2011 May | Other World Computing Blog

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iCloud To Be Announced At WWDC

Tuesday, May 31st, 2011 | Author: OWC Chris S.

In an Apple Corporate press release dated this morning, in addition to Mac OS X 10.7 “Lion” and iOS 5, Apple will be unveiling their new “cloud services” offering, iCloud, at the Worldwide Developer’s Conference keynote next week.

The existence and function of iCloud has been subject to rumor for some time, though it’s generally been accepted that the service will leverage that huge data center Apple has in North Carolina. However, the exact nature of what it will do is still a matter of debate.

Some believe that iCloud will be a replacement for MobileMe, while others think it’ll be an add-on service, focused more on media and “bringing your music with you.” Apple’s acquisition of music-distribution site Lala in 2009 would seem to give at least a little credibility to the latter.

Whatever the exact details are, we’ll find out early next week. That is, of course, unless you happen to work for Apple and want to violate your NDA’s. In that case, post away!

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Category: Fresh from Apple

Tags: Apple, developer, iCloud, iOS, iPad, iPhone, Macintosh, Mobile Me, WWDC

Memorial Day 2011 Observed at OWC

Monday, May 30th, 2011 | Author: OWC Larry

The American Flag just before sunrise today

OWC is closed today in honor and recognition of Memorial Day. Not just another three day weekend, Memorial Day is a day of remembrance to commemorate the lives given in service to our great nation; parades, speeches, and family observances occur nationwide to honor those thousands of fallen men and women.

This solemn day of remembrance was originally designated in 1868 to be recognized each year on the 30th of May. In 1971 Congress passed legislation to change the recognized day to instead fall on the last Monday of each May. In this year 2011, the now designated day does coincide with that originally designated. With respect to what this day is about, I do believe and without regard to a weekend or last Monday of a month, that it should May 30th every year. A great source of information on this important day and its history is the website www.USMemorialDay.org.

The American Flag lowered to half-mast at dawn

OWC proudly flies an American Flag at our headquarters and in compliance with Memorial Day decorum, it has been my personal honor to set our flag to half-mast at sunrise and then restore it to full mast at noon. The entire OWC team takes its responsibility to our members of the Armed Forces very seriously and we support their efforts far beyond honoring those who have lost their lives.

We owe so much to our fallen heroes, to every Veteran, and to the men and women serving to protect our country today. We remember those who paid the ultimate price for our Freedom with a moment of silence and the playing of Taps at 3pm.

American Flag at noon - high and proud - full-mast

Words can hardly convey our thanks for the Freedom and Liberty that they have protected with their lives. In 2000, legislation was passed to grant the right to every Veteran that a bugle rendition of taps be played at their passing. With not enough buglers to attend to each, it was more typical that it be played from recording or other means. Veteran Tom Day founded Bugles Across America to make sure every Vet could have the deserved honor and recognition of taps played live. Today this organization has over 7500 bugler volunteers to ensure just that.

Our sincere thanks and gratitude goes out to all those serving today and those who have served in our Armed Forces across time. We remember and honor all and always those that have fallen in the line of duty.

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Category: Random Thoughts & Topics

Tags: air force, army, coast guard, marines, Memorial Day, miltary, navy, observance, old Glory, OWC, taps, United States, USA

OWC Closed in Observance of Memorial Day

Monday, May 30th, 2011 | Author: OWC NewsFeed

Other World Computing will be closed today, May 30, in observance of Memorial Day.

We will return to normal business operations tomorrow, May 31, beginning at 12:01AM CT with Live Chat. Our normal telephone support resumes at 8:00AM CT.

Our sincere thanks and gratitude goes out to all those serving in our Armed Forces, as well as those who have served over the years. We remember and honor those that have fallen in the line of duty. Our hearts go with all of you who have lost loved ones in time of war and strife.

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Category: OWC Unplugged

Tags: air force, army, coast guard, marines, Memorial Day, miltary, navy, observance, OWC, United States

MacBook Pro 2011 Models and SATA 3.0 (6.0Gb/s) – Update – 5/27/2011

Friday, May 27th, 2011 | Author: OWC Larry

Since we first looked at a potential fix for problems with SATA 3.0 operation in the main bay of the 2011 MacBook Pros on April 15, we’ve learned much more.

It’s not so sweet at this point, but I will at least try to keep it as short as possible.

Before going any further, I do want to be clear that, while I believe the issues noted should be and will be resolved, Apple makes no advertisement—in specification or otherwise—that creates any obligation for them to fix the issues noted. Again, I do believe they will… I also believe it is in everyone’s best interest that they do fix it, with respect to the incredible performance that our SSDs unleash in these fantastic MacBook Pro 2011 models. If we’re lucky, it will be a fix handled via some software update; it would seem more likely to require a hardware adjustment, but we’ll see. FWIW, our shielding kit does make a difference for some, but not all, as there is just significant enough variability in the issue which means it ultimately needs to be resolved by Apple themselves.

Ok… To the details… Article Continues…

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Category: Benchmarking/Performance

Tags: 2.0, 2001, 3.0, 3G, 6G, Data Doubler, drive, extreme, MacBook Pro, optical, sata, SSD

Time is Running Out to Vote for OWC in the ABA Awards

Friday, May 27th, 2011 | Author: OWC NewsFeed

Last week, we mentioned that the OWC Mercury Aura Pro Express Solid State Drive was named as a finalist for the 2011 American Business Awards “New Product of the Year—Computer Hardware” title. While the final “Stevie Award” winner is determined by a panel of distinguished judges…YOU can vote on what you feel should be the People’s Choice in that category.

But you have to hurry as there’s only one week left to vote.

All you need to do is pop on over to the award voting site and hit the “Submit” button to make the OWC Mercury Aura Pro Express your choice as the “Favorite New Computer Hardware Product”.

Like OWC Larry said, “We are excited to be included in this year’s American Business Awards, as we think the Mercury Aura Pro Express SSD is the kind of groundbreaking product the award was instituted to honor.

“With a continuous dedication to raising the bar in product innovation, technical support, and customer service, the OWC team strives to be the people’s choice in technology upgrades and accessories every day of the year.”

So let’s get the word out that the Aura Pro Express is the real People’s Choice!

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Category: Product Spotlight

Tags: ABA, American Business Award, Aura, Express, Mercury, SSD, Stevie Award, Vote

US Goes Deep Into Space With New Vehicle

Thursday, May 26th, 2011 | Author: OWC Chris S.

image courtesy of NASA

So while it appears the U.S. is leaving Low Earth Orbit operations (like the ISS) to the private sector and other countries once the Space Shuttle program is retired later this year, our country is going to “boldly go” into the unknown depths of space.

Finally, some good news from NASA that perhaps can return us to the pinnacle of space exploration!

In a press release dated May 24th, NASA officials announced plans for a new spacecraft designed for deep space exploration. The Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) is based on designs originally intended for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle, part of the Constellation Program that was canceled early last year.

“We are committed to human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and look forward to developing the next generation of systems to take us there,” NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. “The NASA Authorization Act lays out a clear path forward for us by handing off transportation to the International Space Station to our private sector partners, so we can focus on deep space exploration. As we aggressively continue our work on a heavy lift launch vehicle, we are moving forward with an existing contract to keep development of our new crew vehicle on track.”

This new spacecraft is being designed by Lockheed Martin Corp., who has been involved with many NASA projects over the years.

With 316 cubic feet of pressurized, habitable space and a rough cone shape, the MPCV resembles a slightly larger Apollo Command/Service Module with a fresh coat of black paint. However, it has been designed for missions up to 21 days, will carry four astronauts, and is supposed to be 10 times safer during launch and re-entry than the Space Shuttle.

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Category: Random Thoughts & Topics

Tags: deep, exploration, module, MPCV, NASA, space, space shuttle

What Can An OWC SSD Do For You?

Wednesday, May 25th, 2011 | Author: OWC Ryan

Hey guys and gals out there… I work at OWC, but I’m just a warehouse guy. I’m certainly no “power user”, but luckily for me, the powers that be decided to let me test drive an OWC Mercury EXTREME Pro 6G SSD in a 2.0GHz 2011 MacBook Pro for them anyway…and all I can say is WOW!

My work consists of very frequent use of browsers, database applications, PDFs, spreadsheets, and the like. I usually have 5-12 apps running at any given time, and am always switching frequently between them.

Folks told me I “wouldn’t really” benefit from the additional speed the OWC Pro 6G SSD offered. All I can say is… well… “Wrong!” Article Continues…

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Category: Product Spotlight, Random Thoughts & Topics