The 1TB Laptop

  • How would you like a 1TB disk drive in your laptop? It's not quite here yet, but Hitachi is working on a 1TB 3.5 inch drive. Not quite laptop size, but heck at that size, I might just want to carry another small external box with me. Think what you could do with 1TB.

    A few dozen movies ripped to disc for those downtimes.

    Every song you've ever purchased.

    Every digital picture you've ever taken. In high quality!

    The entire collective knowledge of SQL Server from the SQLServerCentral.com forums 🙂

    And oh yeah, a complete backup of most databases that you need to work with. Especially if you use some compression program like Litespeed, SQLBackup, etc.

    It's not often that I'm crunched for space these days, but the place where I usually am is when working with a database that I need to make a copy of. Especially when you're consulting and you want to develop a bit away from their office. A nice cushion of space from a 1TB drive could make transporting data much easier. And way more convenient than tape.

    But like USB keys, it will also open more places up to theft. Can you imagine someone being able to copy 1TB worth of data and leave with it? What if someone at Choicepoint decided to take 1TB worth of data?

    Given the growing capabilities and shrinking sizes of hardware and the ever growing creativity of thieves, I wouldn't be surprised to start seeing computers in business becoming sealed boxes that cannot be opened. We may even get to the point where the monitor, keyboard, and mouse are on your desk and the computer itself is a blade in the electrical closet. Or the data center.

    1984 anyone?

    Steve Jones

  • It's already 1984 in the British Civil Service. On my desktop PC the USB ports are disabled, the CD drive is only available to a network administrator and the C drive is read only with our personal area for my documents etc on a network server.

    USB keys are banned as are PDAs and connection to the network of any device not cleared by IT security. Laptops are few and far between and must be supplied and approved by IT security.

    Internet access is available through a n IGS gateway but strictly monitored and has been removed from those abusing it (2 hours on ebay in a day!). Various sites are inaccessible and internet email such as hotmail and downloads on the desktop are prevented completely.

    External email is archaic with an hourly send/receive via the gateway pc which firewalls, spam checks and antiviruses everything. Personal mail is also banned. To download anything it has to go through a stand-alone, be put on a CD, then checked and cleared by IT security, taking a couple of days to get through!

    Any software updates go through a rigorous test and verify before installation - we still haven't got some service packs through yet!

    Despite all this we survive!

     

  • My keyboard, monitor and mouse (and me) are in MN...My PC is a blade in Southern CA.

    This is 2004.

  • thieves will find a way... no matter what 'guard dogs' we put in their way... the best thing to do?

    make the penality fit the crime and ensure that whistleblowers are both protected and rewarded... much of the revisions to workflow as result of HIPAA and SOX have been to split authorizations amongst two or more individuals, requiring both to approve any critical/sizeable action/transaction... if 'partners in crime' each knew there was gureenteed reward as opposed to the uncertainity of successfully ripping off the company, there would be a risk-reward-punishment ratio that would deter almost anyone...

    Howard_NYC@yahoo.com

  • what do you back it up to? =) and when it fails? hitachi's are horrendously bad for reliablilty. I have 8 bad ones I use as paper weights around the offce. Ship me back reman's will they... like they will ever make it back into production. I'll take a terabyte from seagate or even Wd before I go back to discarded IBM technology.

    and defragmenting? what the heck ...

  • We've got to get off of those 'spinning platters' ... USB ('thumb') drives are a great start. There has been solid state disk available for at least a decade (your 'thumb' drive is just smaller/cheaper and keeps data without power !). Right now a 1 Gb 'thumb' drive is about the size of a large car key. We're already there size wise, now we just need the cost to come down ($150 for my 1 Gb 'thumb' drive). Sure theft and piracy are issues just as they always have been. Let's stop talking negatives and accentuate the positive to progress the technology and it's use. Always remember ... "locks only keep honest people out".

    RegardsRudy KomacsarSenior Database Administrator"Ave Caesar! - Morituri te salutamus."

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