PC Data Rescue

IBM researchers are working on a technology dubbed as “racetrack memory,” which uses tiny magnetic boundaries to store data for handheld gadgets storing hours of film footage.

Called Racetrack Memory, the technology is able to store information in magnetic domains (groups of atoms) and then use electrical current to move the domains along the wire and over read/write heads. Current mechanical hard drive technology stores data on platters and uses a spindle motor to rotate the platters under the read/write heads.

Theoretically at least, these devices could operate on a single battery charge for “weeks at a time”, and could last for decades.

Stuart Parkin, the lead researcher for IBM, also hinted that “the promise of racetrack memory could unleash creativity leading to devices and applications that nobody has imagined yet.”

If the expected data densities of the technology are realized, it could enable a portable MP3 player to hold up to 500,000 songs. Parkin disclosed they are working on building a prototype but that it could take up to four years to produce and another three or four to refine it for commercial use.

Western Digital Corp. today launched a new 3.5-in. Caviar hard disk drive than can store 640GB of data on two platters, twice the capacity of the previous high-end offering.

The desktop-oriented SE16 line currently runs to 750GB, the top-of-the-line drive being a model with three 250GB platters. So it surely won’t be long before WD has a 960GB unit out that packs in three 320GB platters.

The new platform was designed for cool and quieter computing. Western Digital is rolling out the new technology across its product lines, including desktop, enterprise, and external hard drives. The drives are targeted toward users of data-intensive applications, thanks to “performance with their extreme areal density, 3GB-per-second transfer rate, and Native Command Queuing (NCQ),” according to the company.

“The 640GB capacity point will be an important one for our desktop customers, and WD is leading high-volume shipments to the channel and OEM customers. Two-platter hard drives have always been the perfect balance of value, capacity and performance for many of our customers. Today’s common two-platter drives are limited to 500GB, but we are expanding capacity by 28% on the same design with WD’s leading technology heads and disks,” said Don Bennett, general manager and vice president of WD’s desktop business unit.

The 640 GB SE16 drives are available now from resellers Western Digital’s online store at a suggested retail price of $139.99.

Symantec has unveiled Backup Exec 12 for Windows Servers offering server-to-desktop Windows data protection.

The first is Symantec Online Backup, which is a stand-alone service for backing up data to a secure remote location over the Internet, said Jeff Hausman, vice president and general manager of the Symantec Protection Network.

The second is Symantec Online Storage for Backup Exec, an on-line data protection service integrated with Backup Exec 12, a new version of that application. Customers can manage their on-line storage directly from Symantec Online Storage for Backup Exec using a single interface, Hausman said.

Integration of Backup Exec System Recovery 8 with the Altiris management platform enables administrators to control backup tasks from a familiar interface and database framework. In addition, Backup Exec System Recovery 8 can now intelligently and uniquely communicate to external USB drives and run backup jobs to the given device, even if Windows changes the drive letter for the device.