It has been several months since we last saw a transparency report from Dropbox, however there has been an update. Dropbox has said they have filed a legal brief asking the court to allow them to report the number of national security requests they receive, which for those unfamiliar, is something that is not allowed […]
The call for greater US government transparency just got louder: Dropbox has filed a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court brief that endorses petitions to disclose exact national security request numbers. Much like LinkedIn, Dropbox believes that limiting disclosures to broad ranges hurts transparency by implying that smaller firms get as many requests as larger rivals. The ban on exact figures also violates a First Amendment right to publish specific information, according to the cloud storage provider. We likely won’t know the effectiveness of the brief for some time — or ever, if the court proceedings remain a secret — but Dropbox can at least say that it made its case.
Filed under: Storage, Internet
Source: Dropbox
If you recently put off snapping up some external storage, consider it good timing: Western Digital has refreshed its whole My Book line. While a 1TB option is now out of the picture, the external hard drives are still available in 2TB, 3TB and 4TB versions, although the Mac varieties are capped at 3TB. They retail for $130, $150 and $180, respectively — in comparison, the original 4TB drive cost $250 when it debuted. Other than these changes, the HDDs mirror many of their predecessors’ features, including their USB 3.0 connection, auto-backup software with hardware encryption, password protection, Dropbox integration and Time Machine compatibility for Mac. Those who prefer the Studio line’s aluminum finish might shrug this news off, but those who’d like a regular My Book can snag one from Western Digital’s online store or from select retailers.
Filed under: Storage
Source: Western Digital store
Buffalo has showed off a new line of USB 3.0 portable hard drives, the HD-PCFU3. Coming in 500GB (Black & White), 1TB (Black & White) and 2TB (Black Only) capacities, these travel-friendly hard drives feature a USB 3.0 connection interface, TV recording support and come with a Turbo PC EX2 software to increase up to 20% of data storage capacity. The 500GB, 1TB and 2TB models will start shipping from early October for around $100, $139 and $279, respectively. [Buffalo]
Silicon Power has just added a new storage capacity ’1TB’ to its Diamond D20 USB 3.0 portable hard drive line-up. Just like the 500GB model, this ultra-thin portable hard drive (10.5mm thick) comes with a solid aluminum metal casing with unique carbon-like texture, a USB 3.0 connection interface and a built-in LED status indicator for displaying power on and data transfer activity. Pricing info is still unknown at the moment. [Silicon Power]
Imagine if all the world’s data was still stored on punch cards: we’d be drowning in cardboard. But just how much exactly?
     |
I-O Data has unveiled a new line of portable SSDs, the SSDP-ST. Coming in 64GB and 128GB sizes, these ultra-compact and lightweight SSDs (W53.8mm x D93mm x H8.6mm and 37g) are equipped with a USB 3.0 connection interface and promise to deliver read/write speeds of up to 290/96 MB/s (64GB model) and 290/176 MB/s (128GB model), respectively. The 64GB and 128GB models will go on sale from mid-October for around $105 and $158, respectively. [I-O Data]
SanDisk has introduced a new line of CompactFlash memory cards, the Extreme PRO CFast 2.0. Claimed as the world’s fastest memory card, these thumb-sized cards (60GB & 120GB models) are compliant with the new CFast 2.0 specification, have a SATA 6.0 Gbps interface and can deliver read and write speeds of up to 450MB/s and 350MB/s, respectively. Unfortunately, there’s no word on pricing yet. [SanDisk]
SSDs are wonderful things that take up next to no space and are incredibly fast to boot. But while most people understand the basics data security on HDDs, the same isn’t necessarily true of solid state storage.
| |
Team Group hits back with a new line of USB 3.0 flash drives, the T132. Coming in three different storage capacities: 16GB, 32GB and 64GB, these capless flash drives feature an eye-catching zinc alloy casing, a USB 3.0 connection interface and make use of COB (Chip-on-Board) technology. In terms of performance, these high-speed flash drives can deliver read and write speeds of up to 85MB/s and 20MB/s, respectively. Prices unannounced yet. [Team Group]
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
