I don't understand how Apple would benefit from an outright purchase.
Since they already use the product the only benefit I see financially would be a possible decrease cost of NAND memory, but would it save them 500 million dollars. How much does their tech actually add to the NAND total cost. Or do they want to prevent competitors from using the tech and there by forcing competitors to increase their costs and/or use inferior products.
I understood the P.A. Semi purchase but I don't understand this purchase.
I purchased a 16GB iPad and I will never buy a 16GB again. At least 32GB, most likely 64GB. Apps continue to take up more and more space these days -- I currently have 4 games on my phone that take more than 1GB each (and a 5th game that is close to 1GB). I can't simply move that to the cloud. Also I've been severely limited in the amount of video that I can put onto my device. I would love to be able to load up a few movies for the kids onto the iPad when we go on a road trip, but that would mean removing most of the other content on the device.
Local storage ain't going anywhere anytime soon, IMO.
From my reading, this purchase isn't about Apple making flash memory chips. It's about them getting ahold of the flash memory controller. I would suspect they would integrate this into one of the Ax processors, possibly A7 or A8, as a way to differentiate themselves, reduce the cost of the device and reduce the chip count.
For some of you, the need for storage may drop. However, for others who live or work in countries with slow and/or unstable Internet access, on board storage will be needed for awhile. Additionally, moving and working on a few hundred raw format photos in the same country will also require the storage. That said, this looks like a good deal and I would readily upgrade my 64GB iPad to 128 or 256 when the time comes.
I live in that exotic foreign country of Pennsylvania, and with 1Mbps upload speeds, all cloud based storage solutions are utterly useless. Of course, I shoot photographs in RAW and 1080p video with a camcorder instead of a phone, so I'm no longer part of Apple's core demographic.
I currently have 4 games on my phone that take more than 1GB each (and a 5th game that is close to 1GB). I can't simply move that to the cloud.
You could just transfer them and store the ones that you don't use often on your computer. That doesn't take long. You do have a local iTunes backup of your entire iPad I'm assuming?
Haha, same here. I bought an Intel 80 GB about a few years ago, and it's still working perfect. I'd been reading some horror stories about people using SSD, so I wasn't going to take any chances.
Either way, I use Time Machine which makes auto backups, so if something were to happen, it's not a big deal.
I do have one complaint, but's a change with OS X regarding my OptiBay setup, not with the SSD.
With Leopard and SL File Vault would encrypt your Home Folder. This was great because my Home Folder is the entire 500GB (now 1GB) HDD) sitting in the OptiBay.
As a refresher to those that don't know, you can change the location of your Home Folder in System Preferences? » Users & Groups » Unlocking the window » Right-clicking on the user and choosing Adavnaced Options.
This was great for Leopard and SL, but with Lion they changed FileVault to make it "better" by encrypting the entire drive. However, since my entire drive is the 80GB SSD which excludes my Home Folder my 1TB HDD is unencrypted.
I found a workaround. I found BASH commands I could use in Terminal to manually use the FileVault encryption on other drives, the only problem was that when I go to log in the system still hasn't unlocked that 1TB HDD so it can't authenticate my login.
After a very long process of getting back into the system without erasing my content I had a theory for a workaround. I created another user that would be local to the SSD boot drive. I log into this account first which auto unlocked the 1TB HDD. Then I can immediately log out and then log back into my main account. This is a huge PITA and I submitted this as a bug to Apple.
with icloud and drop box how much local storage do you REALLY need
how many of you would buy an ipad with 256gb??
when schools order iPads they get 16gb
OK i can understand more local storage on a macbook or imac but isn't local storage
becoming obsolete (for most consumers)
i would like to see trended how much local storage people are using since the ipad came out, and over this next year as iCloud is adopted
I have the 64GB iPad1 ... it's been mostly full since day one.
I would buy a 256GB tomorrow.
I am often not in range of WiFi ... and often when I am it's too slow to stream video anyhow. It's often used for entertainment on airplanes... no connection at all there.
Keeping movies on it takes up lots of space... no, I don't NEED 720p video files on an iPad, but I also don't want to keep multiple copies of movies and sometimes they get watched at home on the big screen.
Schools buy the cheapest model they can get (even when buying desktops/workstations)... but the users in those cases don't load them up with games, nav software, and other assorted Apps... and personal photos,movies and music. They get whatever the school/corp put on it and that's it.
In short... for many (not all... maybe not even most) consumer end-users, local storage is still very desirable.
With Leopard and SL File Vault would encrypt your Home Folder. This was great because my Home Folder is the entire 500GB (now 1GB) HDD) sitting in the OptiBay.
I've never encrypted any of my drives, but I wonder, what is the main advantage? Is it if somebody were to steal your machine, then they wouldn't be able to access any of your files?
That sounds like a lot of fragmentation. Apple's strength is thorough integration of all components, software and hardware. Where does that leave you?
I just have them all, because they were free to sign up for, so I figured why not? I don't really use them all. I just have them as an option if I ever need it.
I agree that it would be confusing if certain things were stored on A and other things on B and other things on C.
with icloud and drop box how much local storage do you REALLY need
how many of you would buy an ipad with 256gb??
when schools order iPads they get 16gb
OK i can understand more local storage on a macbook or imac but isn't local storage
becoming obsolete (for most consumers)
i would like to see trended how much local storage people are using since the ipad came out, and over this next year as iCloud is adopted
my wife wants to migrate to an iPad, so the max i would get her is 32 probably get her a 16
i don't want to know what's the most common set up, but do people really need and use
i installed a new 500gb hd on my macbook, but now really looking close at my needs, especially they have dramatically changed since iCloud, iTunes match, and dropbox, gmail etc.
we are in changing times
My 64GB iPad is less than half full until I travel. Then it is largely filled up with movies, etc.
On the computing side, it sounds like you don't shoot/edit HD video. The source files will fill up terabyte drives quick and cloud storage is not a feasible solution except perhaps as an archive for the final cut. Today's smartphones, the iPod touch, and typical point-and-shoot cameras all capture 720p or 1080p HD footage, so consumers are probably using more storage than ever before.
Their tech seems to be better than anybody else's. Today, Apple is merely one of their customers.
Apple can deny those cutting edge controllers and future inventions to other companies if Apple owns it.
Exactly.
These guys make the best controllers around. Despite it's other faults, Israel is a hotbed of technical invention.
I would guess that Apple, being one of their best customers and probably even an investor, got wind of their product pipeline and bought them out for exactly that reason. To deny the competition whatever it is they are coming out with next.
with icloud and drop box how much local storage do you REALLY need
how many of you would buy an ipad with 256gb??
when schools order iPads they get 16gb
OK i can understand more local storage on a macbook or imac but isn't local storage
becoming obsolete (for most consumers)
i would like to see trended how much local storage people are using since the ipad came out, and over this next year as iCloud is adopted
my wife wants to migrate to an iPad, so the max i would get her is 32 probably get her a 16
i don't want to know what's the most common set up, but do people really need and use
i installed a new 500gb hd on my macbook, but now really looking close at my needs, especially they have dramatically changed since iCloud, iTunes match, and dropbox, gmail etc.
we are in changing times
A lot of people would buy 256 GB. My old 64 GB iPad is completely full - and there's a lot more I'd like to keep on it. Movies take up a lot of space, for example, People who travel a lot might like to have more of their movie selection on hand without having to constantly swap. And you can't rely on iCloud when you're on a plane, for example. And when you're not near WiFi, you have to pay for the data access - which could be very expensive.
Schools? Sure 16 GB is fine. They probably aren't storing lots of movies or personal photos, so the extra size isn't needed. But just because schools don't need more storage doesn't mean that individuals don't.
You're also ignoring the fact that the same controller can also be used in MacBook Pro or MacBook Air systems. And larger, less expensive, more reliable flash would be great on portable Macs.
I've never encrypted any of my drives, but I wonder, what is the main advantage? Is it if somebody were to steal your machine, then they wouldn't be able to access any of your files?
only if you have it set to auto login. though I have not done this myself -I would expect that the encryption key is only used after an authenticated login - then again - that may be the way it was with home folder only - and with entire drive encryption the key is stored in nvram and passed to the OS during boot up - but then you would still need to login - and having auto login would largely defeat the purpose.
I am not sure how Apple does it but with Wintel systems there is a fairly easy method of getting past the whole drive encryption - provided you have complete physical control over the entire system - and liquid nitrogen and another system etc.
I wonder why this is called the purchase of a hardware company if they are fabless. or what they do with 200 employees if all they are working on is flash memory controller and I/O chip design. then again I have no knowledge of that the industry standard is for any given R&D department staffing levels - just seems like that should be a dozen of so folks at Apple to cover this (based on my entirely un-informed gut reaction).
Anobit's technology is about reliability and performance.
NAND Flash is going to take over. We will still use HDD but I figure that most of the HDD arena will be 2TB and above sizes for mass storage needs at home (Media Collects etc)
What Anobit appears to do well is deliver more speed and reliability with today's flash technology. Apple would in essence be able to use fabs like Toshiba, Samsung or even Intel/Micron to create their NAND and mate them with the proper embedded controllers. The cool part is that Intel/Micron are going to be delivering 128gb NAND in a year fabbed at 20nm. This will double the current SSD sizes provided the yields don't tank.
Where Anobit tech comes is is this.
Let's say you have a board with Qty 8 NAND chips. Todays NAND technology would thusly allow for
SLC -1 Bit Per Cell
32GB (4GB chips x 8)
64GB (8GB chips x 8)
128GB (16GB chips x 8)
MLC - Two Bits Per Cell
64GB (4GB chips x 8)
128GB( 8GB chips x 8)
256GB (16GB chips x 8)
TLC - Three Bits Per Cell
96GB (4GB chips x 8)
192GB (8GB chips x 8)
384GB (16GB chips x 8)
That's just using today's tech that's readily available. Now the problem with MLC and TLC is write endurance. You can add more bits per cell but then you're writing to the same cells over and over and eventually you hit the wall. Companies like Sandforce and Intel that make controllers for SSD deliver wear leveling features so that they're not creating hot spots and wearing out cells.
With Anobit technology Apple would likely be poised to deliver larger iPads without the decrease in write endurance and performance and that's a win/win solution.
Comments
Since they already use the product the only benefit I see financially would be a possible decrease cost of NAND memory, but would it save them 500 million dollars. How much does their tech actually add to the NAND total cost. Or do they want to prevent competitors from using the tech and there by forcing competitors to increase their costs and/or use inferior products.
I understood the P.A. Semi purchase but I don't understand this purchase.
Local storage ain't going anywhere anytime soon, IMO.
I don't understand how Apple would benefit from an outright purchase.
Their tech seems to be better than anybody else's. Today, Apple is merely one of their customers.
Apple can deny those cutting edge controllers and future inventions to other companies if Apple owns it.
For some of you, the need for storage may drop. However, for others who live or work in countries with slow and/or unstable Internet access, on board storage will be needed for awhile. Additionally, moving and working on a few hundred raw format photos in the same country will also require the storage. That said, this looks like a good deal and I would readily upgrade my 64GB iPad to 128 or 256 when the time comes.
I live in that exotic foreign country of Pennsylvania, and with 1Mbps upload speeds, all cloud based storage solutions are utterly useless. Of course, I shoot photographs in RAW and 1080p video with a camcorder instead of a phone, so I'm no longer part of Apple's core demographic.
I currently have 4 games on my phone that take more than 1GB each (and a 5th game that is close to 1GB). I can't simply move that to the cloud.
You could just transfer them and store the ones that you don't use often on your computer. That doesn't take long. You do have a local iTunes backup of your entire iPad I'm assuming?
Haha, same here. I bought an Intel 80 GB about a few years ago, and it's still working perfect. I'd been reading some horror stories about people using SSD, so I wasn't going to take any chances.
Either way, I use Time Machine which makes auto backups, so if something were to happen, it's not a big deal.
I do have one complaint, but's a change with OS X regarding my OptiBay setup, not with the SSD.
With Leopard and SL File Vault would encrypt your Home Folder. This was great because my Home Folder is the entire 500GB (now 1GB) HDD) sitting in the OptiBay.
As a refresher to those that don't know, you can change the location of your Home Folder in System Preferences? » Users & Groups » Unlocking the window » Right-clicking on the user and choosing Adavnaced Options.This was great for Leopard and SL, but with Lion they changed FileVault to make it "better" by encrypting the entire drive. However, since my entire drive is the 80GB SSD which excludes my Home Folder my 1TB HDD is unencrypted.
I found a workaround. I found BASH commands I could use in Terminal to manually use the FileVault encryption on other drives, the only problem was that when I go to log in the system still hasn't unlocked that 1TB HDD so it can't authenticate my login.
After a very long process of getting back into the system without erasing my content I had a theory for a workaround. I created another user that would be local to the SSD boot drive. I log into this account first which auto unlocked the 1TB HDD. Then I can immediately log out and then log back into my main account. This is a huge PITA and I submitted this as a bug to Apple.
I have iCloud storage, Dropbox storage, Amazon cloud storage, Google cloud storage and Gobbler Cloud Storage (for pro audio).
I view cloud storage simply as extra added security...
That sounds like a lot of fragmentation. Apple's strength is thorough integration of all components, software and hardware. Where does that leave you?
with icloud and drop box how much local storage do you REALLY need
how many of you would buy an ipad with 256gb??
when schools order iPads they get 16gb
OK i can understand more local storage on a macbook or imac but isn't local storage
becoming obsolete (for most consumers)
i would like to see trended how much local storage people are using since the ipad came out, and over this next year as iCloud is adopted
I have the 64GB iPad1 ... it's been mostly full since day one.
I would buy a 256GB tomorrow.
I am often not in range of WiFi ... and often when I am it's too slow to stream video anyhow. It's often used for entertainment on airplanes... no connection at all there.
Keeping movies on it takes up lots of space... no, I don't NEED 720p video files on an iPad, but I also don't want to keep multiple copies of movies and sometimes they get watched at home on the big screen.
Schools buy the cheapest model they can get (even when buying desktops/workstations)... but the users in those cases don't load them up with games, nav software, and other assorted Apps... and personal photos,movies and music. They get whatever the school/corp put on it and that's it.
In short... for many (not all... maybe not even most) consumer end-users, local storage is still very desirable.
With Leopard and SL File Vault would encrypt your Home Folder. This was great because my Home Folder is the entire 500GB (now 1GB) HDD) sitting in the OptiBay.
I've never encrypted any of my drives, but I wonder, what is the main advantage? Is it if somebody were to steal your machine, then they wouldn't be able to access any of your files?
That sounds like a lot of fragmentation. Apple's strength is thorough integration of all components, software and hardware. Where does that leave you?
I just have them all, because they were free to sign up for, so I figured why not? I don't really use them all. I just have them as an option if I ever need it.
I agree that it would be confusing if certain things were stored on A and other things on B and other things on C.
with icloud and drop box how much local storage do you REALLY need
how many of you would buy an ipad with 256gb??
when schools order iPads they get 16gb
OK i can understand more local storage on a macbook or imac but isn't local storage
becoming obsolete (for most consumers)
i would like to see trended how much local storage people are using since the ipad came out, and over this next year as iCloud is adopted
my wife wants to migrate to an iPad, so the max i would get her is 32 probably get her a 16
i don't want to know what's the most common set up, but do people really need and use
i installed a new 500gb hd on my macbook, but now really looking close at my needs, especially they have dramatically changed since iCloud, iTunes match, and dropbox, gmail etc.
we are in changing times
My 64GB iPad is less than half full until I travel. Then it is largely filled up with movies, etc.
On the computing side, it sounds like you don't shoot/edit HD video. The source files will fill up terabyte drives quick and cloud storage is not a feasible solution except perhaps as an archive for the final cut. Today's smartphones, the iPod touch, and typical point-and-shoot cameras all capture 720p or 1080p HD footage, so consumers are probably using more storage than ever before.
Their tech seems to be better than anybody else's. Today, Apple is merely one of their customers.
Apple can deny those cutting edge controllers and future inventions to other companies if Apple owns it.
Exactly.
These guys make the best controllers around. Despite it's other faults, Israel is a hotbed of technical invention.
I would guess that Apple, being one of their best customers and probably even an investor, got wind of their product pipeline and bought them out for exactly that reason. To deny the competition whatever it is they are coming out with next.
Get ready for the 256 GB iPad and iPhone.
This is very unfair. My Dell laptop (company PC) has only 160 GB. How can your phone have 256 GB?
with icloud and drop box how much local storage do you REALLY need
how many of you would buy an ipad with 256gb??
when schools order iPads they get 16gb
OK i can understand more local storage on a macbook or imac but isn't local storage
becoming obsolete (for most consumers)
i would like to see trended how much local storage people are using since the ipad came out, and over this next year as iCloud is adopted
my wife wants to migrate to an iPad, so the max i would get her is 32 probably get her a 16
i don't want to know what's the most common set up, but do people really need and use
i installed a new 500gb hd on my macbook, but now really looking close at my needs, especially they have dramatically changed since iCloud, iTunes match, and dropbox, gmail etc.
we are in changing times
A lot of people would buy 256 GB. My old 64 GB iPad is completely full - and there's a lot more I'd like to keep on it. Movies take up a lot of space, for example, People who travel a lot might like to have more of their movie selection on hand without having to constantly swap. And you can't rely on iCloud when you're on a plane, for example. And when you're not near WiFi, you have to pay for the data access - which could be very expensive.
Schools? Sure 16 GB is fine. They probably aren't storing lots of movies or personal photos, so the extra size isn't needed. But just because schools don't need more storage doesn't mean that individuals don't.
You're also ignoring the fact that the same controller can also be used in MacBook Pro or MacBook Air systems. And larger, less expensive, more reliable flash would be great on portable Macs.
you are right as display increase movies are more abundant, the needs are increasing
so now i'm thinking 32 or 64 and as you say the apps will only get more sophisticated
i can see getting a standalone hd for other things but can you connect to an ipad--not as this point
so this push to make ipad "your only or first computer really does have limitations
see my wife wants an ipad, she has a macbook with 320gb but doesn't use except for itunes
thanks again
I've never encrypted any of my drives, but I wonder, what is the main advantage? Is it if somebody were to steal your machine, then they wouldn't be able to access any of your files?
only if you have it set to auto login. though I have not done this myself -I would expect that the encryption key is only used after an authenticated login - then again - that may be the way it was with home folder only - and with entire drive encryption the key is stored in nvram and passed to the OS during boot up - but then you would still need to login - and having auto login would largely defeat the purpose.
I am not sure how Apple does it but with Wintel systems there is a fairly easy method of getting past the whole drive encryption - provided you have complete physical control over the entire system - and liquid nitrogen and another system etc.
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/c...on-methods/900
back on topic
I wonder why this is called the purchase of a hardware company if they are fabless. or what they do with 200 employees if all they are working on is flash memory controller and I/O chip design. then again I have no knowledge of that the industry standard is for any given R&D department staffing levels - just seems like that should be a dozen of so folks at Apple to cover this (based on my entirely un-informed gut reaction).
NAND Flash is going to take over. We will still use HDD but I figure that most of the HDD arena will be 2TB and above sizes for mass storage needs at home (Media Collects etc)
What Anobit appears to do well is deliver more speed and reliability with today's flash technology. Apple would in essence be able to use fabs like Toshiba, Samsung or even Intel/Micron to create their NAND and mate them with the proper embedded controllers. The cool part is that Intel/Micron are going to be delivering 128gb NAND in a year fabbed at 20nm. This will double the current SSD sizes provided the yields don't tank.
Where Anobit tech comes is is this.
Let's say you have a board with Qty 8 NAND chips. Todays NAND technology would thusly allow for
SLC -1 Bit Per Cell
32GB (4GB chips x 8)
64GB (8GB chips x 8)
128GB (16GB chips x 8)
MLC - Two Bits Per Cell
64GB (4GB chips x 8)
128GB( 8GB chips x 8)
256GB (16GB chips x 8)
TLC - Three Bits Per Cell
96GB (4GB chips x 8)
192GB (8GB chips x 8)
384GB (16GB chips x 8)
That's just using today's tech that's readily available. Now the problem with MLC and TLC is write endurance. You can add more bits per cell but then you're writing to the same cells over and over and eventually you hit the wall. Companies like Sandforce and Intel that make controllers for SSD deliver wear leveling features so that they're not creating hot spots and wearing out cells.
With Anobit technology Apple would likely be poised to deliver larger iPads without the decrease in write endurance and performance and that's a win/win solution.
I have nary a negative complaint to make.
And that's coming from a nattering nabob of negativism. (I kid, I kid.)