memory

Too busy to keep up with the tech news? Here are some of the more interesting stories from CNET for Friday, May 27.

Obama appointing Twitter CEO to advisory group Twitter chief Dick Costolo will join the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. Microsoft's Scott Charney and McAfee's David DeWalt will be appointed too. More

Microsoft to showcase new tablet OS next week? Software giant reportedly plans to take the wraps off a new operating system next week, perhaps running on hardware using Nvidia's ARM-based Tegra processor. More

Zuckerberg: Privacy anxiety is fleeting New features may initially give … Read more

This week, KingMax announced a 64GB MicroSD card that puts the equivalent of two and a half Blu-ray discs in a container the size of a thumbnail.

The range of sizes and formats available in memory cards these days is mind-boggling, with jaw-dropping 128GB SDXC options slowly slipping into the mainstream.

Just trying to imagine what I would put on a 64GB (or higher) storage card to feel like I'm really taking advantage of it is difficult. Some easy candidates come to mind, such as RAW images and PSD files with dozens (or even hundreds) of layers, HD movies, entire discographies, and so on. But will the average person ever use all of the real estate in a high-capacity card? It's hard to say. Regardless, as manufacturers continue to inflate these cards, smaller capacities will become more inexpensive, which is great for the consumer.

If you were to buy a memory card today, what size would you choose and why? Sound off in our poll, and be sure to elaborate in the comments section on how size matters to you. Does more storage space just mean empty space to you? Or will you just get lazier about cleaning off old data? Is there even such a thing as large enough? … Read more

It's Friday. I'm on no sleep. Got a crazy-busy weekend coming up. My to-do list is as long as my arm. Computers and electronics are failing all around me. (Two desktops in two weeks, one Xbox 360, and one Novatel Wireless aircard, plus my Comcast Internet keeps flaking out at random intervals. Shall I go on?)

What does all this rambling incoherence (or is it incoherent rambling?) have to do with today's post? For some reason it seemed easier to write briefly about five deals than to write at length about one. I may regret that decision; … Read more

MacFixIt Answers is a feature in which we answer questions e-mailed in by our readers. This week there were questions on any drawbacks to installing more RAM chips in a system, if there are manufacturer or size requirements for RAM, how to view images in Mail, and how to print out MacFixIt articles without including ads and other Web-based content. We continually answer e-mail questions, and though we present a few answers here, we welcome alternative approaches and views from readers and encourage you to post your suggestions in the comments.

Question: Drawbacks to installing more RAM MacFixIt reader "… Read more

There are a couple of reasons why you might consider installing more RAM on your Mac. These can include needing more for current tasks or purchasing more in anticipation of future use with OS and application upgrades; however, regardless of your reasons for upgrading, if you consider purchasing your upgrade from Apple then you will likely and unnecessarily pay nearly five times as much for your RAM.

The components in Apple's computers are for the most part the exact same as other PCs (same CPU, same video card, hard drive, and chipset), meaning that as with other PC systems … Read more

Sony is a venerable name in the world of consumer electronics. This is, after all, the company that invented the CD, the Walkman, the Blu-ray Disc, and has made a deep impression on the tech world and mainstream culture.

That's why when Sony screws up--something a company is apt to do every now and again while in business more than half a century--it's notable. Sometimes it's a singular event, other times it's a product with high expectations that ends up being a dud.

The latest mistake, the hacking of PlayStation Network customers' personal data, is … Read more

Seagate has agreed to acquire Samsung's hard drive business for $1.375 billion in a deal that gives Samsung a 9.6 percent stake in the hard-drive specialist and that forges an alliance for the new era of flash memory storage.

The companies announced the deal today, a new step in the steady consolidation of a major part of the computing industry. Last month, Western Digital signed a deal to acquire Hitachi's hard-drive unit for $4.3 billion, thereby vaulting it over Seagate to become the largest hard drive maker. Seagate's deal today would reduce the market … Read more

The iPad 2 is "winning" with two double-your-fun hardware features. Buh-bye iPad 1.

After using the iPad 2 for a few weeks, I can now say the upgrade was worth it. Even waiting in line with the huddled Los Angeles masses, yearning for the iPad 2, was worth it.

Allow me to insert a brief parenthetical by saying I wouldn't be completely honest if I didn't mention there's always a psychological need to justify the purchase of a pricey gadget. Not unlike seeking absolution for a sin. That said, I'm pretty sure this review … Read more

I've owned, listened to, and reviewed a lot of high-end CD players, but none of them sounded as good as PS Audio's PerfectWave Transport and Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) components.

The Transport uses a CD-ROM drive mechanism that "reads" and rereads the data on the CD as many times as necessary until a bit-perfect match is achieved. PS Audio's Web site says the CD's data is placed in a 64MB memory buffer as the music plays, so you're not directly listening to the CD. To prove that claim remove the disc from the Transport and the music will continue playing for approximately 30 seconds!

The Transport can also play high-resolution WAV files off DVDs, with sample rates up to 192-kHz with 24-bit resolution. I had a few of these DVDs on hand for this review, and the PerfectWave components really shined with high-resolution audio. … Read more