Compact Flash with RAID 1 keeps your Data Safe(r)

Most people don't truly value their digital data until they (unfortunately) have to deal with a catastrophic failure of a hard drive or other data storage device. Only then they realize that having backups, something you can do using a simple external hard drive - and/or using the many cloud storage services available today (Dropbox, SkyDrive, etc.) - is an absolute must.

And when it comes to data loss, there's nothing as horrifying as losing photographs and home videos. Documents can be recreated, songs and movies can be downloaded again, but photos and home videos... that's something you won't be able to get back... ever.

But even if you have a nice backup system in place, there's still a small window that can leave you vulnerable to data loss - and that while it will be more critical for professional photographers, it's annoying as well for any other person. Just imagine you got the shot of a lifetime, and when you try to transfer it back to your PC... you get a corrupted memory card with no retrievable data in it.

Higher-end cameras allow you to have two memory cards, storing your photos in both and saving you from this kind of trouble. But if you have a camera with a single compact flash slot (or should you take things so seriously as to have triple backups in-camera), you can now use one of these Mirrored Compact Flash Cards.

Although you can still use it as a regular 64GB CF card, the most interesting thing about it is that you can use it as a dual 32GB CF card. You get half the usable space... but twice the peace of mind. Meaning, when you snap a photo, it will be automatically stored in two different partitions, making it a lot less likely that you'll need to worry with a corrupted memory card. Of course, keep in mind we're still talking about a single card - and that it may still malfunction and leave you with nothing - but at least it will be a lot less prone to the most common issues caused by memory errors.

Goodbye Compact Flash, Hello CFast

I talked about the new CFast cards some time ago, but the expiration date for the CF cards is growing near. Soon, millions of people will once again be forced to replace all their memory cards if they want to keep up with the evolution.

In the next 18-24 months, it's expected that CFast will completely replace the aging Compact Flash (CF) memory cards.

Although physically incompatible, these new cards use the faster SATA transport bus allowing them to have much faster data transfer rates. While CF cards were limited to about 45MB/s throughput, CFast allows 375MB/s.

We just need to wait and see if CFast will last as long as CF, or if it will soon give birth to smaller formats like mini-CFast, micro-CFast, or if other companies will implement their own proprietary similar updated format.
I hope this new format can unite all those devices using different memory cards, so that people can - once and for all - stop worrying about which cards their gadgets use.

CFast - Compact Flash gets Sata Interface

It looks like Compact Flash cards are not willing to become obsolete. The Compact Flash organization is upgrading its "old" CF to provide an easy upgrading path for newer and faster technologies..

For that, expect to start seeing the new CFAST CF cards, which let go of the traditional PATA parallel interface (which maxed out at 1133MB/s) and will start using SATA, with speeds up to 3Gb/s.

Obviously, don't expect to see flash cards using this speed in the near future, but considering a lot of other devices use CF interfaces: input/output, VGA, Ethernet, Modems, Phones, Bluetooth, TV, GPS, etc. it's always nice to know you won't be limited by the old PATA transfer rates.

COMPACTFLASH ASSOCIATION DISPLAYING NEW CFAST™ CONNECTOR & PACKAGE AT CES 2008

CFast Utilizes SATA Interface for 3Gb/sec Interface Data Rate.

Palo Alto, California - January 4, 2008 - The CompactFlash Association (CFA) announces that CFast connectors and package will be displayed at CES 2008 in the CFA booth South 3 30166.

The CFast WG was formed in July 2007 to develop the CFast specification for a CompactFlash card with a SATA (Serial ATA) interface. CFA members interested in the SATA interface should apply for inclusion in the CFA's SATA working group.
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[Official Site]