Text 17013, 126 rader
Skriven 2007-03-11 13:45:32 av mike (1:379/45)
  Kommentar till text 17004 av Rich Gauszka (1:379/45)
Ärende: Re: Apple May Use Flash Memory For Notebooks
====================================================
From: mike <mike@barkto.com>


NOR flash - 100,000 cycles
NAND flash - 1.000.000 cycles


http://www.eepn.com/Locator/Products/Index.cfm?Ad=1&ArticleID=34509

===
...
Made up of gates, there are basically two types of flash memory devices: NOR
and NAND. In operation, NOR flash performs like the typical RAM found in a
computer, allowing direct access to a byte or bytes of space regardless of
their position in the storage space. In use, NOR flash may be used to store a
component's application-specific software, such as firmware in a router or a
computer's BIOS. NOR flash specifies a working life of around 100,000 write
cycles before developing bad blocks.

About a year after Intel unveiled the first NOR flash device, Toshiba developed
NAND flash, which relies on flash-translation software that makes the device
appear as a hard-disk drive to the operating system. This type of flash
exhibits three distinct advantages over its NOR counterpart: a longer lifespan
in the realm of one million read/write cycles, faster read/write times, and
lower cost. In addition, NAND flash is capable of retaining larger chunks of
data for either long- or short-term storage. The NAND devices are more useful
for storing data collected by or downloaded to a product, i.e., information
from a data logger, photos/video from a digital camera, music files on a MP3
player, and so forth.

A more recent and third type of flash is OneNAND flash. Created by Samsung, it
supports faster data throughputs and higher densities, two major requirements
for high-resolution photography, video, and other media applications. OneNAND
could be viewed as a kind of hybrid of both NOR and NAND technologies.
Essentially, a single OneNAND chip integrates a NOR flash interface, NAND-flash
controller logic, a NAND-flash array, and as much as 5 KB of buffer RAM. In
terms of speed, it can deliver sustained read rates up to 108 MB/s. ...
===

  /m



On Sun, 11 Mar 2007 11:21:35 -0400, "Rich Gauszka"
<gauszka@dontspamhotmail.com> wrote:

>What's the current guaranteed erase - rewrite cycle limit on flash?  I
>thought I saw something like 10,000 times before all bets are off.  If so, a
>rather unsophisticated program could blow away your flash drive in minutes
>
>
>"mike" <mike@barkto.com> wrote in message
>news:ht68v218901gqiv2340hu4u2p5b59h60gv@4ax.com...
>>
>> http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=197801483
>>
>> ===
>> Apple Inc. may sell zippy notebook computers later this year that use
>> the same type of fast memory as music players and digital cameras,
>> driving down prices of hard-disk drives, an analyst said Thursday.
>>
>> The maker of the popular iPod music player and Macintosh computers hopes
>> to introduce so-called flash memory in small computers known as
>> subnotebooks in the second half of 2007, Shaw Wu, an analyst at American
>> Technology Research who has a "buy" rating on Apple shares and does not
>> own any stock, said in investor notes Wednesday and Thursday.
>>
>> A shift to flash memory in place of much slower hard-disk drives would
>> eliminate one headache for consumers: lengthy start-up times when
>> turning on computers.
>>
>> Apple of Cupertino, California, already uses flash memory in its iPod
>> Nano and iPod Shuffle music players. Flash memory is lighter, uses less
>> power and takes up less space than hard-disk drives.
>>
>> Wu, who was among the first analysts to forecast the unveiling of
>> Apple's iPhone music player/phone earlier this year, cited unnamed
>> industry sources as the basis for his report.
>>
>> "The time is right for the flash makers to make a move" as flash memory
>> prices decline, Wu said by telephone. "Apple, from what we understand,
>> is pretty much ready. The ball is in the flash vendors' court."
>>
>> Apple spokeswoman Lynn Fox said the company does not comment "on rumor
>> and speculation". Apple shares were up 60 cents, or 0.7 percent, at
>> $88.32 in early afternoon trading on Nasdaq.
>>
>> A transition to flash memory for computers could put pressure on makers
>> of traditional hard-disk drives including Seagate Technology, the
>> largest U.S. hard-disk drive maker, Wu said.
>>
>> Apple, known as a technology innovator, would be among the first
>> personal computer makers to use flash memory for storing data in
>> computers, a step that some chip memory makers, including Micron
>> Technology Inc., have said is inevitable as prices for flash decline and
>> storage capacity increases.
>>
>> Flash memory chips have solid state circuitry that uses no moving parts,
>> making them less vulnerable to damage than hard-disk drives. Prices of
>> flash memory have been declining rapidly but are still higher than those
>> for hard-disk drives, Wu said, meaning early flash-based computers would
>> be more expensive.
>>
>> Apple would use a miniature version of its Mac OS X operating system in
>> the flash-based subnotebook computers, Wu said, again citing unnamed
>> sources. The computers could be introduced in the second half of this
>> year, he said.
>>
>> Shares of Samsung Electronics Co. -- the world's largest maker of
>> so-called NAND flash memory used in gadgets such as cell phones, music
>> players and digital cameras -- closed up 0.7 percent in Seoul. Toshiba
>> Corp., the No. 2 flash maker, rose more than 5 percent in Tokyo.
>>
>> Shares of Seagate were up 10 cents, or 0.4 percent, at $24.80, in early
>> afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
>> ===
>>
>>
>> Hmmm... combine the flash drives with the LED backlights that have been
>> rumoured, and the next round of Apple notebooks could be interesting...
>>
>>  /m
>

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