I agree, but they still ARE a problem. I was mostly talking about magnets more than stray EM fields from electronic devices, and the only way to fix that is to make products shielded from them, or make products that's not sensitive to them. In the USA, all monitors now are "Energy Star" compliant which also might reduce radiation. http://tinyurl.com/6ptk9a -Clint God Bless Clint Hamilton, Owner http://www.OrpheusComputing.com http://www.ComputersCustomBuilt.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "David Grossman" Electromagnetic fields do not have to be a problem. About 20 or 25 years ago, CRTs emitted a great deal of radiation, causing pregnant mommies who were exposed to the radiation for many hours a day to spontaneously abort their babies. The fledgling computer giants were terrified that a wonderful industry with a great future would go belly up (perhaps I should have used a better expression!) and they were determined to find a solution. They did - and the resulting and ever-increasing Scandinavian TCO standards are so stringent today that there is nothing to worry about. Granted, flat screens largely replaced CRTs today, but that's not the point - and even flat screens have to comply with TCO standards. The industry reacted and solved the problem with one kind of radiation because they had no choice. They proved that with determination it is possible to practically eliminate the threat of dangerous radiation. When it comes down to it, electromagnetic fields are just another kind of radiation. The industry solved the problem with CRTs, and they CAN solve the problem with solid state media. It's just an issue of determination and will-power. David Grossman > -----Original Message----- > > So am I Clint, which is why I mentioned the interfaces > available. If you > need something portable, be it firewire or usb or e-sata then > you can > use an ssd. > > And as you stated below: > "All those flash drives and media cards are sensitive to > electromagnetic > fields. Get too close to one, and your data is fried. That's > why I use > optical media, and media cards, and HD's. There's solid state > HD's out > now, but I think they are just like memory cards, too > sensitive to EM > fields." > > Peter Kaulback > > Clint Hamilton-PCWorks Admin wrote: > >> As for electromagnetic fields, hard drives > >> can be affected by them as well. > > > > Sure, but we were talking about convenient **portable** > > storage > > methods other than optical media. ;-) > > -Clint > > > > > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: "Peter Kaulback" > > > > Solid state drives are used in the enterprise widely, and > > are > > common in > > the new netbooks as well. One prime factor in ssd's is that > > they are far > > more shock proof than hdd's, try dropping a hard drive and > > see > > how well > > it works after, do the same drop with an ssd and your data > > is > > safe. They > > have higher average time between failure, near 1,000,000 > > hours. > > > > As for electromagnetic fields, hard drives can be affected > > by > > them as > > well. Put a hdd next to an electric motor and it will be > > affected as it > > can slow or stop altogether. The biggest problem I see > > right > > now is the > > price, a 128gb ssd goes for over $400.00. Size for > > consumers is > > at about > > 250 gb, in the enterprise there are 1.5tb and bigger > > ssd's. > > > > Now some great features of ssd's are low power consumption, > > noiseless > > operation due to no moving parts, error correction, and > > they > > can be > > encrypted even when removed from their system (laptop or > > desktop). Plus > > they have multiple interfaces available: pcmcia, usb, pata, > > sata, etc. > > > > I like the idea of plugging a fast and secure drive into > > the > > pcmcia slot > > my laptop that won't suck power or heat up too much. > > > > It all comes down to proper handling, one doesn't leave > > cd/dvd's laying > > loose on a desk or the floor, they are kept in cases or > > folders > > to > > protect them. Leave a hard drive loose on a desk or near > > crt > > monitors > > too long and they won't satisfy your needs, so one uses an > > enclosure of > > some kind. And you don't leave a memory stick in a usb port > > all > > the time > > through successive reboots (though I have run one through a > > wash load > > and it still works flawlessly). > > > > Sorry for the long winded rant ;) > > > > Peter Kaulback > > > > David Grossman wrote: > >> Actually, I'm very optimistic about the future of solid > >> state > >> hard drives. > >> As you wrote in your other email, solid state technology > >> is > >> not ready for > >> prime time. That's true. The technology is too new, so > >> there > >> are bugs in it > >> now. > >> > >> However (and as opposed to CD/DVD technology) the industry > >> is > >> working on > >> solid state technology and is trying to improve it. That > >> should make a great > >> deal of difference in the future. > >> > >> David Grossman > >> ========================= The list's FAQ's can be seen by sending an email to PCWorks-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with FAQ in the subject line. 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