01/14, 8:17pm
Only MacBook Air upgrade or replacement SSD available
Solid state drives (SSD) are fantastic. They are power-sippers as compared to a spinning platter, more resistant to shock, and other elemental damage. Even if you just count the performance increases, it comes as no surprise that Apple has shifted most of its desktop and portable line to SSD storage, but often makes it difficult to upgrade later to a larger SSD drive. Peripheral manufacturer OWC has addressed the upgrade situation with the Aura Pro line of drives for use in the MacBook Air, and MacNN has spent some time with the model for the 2010 11-inch model of Apple's laptop.
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10/29, 7:05pm
CodeWeavers makes CrossOver free for a Halloween treat
CodeWeavers has unveiled its Halloween plan to give away virtualization software for free. From 12:01 AM through 11:59 PM Central Daylight Time on October 31, the company will be offering a free one-year license to Crossover Mac or Crossover Linux at the Flock the Vote promotional website. Existing customers will get a 12-month extension added to their support agreement.
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08/14, 7:30pm
User installable upgrade nearly doubles stock capacity
Accessory and upgrade manufacturer OWC announced the first SSD upgrade for the 2012 MacBook Pro with Retina display. The drive is available in a single 480GB capacity, and upgrades purchasing before September 30 will receive the OWC Envoy Pro USB 3.0 bus-powered portable enclosure for reutilizing the removed SSD as an external drive at no additional cost.
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07/26, 4:30pm
New OWC chassis allows PCIe card use on Thunderbolt Macs
OWC has just outed a PCIe Thunderbolt expansion chassis for adding half-length PCIe 2.0 adapter cards with the Mac mini, iMac, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, and other Thunderbolt-equipped but PCIe-less computers. The professional PCIe cards allow for video capture and/or editing, media transcoding, audio processing and data storage. The Helios chassis can transfer data at up to 10Gbps and are compatible with AHCI-compliant cards.
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07/24, 11:55pm
NewerTech ships NuGuard keyboard cover for Retina MacBook pro
Upgrade and accessory manufacturer Newer Technology has announced the NuGuard keyboard cover for the 2012 Retina display MacBook Pro. The black silicone cover is the first keyboard cover on the market for the new model MacBook Pro, and matches the full-size keyboard. The form-fitting sheet molds to cover each key and the space between keys for protection against key wear, hair, spills, and detritus. The NuGuard keyboard cover is available from OWC and select retail establishments at a retail price of $20.
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04/20, 2:20am
USB3 dock boasts 500MB per second data transfer
Newer Technology and its exclusive distributor Other World Computing have teamed up to deliver the latest in Newer Tech's dock series- the Voyager S3 USB3 SuperSpeed SATA drive dock. This new dock delivers full SATA2 speeds, and approaches full SATA3 speed.
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02/24, 2:15pm
OWC updates SSD firmware
SoftRAID has announced that the latest version of its self-titled software for creating and managing disk arrays is fully compatible with OS X Mountain Lion. SoftRAID 4.3 also improves the robustness of mirror volumes, allowing the driver to better handle disk failures that occur during the middle of a read or write operation. Other changes include support for Macintosh Firmware updates, updated SSD support, and improved command line functions. SoftRAID is $129 for the electronic download version and includes one year of free technical support via e-mail. It can be purchased via the SoftRAID website and via retail outlets worldwide.
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01/27, 3:40pm
OWC Mercury Aura Pro Express gets 480GB version
Other World Computing has answered one of the more common calls among MacBook Air owners and has put out a 480GB version of its Mercury Aura Pro Express. The new solid-state drive doubles the storage of its SATA3-based, 6Gbps model line. As with other SSDs, more capacity doesn't mean a sacrifice in speed, and it can deliver as much as 500MB per second in peak transfer speeds.
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06/01, 11:50pm
16GB Chips max out at up to 96GB
Other World Computing has launched 16GB RAM chips for Mac Pro 2009 and 2010 models, exceeding factory-shipped maximums by a factor of 1.5x to 3x -- allowing maximums of 48GB or more depending on configuration and available memory slots, with a 12-core 2010 model reaching 96GB of RAM. Kits are available for both 2009 and 2010 models.
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01/27, 5:10pm
Set up allows iOS device mobile access, control
Other World Computing has launched a home theater package centering on Apple's Mac Mini, the OWC Media Center Solution for the 2010 Mac mini. The new service, which was previewed at the Macworld Expo, will preconfigure a 2010 Mac mini with Plex's digital media front-end app, add 4GB of RAM to the machine and bundle a portable Blu-ray burner and an OWC Mercury Pro Qx2 RAID 5 external drive, with either four, eight or 12TB of storage space. Combined with either an Elgato EyeTV Hybrid or HD DVR, the package can record and store Live TV, seek out streaming video via Plex apps, like Netflix, Joost, Hulu, Vimeo and YouTube, and back up DVD and Blu-ray movies for later streaming.
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11/10, 6:10pm
Drive can be had with FireWire 800 or USB 3.0
Other World Computing -- OWC -- has launched 750GB portable hard disk offerings spinning at 7200rpm. The Mac-based hardware sales company is shipping the OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro drive in four connectivity options, offering the portable cases with USB 2.0, USB 3.0, a combo interface of USB 2.0 and FireWire 400 and a triple interface, with FireWire 800, 400 and USB 2.0. The 750GB hard disk can be purchased for internal installation as well.
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10/28, 1:05pm
SSD Form Factor Working Group aims to improve SSD
A newly-formed SSD Form Factor Working Group has been formed, with the aim of bringing out a PCI Express-based SSD standard. Made up of promoter members Dell, EMC, Fujitsu, IBM and Intel, the group will focus on enterprise customers who need ever-higher performance storage that is cost effective and easy to use. While PCIe based SSDs are available now, they aren't simple and are usually reserved for servers, workstations and very high-end gamers.
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05/26, 10:45pm
Chips are PC8500 DDR3 1066MHz SO-DIMMs
Newer Technology has launched new RAM upgrade kits for iMacs, Mac minis, MacBook Pros and MacBooks, the NuRAM DDR3 1066MHz RAM. The RAM kits allow for up to 16GB on systems that offer four slots, with pairs of PC8500 DDR3 1066MHz CL7 204-pin SO-DIM modules. The RAM chips are all 4GB modules, available in single- or dual-unit packages for MacBooks and MacBook Pros, and sets of four -- 16GB total -- for iMacs.
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03/09, 7:50pm
Drive offers eSATA, USB 2.0, FireWire 800/400
OWC has launched its OWC Mercury Elite-AL Pro mini 1TB portable drive, which it claims is the first ever 2.5-inch 1TB drive shipped with a quad interface. The bus-powered drive has eSATA, USB 2.0, and FireWire 800/400 connectivity in a brushed aluminum, fanless enclosure. In addition to the new 1TB capcity, the drives are also available with 7200RPM 500GB drives and solid-state drives up to 200GB.
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01/26, 12:50pm
OWC outs first enterprise-grade 2.5-inch SSDs
Other World Computing (OWC) on Tuesday released its first solid state drive range, which it is touting as the fastest and most reliable 2.5-inch SATA SSD in the field. The Mercury Extreme Enterprise SSD can be had in up to a 200GB capacity, along with two smaller sizes, and is compatible with either Macs or PCs. Thanks to a newer SandForce processor, the drives are said to keep their optimal 260MBps read and write speeds with 0.1ms latency.
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12/21, 11:25pm
64GB and 32GB RAM upgrades
Memory America has launched 1066MHz DDR3 RAM expansion kits in 32GB and 64GB capacities for Apple’s Mac Pro. The 64GB kit is arranged using eight individual 8GB modules geared for 64-bit operation, with support for data rates of up to 8.5GB/s. The components are RoHS certified and claimed to be compatible with all Mac Pro specifications.
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11/03, 6:00pm
Drive burns Blu-ray discs at up to 12X speeds
Other World Computing on Tuesday announced that it is now offering a Mercury Pro external Blu-ray drive with a quad interface. Users can choose between USB 2.0, FireWire 400, FireWire 800, or eSATA connection methods. The company claims the Pioneer BDR-205 can reach burn speeds of up to 12X on Blu-ray discs, 16X with DVDs, 4X on DVD-DL media, and 40X for CDs.
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09/10, 2:35pm
OWC portable SSDs available in up to 256GB
OWC on Thursday introduced its first SSDs as part of its Mercury On-The-Go Pro portable lineup, touting them as the lowest cost portable FireWire 800/400 or USB 2.0 powered devices of their kind. Starting off with the 64GB version, a 128GB unit and the largest 256GB SSD, each can transfer data at up to 100MBps. Each 2.5-inch drive offers a 64MB data cache. As with most SSDs, the lack of moving parts makes them more shock resistant, power efficient and quieter than rotating hard drives, as well as being more tolerant to temperature extremes.
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09/03, 6:35pm
On-the-Go portable drives reach 750GB
OWC has launched new 750GB notebook drive products. The new capacity drives arrive in bus-powered On-The-Go Pro models, with three connectivity options. The top-of-the-line triple interface offers FireWire 800/400 and USB 2.0 connections, while a dual-interface FireWire 400/USB 2.0 and a USB 2.0-only version are available for reduced pricing.
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05/12, 6:45pm
Drive Genius special offer
OWC has announced it is shipping copies of Drive Genius 2.1.1 for as low as $25, a $75 reduction, when bought with qualifying OWC or NewerTech storage products. There are nearly 200 qualifying products available on OWC's website, including OWC's Mercury line -- Elite-AL Pro Single, Dual bay and Mirror RAID drives, rack-mount storage, Elite Pro Firewire drives and On-The-Go portable drives. OWC's network storage based NASPerform storage is also included, as are NewerTech MiniStacks, MAXimus RAIDs and Voyager Q/S2 products.
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01/07, 11:20pm
OWC debuts Quad Interface
OWC has announced its latest Mercury Rack Pro Quad-Interface four-bay Rack Mount Hardware RAID at Macworld Expo (booth S-2218). Designed for audio/video production and data/network operation centers, the quad interface RAID storage server supports up to four 2TB 3.5-inch SATA I/II hard disk drives providing a maximum of 8TB total storage and works with FireWire 800/400, USB2, and eSATA. Simple configuration of the hardware RAID settings is possible through the rear panel selector switch, enabling either mirror or stripe RAID functions without using software.
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12/17, 10:50pm
OWC Modbook upgrades
Other World Computing (OWC) has released new upgrade options for the Axiotron Modbook Mac-tablet. The available components include memory modules, hard drives and optical SuperDrives. Users can choose to have their orders outfitted with 6GB of RAM and single or dual hard-drive configurations, with capacities of up to 750GB when combining a 500GB HDD in the primary drive bay and 250GB HDD in the secondary bay. Customers can forgo the two-drive option and instead add a SuperDrive that features 8x DVD-R burn speeds and support for Dual-Layer discs.
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10/22, 1:20pm
OWC external BD burners
Other World Computing (OWC) on Wednesday introduced its Mercury Pro Blu-ray external drives, the first on the market, the company says, that include a quad interface. This includes FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB 2.0 and eSATA connectivity options for both Macs and PCs, allowing the external drives to write Blu-ray media at speeds up to 4X or 150MBps, or twice as fast as OWC's previous generation BD burners.
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10/13, 11:00pm
OWC storage rebates
Other World Computing has announced a new rebate program for October that covers a wide range of storage devices. The largest rebates, of $120, cover the Mercury Rack Pro 1.5TB, 2TB, 3TB, and 4TB products. Customers that purchase the Mercury Elite-AL Pro Dual Drive RAID devices with capacities from 750GB to 2TB will receive $60. The Mercury Elite-AL Pro Single Drive and NewerTech miniStack 750GB or 1TB products are eligible for $30 rebate, while a purchase of the Mercury On-The-Go Bus Powered storage will receive $20 back.
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06/26, 2:55pm
OWC Mercury OTG 320GB 7K
Other World Computing says it has set a newer record with the launch of the Mercury On-the-Go 320GB 7200RPM drive. The disk uses a newer 2.5-inch Hitachi TravelStar drive that makes it the largest-capacity portable drive to spin at the same 7,200RPM speed as desktop models; the 320GB of space is 60 percent more than current 200GB disks at the same physical size. The translucent drive also has multiple interface options that can include external SATA and FireWire 800, either of which ensures the port is never a bottleneck.
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05/22, 6:30pm
OWC low cost Superdrives
Other World Computing on Thursday unveiled low-cost Superdrives for almost any Mac released within the last decade, offering 48x CD burning and LightScribe labeling technology. OWC claims the drives are quiet, and do not require any extra software to be installed with the drive. Users can also write to dual-layer DVDs at up to 12x speeds, while single-layer discs can write at up to 20x. OWC is selling the Superdrives starting from $35.
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04/23, 12:45am
OWC drops Mercury pricing
Other World Computing today announced lower pricing for its Mercury Elite-AL Pro quad interface drive line, offering sizes up to 1TB, which the company claims are among the best values on the market. The drives feature Firewire 400 and 800, as well as USB 2.0 and eSATA, allowing the drives to be connected to almost any computer system. Pricing for the drive line starts at $160, and offers up to 150MB per second over eSATA.
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