Western Digital has released a new 2TB Thunderbolt backup drive, claiming it performs better than any SSD on the market, reports Computerworld. My Book VelociRaptor Duo uses two 1TB, 10,000 RPM HDDs, with a single unit capable of speeds of up to 400MB / sec for reads and 380MB / sec for writes. When the two drives are daisy-chained together, these speeds can be boosted to 800MB / sec and 760MB / sec respectively.

The device is available for $899, and offers a price-per-gigabyte ratio of $0.43. Product manager Ralf San Jose said that the device is significantly cheaper than any SSD of similar capacity, though prices have fallen dramatically over the past year. The My Book VelociRaptor Duo is being released alongside My Passport for Mac, which is a much cheaper USB 3.0 drive available in 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities.

Backup· Drive· Duo· External· HDD· MyBook· Performance· Speed· SSD· Storage· Thunderbolt· Transfer· Velociraptor· Western Digital

Western Digital's new 2TB Thunderbolt drive, claims better performance than SSDs

Western Digital has released a new 2TB Thunderbolt backup drive, claiming it performs better than any SSD on the market, reports Computerworld. My Book VelociRaptor Duo uses two 1TB, 10,000 RPM HDDs, with a single unit capable of speeds of up to 400MB / sec for reads and 380MB / sec for writes. When the two drives are daisy-chained together, these speeds can be boosted to 800MB / sec and 760MB / sec respectively.

The device is available for $899, and offers a price-per-gigabyte ratio of $0.43. Product manager Ralf San Jose said that the device is significantly cheaper than any SSD of similar capacity, though prices have fallen dramatically over the past year. The My Book VelociRaptor Duo is being released alongside My Passport for Mac, which is a much cheaper USB 3.0 drive available in 500GB, 1TB, and 2TB capacities.

A few months back, Apple announced two adapters to add Ethernet and FireWire 800 capabilities to the machine through its Thunderbolt ports last month. While Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter was available immediately, Apple's tech specs page for the Retina MacBook Pro has listed the FireWire adapter as launching in July.

Apple now appears to be making the Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter available in its online store with a price tag of $29 and a shipping estimate of 1-3 business days.

Macrumors reported that "some users are experiencing intermittent success in viewing the new adapter in the store, with some users able to view the adapter while others simply see a "page not found" error." The issue is apparently related to caching, and all users should hopefully see the adapter shortly.

Dutch site One More Thing Reported earlier this week [Google translation] that one of its readers had sent an email to Apple CEO Tim Cook asking about the status of the adapter, with Cook replying "Tomorrow". This suggests that Apple would just barel make its July shipping estimate.

Accessories· Adapter· Apple· Firewire· Headlines· Thunderbolt

Apple ships Thunderbolt to Firewire adapter

A few months back, Apple announced two adapters to add Ethernet and FireWire 800 capabilities to the machine through its Thunderbolt ports last month. While Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter was available immediately, Apple's tech specs page for the Retina MacBook Pro has listed the FireWire adapter as launching in July.

Apple now appears to be making the Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter available in its online store with a price tag of $29 and a shipping estimate of 1-3 business days.

Macrumors reported that "some users are experiencing intermittent success in viewing the new adapter in the store, with some users able to view the adapter while others simply see a "page not found" error." The issue is apparently related to caching, and all users should hopefully see the adapter shortly.

Dutch site One More Thing Reported earlier this week [Google translation] that one of its readers had sent an email to Apple CEO Tim Cook asking about the status of the adapter, with Cook replying "Tomorrow". This suggests that Apple would just barel make its July shipping estimate.

Drobo has announced a pair of Thunderbolt and USB 3.0-capable storage devices. At the moment, the company has not released official pricing and availability information, but they did say that the devices will be arriving next month.

"Both the Drobo 5D and Drobo Mini include industry-first SSD acceleration—utilizing the performance benefits of solid state drives (SSDs) and the capacity benefits of hard disk drives (HDDs) to deliver an automated, no-compromise system. In addition to supporting SSDs in any of the drive bays, both units include an additional bay that will accommodate a small-form-factor SSD to achieve significant performance boosts while making all drive bays available for high-capacity HDDs.

The products also support both lightning-fast Thunderbolt (2 ports) and USB 3.0 connectivity, an industry first for storage arrays that will provide flexibility to both Mac and Windows users. The two Thunderbolt ports allow customers to easily daisy-chain devices to accommodate massive growth, and the USB 3.0 port ensures compatibility to millions of USB systems.

Along with SSD acceleration and Thunderbolt / USB 3.0 interfaces, the new Drobo products have been completely redesigned from the ground up with new hardware and software architectures. These enhancements provide a significant increase in processing capability and several optimizations to BeyondRAID™ that will increase baseline performance by at least five times—prior to the addition of SSDs—easily making the new Drobo 5D and Drobo Mini the fastest storage arrays in their class."

Users who are interested in the Drobo 5D and Mini can sign up to be notified of availability on Drobo's website.

News· Technology· Thunderbolt· USB 3.0

Drobo Announces New Thunderbolt and USB 3.0 Storage Devices

Drobo has announced a pair of Thunderbolt and USB 3.0-capable storage devices. At the moment, the company has not released official pricing and availability information, but they did say that the devices will be arriving next month.

"Both the Drobo 5D and Drobo Mini include industry-first SSD acceleration—utilizing the performance benefits of solid state drives (SSDs) and the capacity benefits of hard disk drives (HDDs) to deliver an automated, no-compromise system. In addition to supporting SSDs in any of the drive bays, both units include an additional bay that will accommodate a small-form-factor SSD to achieve significant performance boosts while making all drive bays available for high-capacity HDDs.

The products also support both lightning-fast Thunderbolt (2 ports) and USB 3.0 connectivity, an industry first for storage arrays that will provide flexibility to both Mac and Windows users. The two Thunderbolt ports allow customers to easily daisy-chain devices to accommodate massive growth, and the USB 3.0 port ensures compatibility to millions of USB systems.

Along with SSD acceleration and Thunderbolt / USB 3.0 interfaces, the new Drobo products have been completely redesigned from the ground up with new hardware and software architectures. These enhancements provide a significant increase in processing capability and several optimizations to BeyondRAID™ that will increase baseline performance by at least five times—prior to the addition of SSDs—easily making the new Drobo 5D and Drobo Mini the fastest storage arrays in their class."

Users who are interested in the Drobo 5D and Mini can sign up to be notified of availability on Drobo's website.

Apple has released an update to all Macs with Thunderbolt ports, adding support for the new Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter. The update weighs in at 520KB and requires OS X Lion 10.7.4.

"About Thunderbolt Software Update 1.2.1

- Adds support for the Apple Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter. "

Apple· Software Update· Thunderbolt

Apple Releases Thunderbolt Software Update 1.2.1

Apple has released an update to all Macs with Thunderbolt ports, adding support for the new Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter. The update weighs in at 520KB and requires OS X Lion 10.7.4.

"About Thunderbolt Software Update 1.2.1

- Adds support for the Apple Thunderbolt to Gigabit Ethernet Adapter. "

Belkin has added some great upgrades to its "almost ready" Thunderbolt Express Dock, and a new Thunderbolt cable for Mac and PC users.

The Thunderbolt Express Dock is one of the first docking solution for both PC and Mac users that enables instant access to up to nine desktop peripherals with one cable! To top it off even more, it provides an easy transition from a desktop workstation to a mobile device. Now, it has got even better with updates that include three USB 3.0 ports, instead of USB 2.0 ports, as well as a eSata port.

I have to say, Thunderbolt hasn't really caught on yet in the market place, but, as file sizes get larger, especially media files, Thunderbolt will be amazing! Apple has already included Thunderbolt ports on the MacBook Air, The MacBook Pro, The iMac and the Mac Mini.

Belkin's Express Dock will retail for US $399.00 and the Thunderbolt cable will list at $44.99.

Belkin· Express Dock· Thunderbolt· USB 3.0

Belkin Upgrades Thunderbolt Express Dock with USB 3.0, eSATA

Belkin has added some great upgrades to its "almost ready" Thunderbolt Express Dock, and a new Thunderbolt cable for Mac and PC users.

The Thunderbolt Express Dock is one of the first docking solution for both PC and Mac users that enables instant access to up to nine desktop peripherals with one cable! To top it off even more, it provides an easy transition from a desktop workstation to a mobile device. Now, it has got even better with updates that include three USB 3.0 ports, instead of USB 2.0 ports, as well as a eSata port.

I have to say, Thunderbolt hasn't really caught on yet in the market place, but, as file sizes get larger, especially media files, Thunderbolt will be amazing! Apple has already included Thunderbolt ports on the MacBook Air, The MacBook Pro, The iMac and the Mac Mini.

Belkin's Express Dock will retail for US $399.00 and the Thunderbolt cable will list at $44.99.