SSD - Solid State Drive

What is an SSD?

     An SSD is known as a Solid State Drive.  It achieves higher transfer speeds than a traditional Hard Drive.  A regular hard drive can only work as fast as the disk spins; typically the speed is around 7200 rpm.  Therefore, the limit for transfer rates can only go so high, roughly 1030 Mbits/s (or about 103 MB/s, depending on the hard drive).  Further, because the traditional hard drive has a metal platter that spins, the faster it spins the more heat is generated.  This means it has a tendency to degrade faster over time.  So, the trade-off is longevity for performance.  If one were to use high powered cooling e.g. water cooling, the life of the hard drive could be extended by keeping the case cooler than a standard set of fans.  However, with Solid State Drives this no longer becomes and issue.

Why are transfer rates higher?  How fast can they go?

    Because there are no moving parts in the Solid State Drive, the speeds of the drive are significantly higher.  Since the SSD stores data in blocks, the recall time on the information stored is incredibly fast.  Many computer functions, such as boot times and saving/loading documents will occur at a much faster rate than the HDD.  Rates of around 500 MB/s are achievable with this new technology.  The downfall, of course, is the cost.  SSD's at the moment are rather expensive when compared to traditional hard drives.  Yet, the benefits far outweigh the additional cost.  Some folks, such as myself, would get an internal SSD to load applications like Photoshop and Steam (to store all the games) and use the HDD for storing movies.  Also, as the technology becomes cheaper to produce on a massive scale, larger SSD's will become available for a lower price.

The Playstation Vita

     Released on the 15th of November in 2012, the Playstation vita was the second installment in Sony's handheld family.  Boasting a second analog stick, front and rear touchpads and a more powerful ARM 4 core processor, it certainly had more functionality and power than its predecessor, the PSP.  Further, they included a 3G model which would allow gamers to upload scores and find gamers nearby, as well as collect goods for their games.  This did not come for free, and they made a deal with ATT to cover the charges for data.  The smallest plan (around 300 MB) was about 15 dollars per month.  It became quickly apparent that this feature was not well thought out as gamers collectively shrugged with apathy at the innovation.  With a selection of games available at launch, the game Little Deviants showcased the PSV's abilities the best.  Other games, such as Wipeout 2048 and the next Ridge Racer appeared to be customary installments to the release library.  Shortly after its release in America it was apparent its reception was not fantastic.  Sony attempted desperately to add further functionality to the system.  For example the ability to cross-buy games for both the vita and the PS3.  One could buy one copy of the game and own the other copy.  By extension, they added save sharing to support the cross-buying idea.  Unfortunately it seemed too little too late.  There was little to no presence of the vita at E3 of 2012.

    With the upcoming release of the playstation 4, Sony has put more effort into making the vita a viable system and boost its sales.  They claim it will become an integral part of the experience.  It's similar to Microsoft's smart glass technology, or the Wii U's screened controller.  Also, with the passage of time, the release window woes that plague every system seem to be wearing off the vita.  Yet, to this day there still is very little mention of much by way of games through the vita.  Possibly the best feature is the complimentary PS+ subscription with the purchase of the new vita.  It provides gamers with free games each month and discounts on purchasing other games.  The person would own games as long as their subscription was paid.  With the upcoming paid requirement for most multiplayer on Playstation 4, it seems almost necessary to pay for playstation plus, and reap its benefits.  This benefits the vita, because one subscription covers all of your devices.  In short, Sony has crafted a creative solution to breathe new life into the vita.