Apple's use of hard drives

[hackersmovie]

So it seems, after much wading through threads, many people discuss what type/size/speed hard drives Apple uses in their products. It made me think:

"Where is the computer/media storage market going?"

Let's take a look at current models.


MacMini 2.5" hard drive 5400 rpm
iMac 3.5" hard drive 7200 rpm
MacPro 3.5" hard drive 7200 or 10000 rpm
MacBook 2.5" hard drive 5400 rpm
MacBookPro 2.5" hard drive 5400 or 7200 rpm
MacBookAir 1.8" hard drive 4200 rpm (See "SSD" Below)(Thanks Ben_Tex!)

AppleTV 2.5" hard drive 4200 rpm (should note it's IDE as well)
TimeCapsule 3.5" hard drive 7200 rpm

iPod Classic 1.8" hard drive (I don't know the speed one would assume 4200 rpm)


On to SSD uses

All other iPods - Shuffle, Nano, Touch

and. . .


The iPhone.
As well as an option in the MacbookAir


So what's all this mean?

IMHO, I think we'll see SSD eventually (the next 5 to 10 years) become the standard. All the heat, noise issues will be all but gone. Speed will almost be a non-issue. Devices/Machines will become smaller.

In the mean time, it looks as though the 2.5" hard drive will pave the way for SSD's. 3.5" hard drives will be the first to take the plunge.

Am I way off base here?

What's your take on the situation?
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[JohnnyBoy]

Interesting thread. IIRC, the swap files of modern operating systems still pose a problem for SSDs whose flash memory cells wear out after a limited number of write cycles.

Could a hybrid mechanical/flash memory HDD be the answer? Or would it be simpler if computers had so much RAM that they didn't need to use the HDD as virtual memory?

Or could the same result be gained by (gasp!) making the OS smaller/more efficient? Hey! Wait a minute! Is that the thinking behind Snow Leopard? Make the OS run totally within RAM (just as Windows is getting even more bloated) so that an SSD can be used for storage without worrying that a swap file is going to wear the darn thing out in 3 months.

Hackersmovie, you might be onto something here.....
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iPod Touch (32GB, 3rd gen), iPod Shuffle (512MB, 1st gen)

[Ben Tex]

FYI: The MacBook Air uses a 1.8" PATA drive @ 4200RPM.

Random thoughts, but I wouldn't be surprised to see the iMac switch to a 2.5" drive over the next 2 to 3 years. I also think they should switch the Apple TV to SATA ASAP. I know that Hackers would agree with me on that one.

[hackersmovie]

[TonyMontana]

I'm thinking SSD's as a standard with in two years.
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[devo]

[dungeon92]