disk

Disk Utility may combine custom drive setups on some Macs

Apple's Disk Utility program is the built-in drive and volume management tool for OS X that is included not just in the working OS X installation but also in the OS X installation and recovery volumes for an OS X system. While useful for checking system file permissions and fixing formatting errors, there are some instances where it may not properly manage some custom drive setups on iMac and Mac Mini systems.

In 2012 Apple introduced iMacs and Mac Minis with Fusion drives. This Fusion drive, in which a smaller solid-state drive is coupled with a larger hard drive … Read more

Review: Lion DiskMaker for Mac lets users create a bootable USB of their OS

While not easily completed with native programs, users may still want the ability to create a bootable USB of their Mac OS. Lion DiskMaker for Mac lacks any other features, but completes this function well.

The free program downloaded and installed easily. Minimal instructions were included beyond a frequently asked questions section and it was not clear if technical support was available. At startup, Lion DiskMaker for Mac immediately asks which operating system the user would like to use, whether OS X 10.7 or 10.8. The menu is small, but uncomplicated and walks the user through the process. … Read more

WD and SanDisk team up in SSHD effort

If you were wondering where the solid-state part in WD's new solid-state hybrid drive, the WD Black, comes from, the answer is SanDisk.

The two storage vendors today announced their collaboration in creating solid-state hybrid drives, with the first being the WD Black.

According to both parties, SanDisk is supplying a SanDisk iSSD storage device for the WD Black SSHD. The WD Black comes with up to 32GB of iSSD storage and currently offers a total of 500GB mixed iSSD and platter-based storage.

The drive is superslim, being just 5mm thick while still retaining the 2.5-inch laptop-standard design. … Read more

Twitter #Music off to a glitchy start

CNET Update is not a Belieber:

Twitter #Music launched, but it hasn't quite found the beat. Bridget Carey explains the new music-discovery tool and its bugs -- and how to avoid embarrassing judgements about your music taste.

Also in this tech rundown:

- Facebook's latest changes include icons in status updates and Open Graph on mobile.

- Google bans early Glass owners from selling or loaning out units. If that happens, Google will deactivate the Glass unit. Harsh.

- Adding to previous reports, an image of a plastic iPhone has been posted online.

- In a survey of … Read more

Scan for junk files and optimize your PC with SeeknClean, but prepare to relinquish control

Even if you're not a hardcore user who spends hours on the computer every day, junk files can still clog up your system and slow it down over time. SeeknClean is a program designed to get rid of junk files and optimize your PC, but the user has little to no control over what the program does and the seven-day trial version will only let you scan but not remove those unneeded files.

The clean, mostly white interface is fairly simple, with two large buttons for the main functions to clean up or optimize your computer. One click starts … Read more

Organize files and disks with DiskCatalogMaker for Mac

For those users who have multiple disks with hundreds of files, organizing them may be a challenge. DiskCatalogMaker for Mac works well to organize these files, but most users will not find the limited features useful.

DiskCatalogMaker is available as a free trial version; the full purchase price is $29.99. Download and installation completed quickly, despite the lack of a native installer. Unfortunately, there were no obvious instructions to DiskCatalogMaker, but there are updates available. The program started quickly, but the interface was poorly designed. Instructions would have been helpful for all but the most sophisticated users. There are … Read more

Microsoft hits Reddit to address Surface Pro concerns

Microsoft addressed Surface Pro issues with disk space and battery life, among other topics, in a Reddit AMA today.

The discussion was led by Panos Panay, head of the Surface team at Microsoft. He provided relatively lengthy responses to two issues that have emerged as shortcomings with the company's newest tablet-laptop hybrid that runs Windows 8 Pro (and is scheduled to go on sale Saturday).

What follows are some excerpts from Panay's as well as other team members' responses.

Battery life: "If you compare it to say a MacBook Air, you will quickly see that pound for … Read more

Active ISO Burner packs a lot into a simple interface

To burn discs with your PC, you need two things. The first is a CD burner, or (better) a DVD burner, or (better still) a Blu-Ray burner. The second is disc-burning software. For the first, you're probably limited by the burner you already own, and your burner's capabilities will determine what kinds of disc you can burn, how much and what kind of data they can hold, and how long it takes to burn them. But for the second requirement, the burning tool, you have a lot more choices, and a lot of them are free. Active Data … Read more

Lexar announces its first XQD memory cards

Nikon photography pros will be happy to know there's a major new supplier of XQD flash-memory cards: Lexar.

They might not be so happy about the price for the new high-end format: a 1100X 64GB model costs $580, and a 32GB model costs $300. At CES today, the Micron subsidiary also announced a $45 USB 3.0 card reader for the new format.

Nikon's flagship D4 SLR uses the XQD cards, which before were available only from Sony. Lexar's 1100X models guarantee a 168MB/sec read speed, though write speeds are somewhat lower.

XQD is one of … Read more