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Traditionally, the SSD is much more expensive than a comparably sized hard drive. The benefits of an SSD are clear with faster booting and quicker application loading among other things with the big downside being that the SSD typically costs much more per gigabyte than other storage options. Crucial has unveiled a new line of SSDs called the Crucial v4 SSD that is available in multiple storage capacities at surprisingly affordable prices.

The Crucial SSDs are available in 32 GB, 64 GB, 128 GB, and 256 GB capacities. Pricing on the new line of SSDs is $49.99, $69.99, $99.99, and $189.99 respectively. Under $190 is a nice price for a 256 GB SSD and will certainly lure gamers and computer enthusiasts on a budget away from hard drives. It’s interesting that the flooding that affected so many hard drive manufacturers has driven the price of your typical HDD up while the price of SSDs continues to fall bringing the SSD and HDD much closer in price.

The Crucial v4 SSD promises write speeds of up to 190 MB/s read speeds of up to 230 MB/s. The speeds are the fastest you’ll find SSD industry, but should offer significantly more performance of the typical hard drive. The new SSD line is designed to work with SATA 2 3Gb/s equipped computers representing most mainstream devices.

“The Crucial v4 SSD boils down to two things: performance and value,” said Robert Wheadon, senior worldwide product manager, Crucial. “Most consumers realize that SSDs help their computers start quicker and run faster, and are a more durable alternative to hard drives, but many don’t realize that most SSDs outperform the data transfer capabilities of their SATA 2 machines. With the Crucial v4 SSD, we’ve come up with a product that’s designed to bring the most value out of a SATA 2 system without paying for extra performance that can’t be used.”

These SSDs will work with Mac and PC computers and are perfect for machines that lack speedier 6Gb/s SATA ports. The SSDs have a three-year limited warranty. This is the perfect storage option for computers built before 2011 when the faster SATA port became common.

Crucial unveils cheap v4 SSDs for mainstream computing is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation or FBI has finally gone digital with its files, and the effort spanned 12 years. The digital system that the FBI has in place cost over $600 million and will see agents using a new computer system rather than paper files during investigations. The system the FBI has implemented is called Sentinel.

The WSJ reports that Sentinel has elements that are similar to web browsers on the market today with tabs in movable Windows. The forms the software uses are filled out in a question-and-answer format and are said to be similar to consumer tax software on the market today. The completion of Sentinel was announced this week and comes after the system was tested to work out bugs.

Sentinel has been implemented piecemeal in recent years with the final step coming recently as the FBI shut down the old system that relied heavily on paper documents. The FBI software allows agents to share files electronically, and the system can track changes made by others. The system also allows agents to set up RSS feeds to track updates made to files.

Another interesting feature that the new Sentinel system offers is the ability for agents to enter data such as phone numbers to search if the phone numbers related to any other active cases. The system is said to have a main page that looks similar to Microsoft Outlook featuring a calendar to remind the agent of deadlines on pending cases. Documents are signed electronically when the agent inserts a security badge into a card reader at the computer terminal.

FBI files finally go digital is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Many people are big fans of Bluetooth speaker systems for connecting to their mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. There are a number of Bluetooth speakers and audio systems on the market that allow people to stream music from something like a smartphone to the portable speaker without wires. A company called Vers took to Kickstarter to raise the money to bring its new 1Q Bluetooth speaker to market.

The Kickstarter campaign has proven very successful for the company, which originally sought to raise $10,000. So far, the company has raised over $73,000 in pre-order sales and support. The company is roughly halfway through its campaign with 15 days left to go. The project will fund on Thursday, August 16.

The speaker is called the Vers 1Q, and it’s a small Bluetooth speaker placed inside a handcrafted wooden enclosure. The speaker measures three-inches and uses Bluetooth 2.1 technology. The device promises a wireless range of 30-feet and battery life is estimated at 10 hours. The speakers have the ability to connect to each other to turn a single mono speaker into a pair of stereo speakers when needed.

The 1Q will work with Bluetooth and has a 3.5 mm wired port for devices like Bluetooth connectivity. The 1Q has the ability to pair with and remember up to 10 different devices and has a total power output of 6.5 W. The little speaker inside the wooden case is a two-inch full-range unit and the 1Q measures 3 x 3 x 3-inches and weighs 8 ounces. A pledge of $95 will get you a single 1Q in bamboo or walnut colors. A limited-edition red beach unit is available for pledges of $125 or more.

Vers 1Q wooden Bluetooth speaker passes $70,000 in funding is written by Shane McGlaun & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Nintendo has revealed a pair of new DSi variants for the US market, luring classic dual-screen gamers with some slick matte paint finishes. The new matte red and matte blue DSi models are functionally identical to their predecessors, but should stand out from the crowd when they go on sale through retailers from this week.

Since this is the DSi, not the 3DS, you don’t get any of the glasses-free 3D magic. Instead, it’s the same 256 x 192 twin screens and a pair of VGA-resolution cameras, one inside and one outside, along with a D-pad, shoulder triggers and an integrated microphone.

The DSi is already available in the US in white, black, pink and blue, though the latter is paler than the newly announced version. Pricing has not been confirmed, but we’re expecting street figures to come in at around $120, just like the four existing variants.

Meanwhile, all eyes are on the Nintendo 3DS and 3DS XL, the latter of which went on sale recently in Japan and reportedly saw nearly 200,000 unit sales in the first 24hrs. Nintendo is counting on the 3DS XL to rejuvenate its sales ahead of the Wii U release, having seen Wii demand plummet.

Nintendo DSi matte red and blue revealed is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

The FBI has announced that, after 12 years and $600 million, it has finally abandoned paper records in favor of a computerized system called Sentinel. Resembling a browser, it offers question-and-answer forms, case tracking and an ability to share files across the bureau’s network. Assistant director Jeffrey Johnson said that the biggest hurdle was convincing paper-loving agents to get on board, so the system is designed to nag users into adding relevant data that’s still extant on dead-trees. With any luck, some enterprising young agent will take advantage of the extensive database to find out the real location of Area 51.

Continue reading FBI finally goes digital, Mulder and Scully start throwing out the filing cabinets

Filed under: Software

FBI finally goes digital, Mulder and Scully start throwing out the filing cabinets originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Aug 2012 04:46:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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