Newsletter Archives

• Terabyte update 2024

  Posted on June 24, 2024 at 02:42 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  HARDWARE

  

  By Will Fastie

  This year, the numbers are bouncing around and the trends are muddled.

  Except for the influences exerted by events such as floods in Thailand and global pandemics, pricing for storage usually follows a predictable trend line.

  Prices are behaving slightly differently this time around. I will offer some thoughts about why this might have happened, but I admit to a lack of clarity.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.26.0, 2024-06-24).

  Hardware HDDs, Newsletters, RAM, SD Cards, SSDs, storage, Storage Prices

• Continuing trends in computing — and your choices

  Posted on December 18, 2023 at 02:43 CST by Ben Myers • Comment in the Forums

  BEN’S WORKSHOP

  

  By Ben Myers

  Let Windows 11 and other major trends be your guide to greater productivity, reliability, and security.

  Computer hardware and software continue their relentless advances — mostly progress, sometimes a hiccup. Paying attention to the various changes in our world of computing can save you time and money — and, after all, time is money. These trends may influence your near-term buying decisions, as our annual two-month Black Friday buying spree morphs into the January White Sale of unsold gear.

  These trends are the distillation of my experience based upon hundreds of computers making a stop in Ben’s Workshop along their way — whether from a factory or an auction house, as a trade-in, or simply for repair — and then into the hands of people using them or off to my convenient e-cycler.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.51.0, 2023-12-18).

  Ben's Workshop BitLocker, Enterprise computing, Gaming, HDDs, Home computing, Minimum Hardware Requirements, Newsletters, NVMe, Small Business computing, SSDs, Windows 11, Workstations

• The death of a hard drive

  Posted on September 11, 2023 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  ON SECURITY

  

  By Susan Bradley

  I got a call. “Susan? Can you help me with my laptop? It won’t boot up, and it’s making a weird noise.”

  “Sure,” I said to the friend on the other end of the phone call.

  But when my friend brought the laptop and I turned it on, I went from feeling certain I would tame the tech (after all, it’s me) to knowing it wasn’t looking good and that I might not be able to help after all.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.37.0, 2023-09-11).

  On Security Backups, Data recovery, Data Recovery Services, Drive Failures, HDDs, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, SSDs

• Opal becomes Obsidian

  Posted on July 24, 2023 at 02:43 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  HARDWARE DIY

  

  By Will Fastie

  In this final article about building my new Windows 11 PC, I reveal a surprising change.

  It’s taken quite a long time for my new Windows 11 PC to get to the point when it could become my daily driver. I admit to some sloth. Worse, I confess to some confusion.

  Nonetheless, the unexpected delay in the project has been a worthwhile learning experience.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.30.0, 2023-07-24).

  Hardware ASUS, Corsair, DIY, Hardware, HDDs, Migration, Motherboards, Newsletters, Noctua

• Terabyte update 2023

  Posted on June 26, 2023 at 02:45 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.26 • 2023-06-26

  Look for our BONUS issue on Monday, July 3, 2023!

  HARDWARE

  

  By Will Fastie

  There are several important trend lines this year.

  In last year’s installment of this series, I wrote about being surprised that there were no significant price changes.

  This year, there have been some changes, which may mean some tangible trends are emerging.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.26.0, 2023-06-26).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Hardware HDDs, Newsletters, SSDs, storage, Storage Prices

• Terabyte update 2022

  Posted on June 20, 2022 at 02:45 CDT by Will Fastie • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 19.25 • 2022-06-20

  HARDWARE

  

  By Will Fastie

  This year, the trend line for storage prices is harder to discern.

  In last year’s installment of this series, I wrote, “There has never been a time when I have been so uncertain about what comes next.”

  I’m glad I made that “prediction,” because I would never have guessed no change in prices. That’s pretty much what we got.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.25.0, 2022-06-20).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Hardware Hardware, HDDs, Newsletters, SSDs, Storage Prices