Really, really good stuff this article. I guess I'm missing something but here here goes: I feel the big question in all this is missing! In the end it has to be WHY? Why would RAND even try selling this crap? What is their aim or purpose? I'm trying to imagine some business needs but guess what, I'm not coming up with any! Why would BigCo1 want to sell personalized data to BigCo2 in a diffrent country? Is the plot here to get all the focus on international data trading while everybody forgets about the local trade? Heck, we all should be asking us the same question: WHY?

In the blame sights now is the basic write speed of flash ram (very slow) which can cause the O/S to require buffering of large writes or streaming writes, leading to "stuttering" once the drive and O/S buffer queue is full.

So, the current thinking is that the solution is implementing a large cache module onto the drive, to buffer even the most extreme of these conditions, and allow the drive to achieve its full potential.

I see that Corsair have just released a new series of SSDs with a 128MB cache module and a Samsung controller, and are claiming this to be the Jesus drive... certainly they are charging enough to make you wonder if it's the second coming.

We will see...

You Might Get Used To Bomb, Yet SSD Are Pig of Differnt Pen.
Shrimpi at annand has long story from beginning 18 months ago till now here:

http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdoc.aspx?i=3531

Good is that Intel has made refurbished SSD into 55Mb/s read/write. thats ?fall on read from 200, yet write step half step up. heres overal write problem now:

Intel X25-E 31.7 MB/s
Intel X25-M 23.1 MB/s
JMicron JMF602B MLC 0.02 MB/s
JMicron JMF602Bx2 MLC 0.03 MB/s
OCZ Summit 0.77 MB/s
OCZ Vertex 2.41 MB/s
Samsung SLC 0.53 MB/s
Seagate Momentus 5400.6 0.81 MB/s
Western Digital Caviar SE16 1.26 MB/s
Western Digital VelociRaptor 1.63 MB/s

BAD? NO Worse.
Yet theres reason. turns out Flash only writes at 20-30 Mb/s normally. Improvement of intel is adding extra channels to multiply number of flash cells used on write, each with 20 Mb/s.
Article Stated that 10 Channels is now maximum. So it is possible with 20 Mb/s write to one flash, that entire SSD could get ?200 Mb.s, write.

However, when annand tried to return one ssd, replacement was broken. with note pasted on box, "you'll love this". Sickos everywhere.
On first test back when with macbook, it worked once, First Time, then became clunker ever after..

At first thought to be problem with flash filling up & slowing down. However, if you erase & start with Empty SSD, it stays same. So Ultee' Belioeves theres Fundumental Voltage Disparity between Laptop HDD/Sata sytem at 3.v & SSD mere ~1.46 volts operating range. The Only Reason those SSD Work At ALL, Is Mfg are using SSD Made to WithStand A-Bomb test. Plus HDD/Sata has -1.25 V. Leakage designed in it. yet some HDD are 5 v., its NO BRAINER. Literally.

Micron tried two controllers, to NO avail. Entire article makes one wonder how stupid people are to pay $12 Gb for equipment that underperforms MOST laptop HDD..

StrangeLove With Data. I Guess.

In other words shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted.

I think there is already ample evidence of where that will lead us in my deleted emails folder.

If RAND wanted to do something useful they could cook up a plan to catch email spammers and bring them to book.