Crucial m4 mSATA 256GB SSD Review

It is long been advised that strong state drives signify crucial improve you can give a modern laptop for enhancing its overall performance. At this time that continues to be true by a considerable margin, where even price range-oriented SSDs wipe the floor with the fastest 3.5" exhausting drives, offering customers with nearly instantaneous entry times in comparison with the 10ms-plus delay related to sooner 7200RPM HDDs.



Not solely are SSDs faster than HDDs, however additionally they devour less power and generate less heat. Moreover, as a result of they haven't any transferring parts, they're quieter, extra reliable and extra compact than their spinning counterparts. These "bonus" attributes don't matter a lot to desktop customers, however they're significantly advantageous to notebooks, which are increasingly outfitted with flash storage instead (or alongside) of sluggish HDDs.

Recognizing that demand, the Serial ATA International Organization standardized a brand new compact "mSATA" form consider September 2009, letting manufacturers produce tiny 1.eight" drives for ultrabooks and other such mobile systems. Despite the many advantages of SSDs, until recently, they had been a costly choice with a limited storage capability, particularly these of the mSATA kind issue, which have usually been 128GB or smaller.

Subsequently, we took notice when Crucial introduced its m4 mSATA SSD in a 256GB capability at beneath $1/GB. The mSATA drive is tiny in comparison with Essential's customary 2.5" m4, and despite the size difference, each 256GB models feature the same read and write speeds of 500MB/s and 260MB/s -- an exciting prospect, indeed. Assuming there are no catches, Crucial's new mSATA providing could become the go-to solution for ultraportable upgrades...

Crucial m4 mSATA in Detail

Like the 2.5" m4, the mSATA model uses the Marvell 88SS9174 controller together with a large Micron 256MB cache to improve small write performance. On condition that the Marvell 88SS9174 controller measures 17mm x 17mm alone, fitting it on a 30mm-large PCB along with the 256MB cache and 256GB worth of NAND flash memory is a formidable achievement.

Essential says its m4 collection has a MTBF (Imply Time Between Failures) of 1.2 million hours, which is somewhat more conservative of an estimate than the ~1.5 million hours you will discover on most different SSDs. To accompany the usual MTBF figure, Essential also gives a drive endurance rating for each model.

As mentioned, Essential claims the m4 mSATA 256GB can achieve a learn and write throughput of 500MB/s and 260MB/s, similar to the larger 2.5" model. The input/outputs per second (IOPS) rating is also the identical, reaching 45,000 IOPS for 4K random read and 50,000 IOPS for 4K random write.

The 64GB m4 mSATA is supposedly good for 36TB of knowledge, whereas the bigger fashions have a rating of 72TB. That might not sound too impressive, however 72TB breaks all the way down to an average of 40GB per day for five years, which is quite a bit for traditional use. Besides, the m4 mSATA shall be ancient historical past in 5 years anyway.

When it comes to bodily durability, Crucial claims that the m4 mSATA provides a shock resistance of 1500G and that is pretty typical among competing flash products. The corporate's new drives may operate reliably at temperatures of up to 70 levels Celsius and will survive eighty five levels when non-operational.

Like all SSDs, the m4 mSATA cites very low power consumption figures. At idle, all fashions use less than 100mW. When active, the 64GB and 128GB versions devour simply 150mW, whereas the 256GB model has a score of 160mW, which continues to be exceptionally low.

The m4 mSATA collection measures 50.eight x 29.85 x 3.75mm and weighs 0.3 ounces (10 grams). The drives are appropriate with each laptops and desktops, though you will want an mSATA to SATA Adapter in case you plan to install in a desktop that doesn't support an mSATA connector on the motherboard. They'll also work in RAID in the event you purchase greater than one.

How We Check, System Specs

In addition to our featured flash units, the Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.C 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM exhausting drive has been included for comparison's sake. Different SSDs tested have controllers such because the SandForce SF-2281, JMicron JMF616, Intel PC29AS218A, Marvell 88SS9174, Toshiba TC58NCF618GBT and Samsung S3C29MAX01. Our testing suite consists of 4 synthetic benchmark programs and our own file copying and cargo time tests.

As you seemingly know, whereas manufacturers declare impressive peak I/O performance out of the box, this efficiency can diminish over time. Not like a standard hard drive, any write operation made to an SSD is a two-step course of: a knowledge block should be erased and then written to. Clearly if the drive is new and unused there shall be nothing to erase and therefore the first step can be bypassed, however this only occurs as soon as unless the drive is trimmed.

Considering this, we'll check how much performance you possibly can count on to lose from every SSD over time. We'll study all drives in their clear unused state, and then run the HD Tach full benchmark a number of instances to fill the entire drive. This simulates heavy utilization and clearly signifies how efficiency will likely be affected after normal lengthy-time period use.

All drives on this roundup support the Windows 7 TRIM function, which is meant to counteract these unfavorable effects.

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iOS 6 hands-on review: The new Mail app

Mail is probably the app I use probably the most on my iOS devices. It’s where I triage my e mail and ship responses that require immediate attention. I can’t examine any personal email on my work laptop, so my iPhone is called upon to do some heavy lifting. Up until iOS 6, I’d thought of it merely adequate for my needs. Now, it’s moved into not-half-bad territory.



Beneath is a rundown of my experiences with the new options of the app, which will probably be obtainable to everybody with iOS 6, which is scheduled to roll out afterward Wednesday.

The VIP mailbox is the brand new characteristic of Mail that I use the most. It’s a technique to flag a contacts as VIPs and have their emails present up in the special VIP part in Mail as well as Notification Center. This is useful when I've my iPhone docked at work and when a VIP e-mail is received, Notification Middle will pop up with the preview of the email.

To turn on the VIP mailbox, go to Settings, Notification Middle, Mail, VIP. From there you can set how the VIP notifications are displayed.

To set a contact as a VIP, faucet on their identify in Mail. That may carry up the Sender page, and from there, tap on Add to VIP.

You'll be able to then learn your VIP mails by going to the VIP space below All Inboxes within the Mail sidebar.

For the most half I’m happy with the VIP flag. It’s a great way to rapidly discover and skim emails from crucial contacts.

In Microsoft Outlook, I’m a giant fan of flagging items. I’m not big on Inbox Zero, but I take advantage of the Mark for Followup flag to tag emails that include requests I must act upon. A version of that idea makes its appearance in Mail, albeit simply to flag items or mark them as unread. To Flag an item, in the message itself there is a flag button in the decrease left-hand corner. Tapping that will allow you to set flagged or unread status.

It’s not a feature I exploit every single day - fortuitously, not many of my non-day job emails are actionable. I have discovered, however, that it’s an amazing software to remind me of a type I must fill out once I get home. Which reminds me, I've a kind flagged.

Each Friday night I get together with a gaggle of friends. Usually leading up to this event there is a important quantity of trash talking and sending of principally juvenile photos we’ve found on the internet to make our point. Now with Mail, proper from the email I’m replying to I can faucet as if I’m attempting to copy text, faucet on the arrow on the best-hand aspect of the selection pop-up, after which choose “Insert Photograph or Video” from there, I can see my out there albums and choose a picture from there.

While I like the new additions to Mail, I’m by no means satisfied. One thing I’d wish to see added is making a calendar occasion or reminder proper from Mail. I do know Mail is smart enough to try and create an event if it sees “this Friday” in an e-mail, but I’d like to have the ability to tap on a button and create an occasion or reminder with the body of the text included. While unlikely, I’d additionally love if Mail could see which documents I had within the Cloud and let me send the email from within Mail. This way, if an editor sends me a note asking for one more copy of an article, I’d like to be able to reply to that e mail and ship the attachment from iCloud.

Total, though, iOS 6 Mail has some nice options that ought to assist you to be extra productive together with your mail workflow.

Via: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/ios-6-hands-on-review-the-new-mail-app/2012/09/20/8b8e99ae-031b-11e2-9132-f2750cd65f97_story.html

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IE exploit distributes PlugX malware, researchers say

Researchers from safety vendor AlienVault have identified a variant of a recently found Web Explorer exploit that's used to infect targeted computer systems with the PlugX distant access Trojan (RAT) program.

The newly found exploit variant targets the same unpatched vulnerability in IE 6, 7, 8 and 9 as the unique exploit, however makes use of barely totally different code and has a special payload, AlienVault Labs manager Jaime Blasco said Tuesday in a blog post.

 The primary exploit was discovered over the weekend on a recognized malicious server by security researcher Eric Romang and distributed the Poison Ivy RAT. The second exploit model discovered by AlienVault researchers was found on a different server and installs a much newer RAT program referred to as PlugX.

Nonetheless, file modification dates seen on each servers counsel that both variations of the exploit have been in use since a minimum of September 14.

"We know that the group actively utilizing the PlugX malware also called Flowershow had entry to the Internet Explorer ZeroDay [exploit targeting an unpatched vulnerability] days before it was uncovered," Blasco said. "Due to the similarities of the brand new found exploit code and the one found some days ago it is very possible that the identical group is behind each instances."

AlienVault researchers have been monitoring assaults that use the PlugX RAT since earlier this year. Based mostly on file debug paths found inside the malware, they imagine that the relatively new RAT was developed by a Chinese hacker generally known as WHG, who had previous ties with the Network Crack Program Hacker (NCPH), a well known Chinese hacker group.

 AlienVault researchers have also recognized two additional websites that served the brand new IE exploit prior to now, but no payload could possibly be obtained from them, Blasco said. One was a defense news site from India and the opposite was most likely a fake version of the 2nd Worldwide LED professional Symposium web site, he said. (Also see "Malicious net apps: Learn how to spot them, find out how to beat them.")

"It seems the guys behind this 0day have been targeting particular industries," Blasco said.

The server the place the original IE exploit was found additionally saved an exploit for an unpatched Java vulnerability final month. That Java exploit was utilized in attacks attributed by safety researchers to a Chinese hacker group dubbed "Nitro."

Microsoft already launched a security advisory concerning the new IE vulnerability and really helpful temporary mitigation solutions while it really works on a patch.

via: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2010148/ie-exploit-distributes-plugx-malware-researchers-say.html

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Microsoft urges prospects to download new security software after discovering main IE9 vulnerability

Following the discovery of a safety flaw that affects lots of of tens of millions of Internet Explorer users, Microsoft (MSFT) is now urging prospects to download new safety software program as an interim measure till it might probably fix the problem. The software large revealed late Monday that a newly discovered exploit in its Web Explorer Web browser can allow an attacker to take management of a victim’s computer.








In an effort to purchase time, Microsoft is now advising customers to download a safety instrument until the corporate can patch the bug. The software is named the Enhanced Mitigation Expertise Toolkit, or EMET, and is on the market free of charge on Microsoft’s website.

The company has additionally beneficial that customers regulate numerous Windows safety settings to forestall potential assaults, though it warned that doing so could affect a PC’s usability - it could be easier for customers to only install various browsers equivalent to Chrome or Firefox. The bug doesn't affect Internet Explorer 10.

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Dell Unveils 3 Computer systems Running Microsoft’s Windows 8 Software

Dell Inc. (DELL) unveiled three computer systems based mostly on Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)’s new Windows eight software program, together with a tablet sporting a 10-inch screen for corporate users, a notebook that weighs lower than four pounds and an all-in-one desktop.

Dell’s Latitude 10 tablet, set to debut this yr for enterprise customers, features Intel Corp. (INTC)’s Atom chip and runs Windows eight, which is designed to work higher with tablets. The corporate’s fall lineup can even embrace the Latitude 6430u laptop computer, a skinny and light Ultrabook design, and the OptiPlex 9010, which houses its electronics, power supply and 23-inch touch screen inside one chassis.

Dell and different personal-pc makers are relying on Windows eight to jog anemic growth as shoppers and businesses increasingly go for Apple Inc.’s iPad and different tablets. World PC shipments this yr may increase simply 1 p.c to 367 million models, market researcher IDC mentioned last month, down from a earlier projection of 5 percent growth.

Dell, whose personal PC gross sales declined 14 p.c in the fiscal second quarter, said its Windows eight tablet for businesses might be obtainable this year. No. 1 PC maker Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) has stated its Windows 8 tablet for businesses is probably not out there till January.




“We’re already sampling to prospects -- we'll ship this yr,” said Neil Hand, a Dell vp of product marketing, at an indication of latest Windows eight devices in San Francisco.
Machine Choices

The Latitude 10 includes options for a longer-lasting battery and a dock featuring extra ports for connecting to printers, screens and different equipment Hand said. The 6430u Ultrabook encompasses a 14-inch screen, replaceable battery and non-obligatory wi-fi docking system to be used in an office.

The all-in-one OptiPlex 9010 desktop machine may be placed on a desk or mounted on a wall, Hand said.

Last month at a Berlin commerce present, Dell confirmed off a number of other units primarily based on the new Windows operating system. The Spherical Rock, Texas-based company previewed a tablet based on Windows RT software program -- a model of Windows designed for chips operating ARM Holdings Plc (ARM)’s technology -- as well as an Intel- based convertible Windows 8 tablet that flips around to reveal a keyboard.

Dell shares fell 1.three % yesterday to $10.57 at yesterday’s close in New York. The inventory has fallen 28 percent this year.

via: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-09-19/dell-unveils-3-computers-running-microsoft-s-windows-8-software.html

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AirWatch Updates MDM, Configurator Help For iOS 6

Little doubt IT departments right this moment are testing the Apple Configurator with freshly upgraded iOS 6 devices. The Apple Configurator is an iOS management utility that runs on the Mac and offers mobile admins the flexibility to organize, supervise, and assign multiple devices.

By configuring as many as 30 gadgets at once, the Apple Configurator saves mobile directors from having to recycle gadgets one at a time.

Early adopters of the utility reported some buggy inconsistencies, but with an Aug. 23 update and the iOS 6 improve, Apple and IT departments are hoping they have a dependable tool to handle the increasing number of Apple mobile units within the enterprise.

After the free AirWatch app is installed on OS X 10.7.2 or later, a profile is ready on the utility and is then transferred to the gadgets by way of USB.

At once all devices can:

• Be sequentially named.
• Get upgraded to the latest iOS.
• Create and restore backups.
• Sync documents between assigned devices.
• Apply custom text, wallpaper, or the user's picture to a device's lock screen.
• Get a profile delete date or timeframe.

Admins will also use it to enroll devices in their mobile device management solution--the Apple Configurator is a roaming profile manager, but it's not an MDM.
Mobile device managers such as AirWatch provide ways to remotely manage devices. Specifically, AirWatch:

• Tracks devices through GPS device locating.
• Creates detailed reports and notifications.
• Performs a device lock or wipe.
• Locks down a device to a single app and disables the home button.
• Forces all device network traffic through a global HTTP proxy.
• Prevents installation of certificates or unmanaged configuration profiles.
• Disables iMessage, game center, and iBookstore.
• Does it all over the air.

AirWatch also improves mobile safety by adding advanced authentication, policies, and entry control.

It is a cloud-based service or installs on Windows. There isn't a Windows model of Apple Configurator, which is one sneaky solution to get Mac OS in the enterprise.

via: http://www.informationweek.com/byte/news/personal-tech/240007685

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HP beefs up Windows 8 gear with stylish laptops and business PCs

Hewlett-Packard provides ultraportables, fashionable notebooks, and two desktop PC to its Windows 8 lineup. The new gear, announced Wednesday, adds to HP’s rising household of Windows eight hardware first introduced in August that included a tablet-laptop hybrid device.

HP is tight lipped in the case of specifics on its new gear, so we'll be protecting the fundamentals for what the company has mentioned about the new PCs announce this week.

HP will refresh its Pavilion Sleekbook notebook line with a brand new Sleekbook 14 and 15 fashions that function a 14-inch and 15.6-inch display respectively, Webcam, and ports for HDMI, USB 3.0 and 2.0. You can too select up to one terabyte of storage, and an elective Nvidia discrete graphics card. The Sleekbook 14 lineup will function AMD accelerated processors and the 15.6-inch version could have Ivy Bridge-based Intel Core processors. Specifics akin to screen resolution, RAM, and specific processor options haven't been announced. Sleekbook 14 pricing starts at $500 and Sleekbook 15 pricing starts at $600, both lines are expected to begin transport on October 26, the identical day that Windows eight launches. The notebooks come in both black or red.

 

For players there may be the HP Envy Phoenix h9 desktop pc featuring an “armor-plated design,” three instrument-much less hard disk bays, Intel Core Ivy Bridge processors, and liquid cooling systems. This seems to be the first Phoenix desktop from HP using the Envy moniker, earlier Phoenix desktops have rolled out as Pavilion HPE PCs. Pricing for the Envy Phoenix h9 starts at $900 and the computer is predicted to be obtainable on October 26.

One other upcoming desktop is the HP Compaq Pro 6305 that includes A10, A8, A6, or A4 AMD Accelerated Processing Units (APUs), meant to improve efficiency for graphics processing. The 6350 will begin at $539 and starts transport pre-loaded with Windows 7 on October 8, so remember to seize your $15 Windows eight upgrade if you happen to purchase this PC.

HP also announced the upcoming Envy m4 notebook (see picture on the high of the story) featuring a 14-inch display, Ivy Bridge Intel Core processor, Webcam, and Intel Wireless Display (WiDi) to wirelessly stream content to an HDTV (adapter or constructed-in functionality required). The Envy m4 will begin at $900 and is also anticipated to roll out October 26.

Beyond asserting some basic features for upcoming Windows 8 laptops, HP also said it can start providing U.S. customers as much as 200MB of free information per 30 days for 2 years when you buy an HP Pavilion dm1 notebook. The data connection will probably be courtesy of T-Mobile's HSPA+ network. HP will start offering the deal to new dm1 house owners on October 26.

HP's announcement follows a similar Windows eight line-up reveal from Dell on Wednesday.

via: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2010184/hp-beefs-up-windows-8-gear-with-stylish-laptops-and-business-pcs.html

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