A few months ago, I saw that the first concept flash memory computer was presented to the public. This was shortly after Samsung and Apple reached their long-term deal for megabucks worth flash memory. The first thing I thought about was what if Apple created a sub-compact, flash memory computer that would be fast, light-weight, with a very small footprint. I talked about this on a couple MacRoundTable podcasts. Well it looks like other folks are beginning to dream the same dream. According to AppleInsider,
UBS Investment Research analyst Ben Reitzes said this week his proprietary checks indicate Apple is working on “ultra-portable PCs” and even notebooks equipped with NAND flash memory in order to speed up boot times.
“We believe these new products could start in notebook products with combo-drives (NAND and HDD) or ultra-portables (NAND only), and could be released in time for MacWorld,” Reitzes told clients.
Man, oh man, I can just imagine how fast, quiet, light and cool it would be.. another great reason for me to get to MacWorld this January.
I think the day when Flash ram completely replaces the HD is a long way off (flash ram has a more limited write lifespan compared to a HD, and HD capacity is increasing to keep pace with falling Flash costs) but a hybrid machine is certainly a possibility. 8 Gb of flash should be enough to hold all the main software (minus the many Gb of themes, etc) plus save the swap file when you put your machine to sleep, and cache your most frequently used files.
A step further would be moving the HD outside the machine – i.e. an iPod style portable drive so you could switch between ultra-portable and fully functional modes (or WiFi based – a portable machine that accesses your central storage when it requires files / backs up).
Wouldn’t be much good for heavy video or photoshop users, but would certainly be the portable machine I’m looking for.