the dangers of using out of spec RAM since factory overvolted RAM above 1.65V fries CPUs. The first step in buying any piece of technology is to do some research and RAM is no different. Start by checking the manufacturer’s website for the specifications of the memory used in your computer. If you’re building a computer, you’ll need to check the respective manufacturer sites for both your motherboard and processor. Most manufacturers will have a list of tested compatible RAM by manufacturer and model. Using models from this list will guarantee compatibility, but the specified modules are often difficult to obtain and are not always the most cost-effective solution. From my experience, RAM with the correct size and speed will likely be compatible as the other factors often fall into place. However, it’s better to not make that assumption unless you’ve exhausted other ways of confirming what’s compatible.

I’ll use a few year old Sony Vaio PCG-7L1L laptop as an example. After a quick search on Sony’s Vaio support site I dug up the original advertised specs listing a 512 MB stick of DDR2-533, with a corresponding module name of PC2-4200. I was hoping to find if any higher speed 667 MHz or 800 MHz memory was supported to no avail, suggesting that any faster memory used would be downclocked to 533 MHz regardless of the rated speed. If manuals and online resources don’t prove helpful, another easy way to find out what’s compatible is to just pull out a stick of RAM and look at it.

Sony’s online specs also list a maximum supported RAM of 2 GB. At this point, I checked to see if the latest BIOS version enables 2 GB DIMM support. It didn’t, but we know we can use up to two 1 GB sticks and given its age, anything more than this would be overkill regardless.

Using matched memory, two identical sticks of the same make and model (including speed and size), is ideal. There’s no doubt that 1.5 GB of unmatched RAM is faster than the current 512 MBs, but two matched sticks of 512 MBs may actually perform similarly. In a future article, we’ll test how much of a performance hit is taken by using unmatched memory. It should be even more significant if we use a machine that benefits from dual channel memory, as dual channel will be disabled when using unmatched memory. I’ve been told mixing speeds is worse than mixing sizes to avoid adverse performance issues, but I don’t have any data to support that. The computer should boot regardless since the faster DIMMs downclock to the speed of the slowest.

Unfortunately, Sony doesn’t list any tested compatible memory, so at this point I can search the web to see what others are having success with or just wing it, by which I mean use your best judgment from what you know and what you can find. To put any worry to rest, I’ve had very few problems when using RAM of the proper speed and size. In the case of this Sony Vaio, there are plenty of 1 GB DDR2-533 options found online with free shipping for $25.

Recap:

• RAM in a computer acts like your brain’s short-term memory–it’s fast, small and ephemeral.
• Adding more RAM is a low-cost upgrade for a significant boost in performance.
• Basic computer maintenance is free and should take precedence to any hardware upgrades.
• Choose the right RAM based on the compatible speed and capacity for your computer.

Links: Get RAM on Amazon

The second item SanDisk sent us was the MobileMate Duo, a MobileMate Micro USB card reader and a SanDisk SD card adapter for microSD cards. Although most modern gadgets should allow a mass storage mode to allow copying data over, the MobileMate Duo kit offers direct access to the microSD card. The USB card reader worked right out of the box on Windows 7 and OS X Snow Leopard. No extra drivers were needed. Using the SD card reader adapter is self-explanatory.

To see how well the microSD card performs, I ran some benchmarks:
(I used a Windows 7 machine with the MobileMate Micro USB)

Music Album (MP3s – 80MB)

• Write: 8MB/s
• Read: 17MB/s

Video (AVI – 800MB)

• Write: 14MB/s
• Read: 18MB/s

Just as a popular SD cards revolutionized flash storage for Digital Cameras, the microSDHC cards are doing the same for mobile phones. These are affordable, easy to carry, and swappable on most devices. SanDisk, a reliable brand, is producing quality products. The read and write speeds were higher than I had expected for such a small piece of flash media. This card is a excellent way to store music and photos on mobile devices. The USB adapter is a great accessory if your device won’t allow direct syncing. Although the MSRP is ridiculously high, priced at $109, it’s available for a fraction of that if you shop around. The 16GB model goes for around $45 on Amazon.

Buy: SanDisk MicroSDHC $45
Links: SanDisk.com microSDHC

Earlier today, Apple announced new models of the iPhone and iPod Touch, both of which now are available in double their previous storage capacity. The iPhone is now available in a 16GB model and the iPod Touch in a 32GB version. (Previously 8GB max for iPhone and 16GB max for iPod Touch.) It isn’t a surprise that Apple made this move and it was even expected to have been announced during MacWorld last month. It would also be good timing on their part since competitors such as Creative plans to be pushing out their 32GB ZEN very soon.

“For some users, there’s never enough memory,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple VP of Worldwide iPod and iPhone Marketing. “Now people can enjoy even more of their music, photos and videos on the most revolutionary mobile phone and best Wi-Fi mobile device in the world.”

All new iPhone and iPod Touch units will now come pre-installed with the new software upgrade and all the new features that were released last month. Both the 32GB iPod Touch and 16GB iPhone will be available in stores and online for $499. The main reason for the high price is probably the cost of the NAND flash going into the device, but prices are dropping quickly. Despite this, I would assume many would be interested to purchase either device as it is the only way to get more memory on board since neither device supports memory expansion.

Links: Apple iPhone | Apple iPod Touch

Last month we wrote a small piece about IronKey’s Hardware Encrypted Flash Drive, which can self-destruct. The folks over at IronKey were kind enough to provide us with sample unit for review. For those of you that don’t know what the IronKey is, it’s pretty much one of the safest flash drives available on the market. And yes, it does “self-destruct” its insides rendering it completely useless when someone tries to steal your data. Right off the bat, we’ve got to say that we’re quite impressed. Just to begin with, the IronKey required no additional software to run. (No issues with our Windows XP or Vista machines.)

Main IronKey Features:

• Military-Grade Encryption
• Self-Destruct Sequence
• Secured Online Back Up
• Stealth Browsing (Tor)
• Password Management
• Water/Tamper-proof
• 1GB, 2GB, & 4GB Sizes

What Is The IronKey?
Just like any flash drive, the IronKey lets you store data onto it for portable storage. But unlike your normal thumb drives, any data placed onto the memory is encrypted by IronKey’s Cryptochip technology. If this drive were stolen or lost, no one would be able to access your data since it’s encrypted. And this isn’t just any simple encryption, the data is first software encrypted with 256-bit AES then encrypted once again with 128-bit AES. As far as I am aware of, this technology has never been cracked to date. (correct me if I’m wrong.) If some one were to actually try to guess the password or tries to brute force their way through, the IronKey will self-destruct after 10 failed attempts. If the thief was a bit more “hard-core” and attempted to physically open the drive to directly read the contents, the IronKey will be able to detect the intruder’s presence and destroy itself as well.

What Else Can It Do?
In addition to protecting your data, the IronKey can manage all your passwords and will allow you to browse the web securely and anonymously. Instead of saving your passwords into your browser when logging into a website, the passwords are encrypted and saved onto the IronKey. Since it’s encrypted no one can get those passwords without the IronKey’s main password. Using the IronKey’s password manager tool is easy as plugging in the thumb drive, not additional software was required.

For secure browsing, the IronKey utilizes a VPN, which tunnels all traffic through a secure transport. This meaning, you can securely browse the web from even unsecured WiFi networks or public HotSpots and not have to worry about someone stealing your information. And for anonymity, the IronKey also sports a very impressive dedicated high-performance Tor network. This technology uses state-of-the -art cryptography to create a multi-layer encryption for your data which then travels through multiple networked Tor servers to prevent anyone from getting any information about your machine.

How It Works:
Just plug the IronKey into your Windows XP or Vista machine and a popup will prompt the user to name the drive and setup a password. (Unfortunately it doesn’t work on Mac OS X) When you purchase an IronKey and plug it in for the first time, the software on the flash drive prompts the user to setup a password. Once complete, the IronKey generates AES encryption keys, sets up up the secure file system, and configures the on-board Firefox browser. IronKey also offers their customers the option to create a secure backup of all your data online so users would be able to download their data if their flash drive was stolen. Anytime the IronKey is plugged into any computer (XP or Vista) after it has been setup, it will simply prompt the user for a password. The data and security tools will be inaccessible unless you login. Once logged in, you can save your data and settings and logout by clicking on the “Lock Drive” button found in the system tray. We didn’t test the actual self-destruct feature since it not only deletes your data, but also renders the IronKey useless. Hopefully that important part works as advertised.

Other Information:
At the moment only Firefox was specifically designed to run via the IronKey launcher, however future firmware upgrades to the IronKey will allow more compatibility with other portable applications. You can still run any portable app, however it may not be ensured that the program will leave any remnants of data on the machine it is used with. Just like a credit card, IronKey recommend that you either engrave or sign your name onto space they have provided on the back. You can also add contact information onto the software so that there’s a “Lost & Found” message if someone plugs it into their machine. Another tool I found useful was the built in password generator which will create and save the password it generates. Therefore if it ends up being impossibly hard to remember, you don’t have to know it since the IronKey will take care of everything for you. It weighs just 0.8 ounces, is waterproof, and operates anywhere from -40 to +85 degrees Celsius (-40 to 185 Fahrenheit). The IronKey is available in 1GB, 2GB, and 4GB capacities priced at $79, 109, and $149 on IronKey.com respectively. It is available for cheaper through other resellers. This drive is a great tool for business people, those who want to carry sensitive data, want an easy way to manage passwords, and/or browse the web safely.

Links: IronKey.com | Watch Demo
Buy Now: 4GB – $135 | 2GB – $100 | 1GB – $72

What happens if you were to loose flash drive? Unless someone is kind enough to return it, your data is probably available for just about anyone to view. One great solution to safeguarding data on the go is the IronKey. The folks over at IronKey, which is the name of the product as well, have created a flash drive with “military-grade” encryption. This means that your data is just about as safe as it could possibly be if it were stolen or found by a hacker. (This encryption technology hasn’t been broken, yet.)

Unlike a standard flash drive which brings up a window with your files, the IronKey will prompt the user for a password when plugged in. No data will be accessible without the right password. The IronKey’s security software is located right on the flash memory and runs right off it, therefore requiring no additional programs to be installed. The flash drive’s encryption is both hardware and software based. The Cryptochip on board automatically encrypts any type of files copied onto the flash memory. If a hacker were to extract the data, it would be encrypted and unreadable anyways. The drive itself is quite rugged, it is encased in metal housing which is strong enough to withstand just about any drops, being run over by a car, from high pressure, and is even waterproof. If someone was trying to guess the password and failed ten times or managed to break open the casing, the Cryptochip automatically initiates a self-destruct sequence, destroying ALL data! (The password limit prevents brute force.)

The IronKey sports a built-in password manager which stores user names, passwords, credit card numbers, or any any other type of data. This is probably the safest way to carry around important digital data without being afraid of it falling into the wrong hands if stolen or lost. Once enabled, the software on board can also automatically log you into any website such as banking sites using the without having to enter any data, therefore preventing key loggers from catching passwords. We don’t know the exact speed and would assume copying data onto or off of the flash drive would be slow since it has to be encrypted or decrypted, but according to IronKey’s website they claim it remains one of the fastest flash drives on the market. (Apparently uses high quality dual channel memory.) The final feature worth mentioning, is that IronKey allows backing up the encrypted data to the companies web server right from the flash drive in an well encrypted manner. This means if you were to loose your drive, the data is still recoverable from their server. The IronKey is available in 1GB, 2GB, or 4GB capacities for $69, $96, and $134 respectively. (MRSP is actually $79, $109, and $149)

Buy Now: IronKey (via amazon)
Link: Meet The IronKey | Demo (video)

Sony DSC-G1

Sony’s first WiFi-enabled camera allows wirelessly sharing photos with other cameras and computers. The cyber-shot features a high-res 3.5″ LCD display, 6 megapixels, 3x optical / 6x digital zoom, and a new interface. The unit accepts Memory Stick Pro Duo media, but has 2GB of memory built in. (~600 full resolution pix) The G1 will begin to Ship in April 2007 for $600.

Sony DSC-T100 / T20

The T100 features a 5x optical zoom and a 3-inch LCD while the T20 has 3x optical zoom and a 2.5-inch LCD. Both cameras are 8 megapixels and support outputting the images to HDTVs via component cables. Both cameras have a new “face tracking” technology to allow detecting faces and automatically adjusting multiple settings for a “perfect” image. The T100 will be available this month for $400 and the T20 in April for $330.

Sony DSC-W200 / W90 / W80

The W200 has a whopping 12.1 megapixels, a 3x optical zoom, and 2.5 LCD display while remaining under an inch thick. Both the W90 and W80 have the same features except they are 8 and 7.2 megapixels, respectively. All 3 support 1080p HDTV output, face tracking, and auto focus. The “alpha” SLR technology allows photos to be taken in 1sec intervals. The W90/W80 are available now for $300/$250. The W200 will be available in May for $400.

Pre-order: DSC-G1 | DSC-T100 | DSC-W200

Two weeks ago at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Sony announced the long awaited 8GB Memory Stick Pro Duo. The card weighs less than two grams and is only 0.79 inches wide and 1.22-inches long. The Pro Duo card will work with plenty of Sony’s hardware media products such as the PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 3, Mylo, Sony Ericsson phones, and Cyber-shot digital cameras. Although this is good news for many, the current price isn’t. According to Sony, the 8GB Memory Stick Pro Duo will be on store shelves next month (Feburary ‘07) for a retail price of $300!

Unless you absolutely want this much storage, we don’t reccomend wasting this much money on it since it costs about $100 more than the PSP itself. Prices should drop as soon as third-party companies such as Sandisk begin to manufacture these cards, however this may a while. As for now, prices on smaller capacities are getting quite cheap. You can now get a 1GB card for as low as $25 and a 2GB card for about $55.

P.S. At least the price is much lower than it originally was. During CES 2006 when the 4GB model was originaly released, the expected cost of the 8GB model was around $800!

Links: SonyStyle.com | Press Release

On July 11, 2006, Sony Electronics announced an extremely small thumb drive called the Micro Vault Tiny. The Micro Vault Tiny, which is only a half-inch wide and an inch long, will be offered in capacities of up to 4GB. The drives are “color-coded” by capacity: 256MB (orange), 512MB (violet), 1GB (blue), 2GB (green) and 4GB (purple). Sony has also pre-installed compression software called Virtual Expander, which “expands” the capacity of the drive by compressing and decompressing files. The Micro Vault Tiny is now shipping in sizes 256MB to 2GB; however the 4GB model will not be available until later this year.

No specific price for any model has been set yet, but suggested retail is between $29.99 and $199.99 depending on capacity. Although these drives look fashionable, are extremely small, and are a brand-name product, they are way too over priced for the practical consumer. For example a no-name bulky 2GB USB 2.0 thumb drive, which may actually be more durable, will probably cost less than half of what Sony is charging.

Links: Sony Press Release
Related: Sony E Series Walkman

Although there was plenty of coverage on the 2006 PlayStation Business Briefing on March 19th, it seems as though almost everyone missed one very important slide. The slide, screenshot above, was Sony’s Schedule for the PlayStation Portable (PSP). This slide outlined when and what SCEA plans to release for the unit throughout this year.

According to the chart Macromedia Flash support, downloadable audio through the RSS Channel, Chinese Fonts, and Libraries for the Camera/GPS should all be available in Spring 2006. SCEA then plans to release another update that includes a RSS Channel with Video and expand UMD video profiles by the end of Summer. Sony has already set September 6th as the launch date of the PSP Camera and October 6th for the PSP GPS module. Finally, one more update which allows Booting PSone games from Memory Sticks and having VoIP support should be released by the end of the year.

Lets hope that SCEA sticks to this schedule and release new firmware that open up the PSP to more content than restricting it like they have done in the past. Check back soon for more information and PSP news.

Related Links: PlayStation Business Briefing 2006
Other: Griffin iTunes PSP and iFM PSP

Sony is displaying 4GB and 8GB models of the Memory Stick Pro Duo cards in the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show. These cards will work with most Sony products, including the PlayStation Portable (PSP), which will enable the unit to truly become a portable media player. They are expected to be released later this year, but no specific date is set yet. When this is released the the PSP will be able to hold just as much content as the iPod Nano. The only disadvantage with this is the price. The 1GB card currently costs around $75 and 2GB card cost about $150-200. The 4GB card is expected to cost around $400 when it is first released and to drop later on. And finaly the 8GB card might cost $800! Also the PSP is not the only type of device that can utilize this. Many Sony HI-RES cameras (Sony DSC-R1 10.3 Megapixels) support this so that there will be plently of storage space, since such large photos may take up over 10MB per shot. Sony Ericsson Phones that play Mp3s will also support these cards making them more powerfull than any iTunes Moto ROKR phones.

Link: Memory Stick Info (CES 2006 Products) | Sony Home