Most SSDs use flash memory that's good for around 100,000 write operations and that number increases all the time. They are incredibly fast, rugged drives that are finding their way into netbooks and laptops, and also desktops where people are looking for performance. It will probably be a few years before cost is comparable to standard mechanical drives, but I think eventually mechanical drives will probably become less prominent, except for large storage devices.
If you haven't seen an SSD boot a computer, you're really missing out. There are plenty of videos on YouTube making comparisons with SSDs and mechanical drives. There are also quite a few of people throwing the drives on concrete floors, and then booting a computer with it. I would imagine that manufacturers like Panasonic will be an early convert to SSDs, for use in their Toughbook products.
Even though they are less prone to physical shock damage, they're probably less reliable over the long-term. I've said for some time, that if the drive in my laptop goes I'll be switching it over to an SSD; unfortunately I no longer have a laptop due to our (un)friendly local thief.
Last edited by noderaser; 08/16/10 12:14 AM.
