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Grab a free toy biplane for your avatar on Xbox Live today
You've already won something in 2013 – it's a free Toy Soldiers-themed biplane for your avatar on Xbox Live. We admit, it's a little hard to get to, but if you've got a few minutes to spend browsing around Microsoft's interface (and about 150 MB free on your hard drive), the biplane avatar prop (usually 240 MSP) is yours for the taking.So here's how you do it: The prop is being given away as part of the Chain Reaction deal inside Microsoft's "Sales and Specials" app, which is a free app designed to point you toward games and content on sale. If you don't have this app, you'll have to download it – go to the Games tab on Xbox Live, and then choose "Browse Games." The "Sales and Specials" link is up in the top right corner (it currently features a Madden 2013 graphic), and then you'll just need to click on "Get the Free App" to download the app. It'll update once if you don't have it yet, taking up about 150 MB of hard drive space.Once you have the app, you can simply navigate over to the "Chain Reaction" set of deals, and the first deal in the chain is a free biplane, no strings attached. Sure, it's a little complicated, but the holidays are over, right? Might as well pick up one more present while you can.[Thanks, Karl.]
How to live through Wii U error code 150-1093
Are you getting error code 150-1093 from your shiny (very shiny) new Wii U? Reader Matt did, and it was a bummer. Games were freezing at load, leaving him with a confusing error code and no Mario.Nintendo support told him that this code results when you try to load a game from an external hard drive that isn't powered. Nintendo has warned that only hard drives plugged into the wall or into two USB ports with a Y cable will be supported, and now we see the problem.The short-term solution is simpler than getting a new hard drive or cable, though. Just go into your system settings and transfer the game's data to your system when playing. "This process takes approximately 2 minutes to complete," Matt tells us. It's another annoying user experience hiccup – why not just tell users "hey, go plug in your hard drive?" – but at least it's easily dealt with.
A*STAR unveils 5mm-thick hybrid hard drive, touts affordability and improved energy efficiency
Move over, Western Digital. A*STAR's Data Storage Institute (DSI) has developed its own 5mm-thick hybrid hard drive, and it could pack up to a 1TB HDD and a 32GB SSD within its 2.5-inch confines. Aptly dubbed A-Drive, the firm's razor-thin hardware relies on a new proprietary motor and 30 additional design patents to lower power consumption and achieve its diminutive form factor. The outfit envisions the drive being put to work in tablets, where it could stretch battery life by up to 30 percent, and in ultrabooks or business-centric storage solutions. To top things off, A*STAR says its hybrid drive will be cheaper than SSDs currently used in ultrabooks, and Yahoo! News reports the device could ring up at roughly $73. Can't wait to have the hardware in a machine of your own? Hold your horses, vaquero. According to DSI Executive Director Pantelis Alexopoulos, it might take six to eight months to kick off production after they strike a deal with a manufacturing partner, which hasn't happened quite yet. Update: After some discussion in the comments, the post has been updated to clarify that the drive's HDD could have a 1TB capacity. [Image Credit: Yahoo! photo/ Deborah Choo]
Seagate Backup Plus brings USB 3.0 speed, sociability to new Macbooks
When Seagate launched its PC/Mac Backup Plus offering that could safeguard not only your folders but your Facebook or Twitter content, too, it seemed like a nice idea. But conspicuously missing from the Mac side of that equation was a USB 3.0 port to hustle transfers along at a much less pedestrian 5 Gbps -- likely because until recently, no Macs directly supported it. Now, Seagate has launched a USB 3.0 version of the device for those shiny new Macbook Pro Retina and Air models that pack it, while offering the option to upgrade to Thunderbolt or FireWire 800 "as the need presents itself." Prices go from $110 for the 500GB model up to $180 for the 3TB version -- check the PR after the break to see the entire range.
Ask Engadget: What's the best way to store my media collection?
We know you've got questions, and if you're brave enough to ask the world for answers, then here's the outlet to do so. This week's Ask Engadget inquiry is from Michael, who is suffering from a storage crunch. If you're looking to ask one of your own, drop us a line at ask [at] engadget [dawt] com. "I'm a bargain-basement kinda guy, and I've picked up lots of DVDs cheaply during the sale season(s). I was planning to rip my collection with Handbrake so I could watch them on my iPad, but my 1TB HDD is already close to being maxed out! Is there a better solution out there than just buying a 2TB HDD now, waiting a year and buying a 3TB HDD when the prices come down? Is there a cheap RAID-style system that plays nicely with my iTunes? Please help!" You can pick up a standalone 3TB external HDD for between $150 and $200, Or you could take the leap and set up an iTunes home server, perhaps using the cheapest Synology DiskStation, which is $200 plus the cost of the drives. That way you can get a 4TB iTunes server for just under $400. You could also snag a Drobo that'll give you the same storage options with significantly increased expandability, up to 16TB in the future. That said, perhaps our friendly readers know a way to tame this man's ever growing media collection, so if you've already set up your own system, why not share your knowledge in the comments below?
Hard drive recall emails going out to owners of 1TB iMacs
Apple's extension of the iMac 1TB Seagate hard drive replacement program was mentioned last Sunday, and late this week customers began receiving email reminders to schedule a drive replacement. If you're an iMac owner but not certain your machine is covered, you can easily check your serial number via the online validation tool. While the Apple service program covers replacing your potentially problematic drive, it does not include backup or restoration of your OS, applications or data: that is on you. Please take our advice and spare yourself much pain and misery -- back up your drive now. Time Machine is great, but when it comes to backup our firm recommendation is to have a bootable clone of your drive as well. This is particularly useful when you're pulling your digital life back together post-HD replacement. Steve's Mac 101 review of backup options will get you on the right track. (Note that one of our favorite cloning options, Carbon Copy Cloner, was previously free but is now a paid option alongside SuperDuper! and others.) "But I back up to the cloud," you say, "isn't that good enough?" In this case, not so much. Recovering your entire set of files and apps from your remote service could be expensive and take quite a while. Fortunately, several of the Mac-savvy cloud backup services (CrashPlan and Dolly Drive in particular) have options to do a local backup as a supplement to the cloud safety net. If you've already had your drive replaced under Apple's program, let us know how it went.
Apple extends 1TB Seagate HDD replacement program to cover additional iMacs
Last year, faulty 1TB Seagate drives living in 21.5-inch and 27-inch iMacs purchased between May and July of 2011 were at the heart of Apple's HDD replacement program. Now, Cupertino has extended the initiative to encompass rigs sold between October 2009 and July 2011. Customers with an affected iMac are eligible to receive a free drive until April 12, 2013 or for three years after their desktop's original purchase date. Curious if your machine contains an afflicted hard drive? Simply visit the source link below and plug in your computer's serial number to find out. If you do need a replacement, an Apple Store or authorized service center will be happy to help -- just remember to back up your drive before parting with it.
Apple extends Seagate drive replacement program for iMacs
As noted by MacRumors, Apple's extended service program for iMacs with 1TB Seagate internal hard drives was updated late last week to include iMacs manufactured as far back as October 2009. The program, launched in the summer of 2011, originally covered only machines made during a narrow window of that year. Drives can be replaced at the Apple Store, by an Apple Authorized Service Provider or by Apple Technical Support. Apple has also extended the duration of this program more than once, and now will cover iMac hard drive replacements with affected drives for three years after the original retail purchase date or until April 12, 2013, whichever ends up providing longer coverage for the computer. You can check if your machine might be affected by entering your serial number on the program page. Of course, you'll need to back up your data prior to replacement, and you may need your OS installer discs depending on how you plan to restore your machine. Seagate's had past problems with drive reliability, including a firmware flaw that resulted in data loss.
Western Digital bumps My Book Thunderbolt Duo to 8TB, consoles regular My Book buyers with 4TB
Many of us may have liked the prospect of Western Digital's My Book Thunderbolt Duo, but there's no doubt some of us who discovered that even 6TB just wouldn't cut it. If that digital pack rat mentality describes you, the solution is here: the company has taken advantage of larger 4TB hard disks to stuff a total 8TB of storage into the Duo's enclosure. The extra capacity hikes the price to $850, although the company notes that it's including the often expensive Thunderbolt cable to avoid any surprise trips to the store. Those without the ports or budget for the Duo can still reap some of the benefits through an updated, 4TB version of the regular My Book that hums along on USB 3.0 at a more reasonable $250 price. Either of the new drives should be lurking in stores if you're hurting for space as we write this.
TDK breaks the Hard Drive density limit, could go on to develop super-sized storage
While the old-fashioned hard drive isn't as fast or slender as an SSD, it can still lord its greater capacities and cheaper price over its upstart rival. TDK thinks it's extended the mediums lead in that area by tweaking the magnetic heads and recording medium of the hardware -- increasing the areal density of a unit to 1.5 TB per square inch. It means that we could see 1TB platters arriving in 2.5-inch laptop drives and 2TB platters in desktop modules, meaning even your commuting machine can store all of your heftiest data with ease.
Hard drive shipments recover from floods in Thailand, expected to reach record high
Last year's floods in Thailand caused hard drive shortages after wreaking havoc on a number of electronics manufacturers, but new stats from IHS iSuppli indicate that the HDD market for PCs has fully recovered and is poised to hit an all time high. The firm expects 524 million units for internal use in PCs to ship this year, besting the previous record by 4.3 percent. What's giving the recovery an added boost? According to the analytics group, the extra demand comes courtesy of Windows 8 and Ultrabooks. Unfortunately for deal hounds, the company noted in a report earlier this year that prices aren't expected to dip below the pre-flood range until 2014. If IHS iSuppli projections hold true, total annual hard drive shipments could reach 575.1 million by 2016.
Toshiba outs Canvio Slim portable drive: 500GB, $115 and just 9mm thick
It turns out that if you take an Ultrabook-style 7mm hard drive and put it in a sleek enclosure, you end up with a portable HDD that's barely any bigger, thicker or heavier than a smartphone. Toshiba guessed this might happen, and so it came up with a new addition to its Canvio range: the Canvio Slim, which sports 500GB of PC- and Mac-compatible luggage room, uses a single USB 3.0 connection for data and power, and is encased in either "graphite-black" or silver brushed aluminum. Look for it in stores from October priced around $115, including a three-year warranty.
Gemini now finds duplicates in iPhoto and iTunes
Gemini from MacPaw is one of those utilities you don't use every day, but is extremely handy to have around. The OS X software excels at finding duplicate files on internal drives, external drives or network volumes. It scans a folder at lightning speed, while giving you the option to view your duplicate files and choose which ones you want to remove. The latest update to Version 1.3 adds the ability to remove duplicates from your iPhoto and iTunes library. The app is a must-have if you're like me and have thousands of photos and song tracks scattered about your drives. Version 1.3 also now supports Mountain Lion and the Retina MacBook Pro. You can find out more about Gemini on MacPaw's website and read through our review of the utility from earlier this year. For a short time, Gemini is on sale for US$6.99 in the Mac App Store. This is a 30 percent discount of its regular $9.99 price tag.
Latest PS3 challenges Wii U storage philosophy; EU, US disparity explained
The new, slimmer PS3 comes in two forms in the US, 250GB for $270 and 500GB for $300. Europe gets the 500GB model and a 12GB Flash-based system. All of these consoles support Flash storage expansion via USB, and the US version allows internal HDD replacement. The US gets two larger systems because its consumers demand more "out of the box," according to SCEA VP of marketing, handhelds and home consoles John Koller, speaking to Engadget. "The smaller Flash drive isn't coming to North America, and a lot of that reason is the digital consumer," Koller says. "We really want to make sure, out of the box, that there is an option for them to be able to download that content. That is really critical for us, very very important." Nintendo is taking a different approach to storage with the Wii U, launching 8GB and 32GB models with the ability to easily attach any form of external storage, even "a full-on three terabyte hard drive," says Nintendo America CEO and president Reggie Fils-Aime. "The reason we did it that way is that the cost of that type of storage memory is plummeting," Fils-Aime continues. "What we didn't want to do is tie a profit model to something that's gonna rapidly decline over time. We'll let the consumer buy as much as they want, as cheaply as they want." Sony sees US consumers are more willing to buy a new console with a larger hard drive than to purchase external storage. "When you look at some of the earlier chassis, and the really early adopters – the 20GB, and the 60GB – that consumer had a choice," Koller says. "They could either go out and buy another hard drive – and it's an easy install, so we make it easy for the consumer if they want to take a hard drive off the shelf and plug it in, they can do that. They had a choice of doing that, or purchasing another PlayStation 3. And what's been happening is we're seeing a lot of adoption of second consoles in-house." Besides, Sony doesn't make any money if you buy a Western Digital hard drive. But neither does Nintendo.
Western Digital brings wafer thin 5mm hard drives to IDF, we go hands-on (video)
We're a jaded bunch here at Engadget sometimes, and with most of us using SSD-based systems these days it's hard to get too excited about good old spinny disks. Still we're also suckers for impressive technology, so our interest was piqued when Western Digital announced its 5mm thin 2.5-inch hard drives the other day. Luckily, the company saw fit to bring samples of its skinny new WD Black hybrid drive and WD Blue HDD to IDF 2012 and let us handle both briefly. The verdict? These are impossibly thin -- perfect for all those nice Ultrabooks we're expecting to see hit the market in the next few months. Details on performance, availability and pricing are scarce since these drives are intended for OEMs. Take a look at our gallery below, which includes thickness comparisons with WD's upcoming 1TB 7mm thin HDD and a standard-sized loyalty card -- then peek past the break for our hands-on video.%Gallery-165180% Update: yes, the loyalty card was demagnetized in the making of this video, and you now owe us all coffee.
Western Digital builds 5mm-thick hybrid hard drive, Ultrabook makers sign on early
Those 7mm-thick hard drives you've seen in some Ultrabooks are already looking a tad on the chunky side. Western Digital has started producing sample versions of a hybrid hard drive (you're not yet looking at it here) that measures just 5mm (0.2in) tall, even as it crams in both flash and a 500GB main disk. If you think the slimmer drive is just the ticket for a best-of-all-worlds laptop that's both fast and capacious, you're not alone: Acer and ASUS have mentioned their collaboration in the same breath, which may be a strong clue as to where future Aspires and Zenbooks are going. The remaining question is when they arrive. Sampling isn't the same as mass production, which could leave us with months to go before the 5mm drive lands in future extra-skinny PCs.
LaCie 2big, 4big Quadra drives hop the USB 3.0 bandwagon, give Macs 12TB of speedy storage
LaCie has been sprucing up its smaller drives to handle a new crop of Macs that support USB 3.0. It's now turn for the big boys to play. Updated versions of the 2big Quadra and 4big Quadra (not yet shown here) use the faster port to reach the potential of their high-capacity RAID arrays, peaking at either 210MB/s for the dual-drive 2big and 245MB/s for its quad-drive cousin. We're not seeing a fundamental shakeup of the design apart from the higher speeds, although that's not necessarily a problem given the FireWire 800 to catch legacy users and hot-swappable bays for future upgrades. Video editors and other storage mavens should just prepare themselves to pony up. The upgraded Quadra models will start at respective $499 (4TB) and $1,099 (8TB) prices when they ship in October, and they're only poised to get more expensive when LaCie sets the costs for the higher-end 6TB and 12TB models.
Western Digital outs My Passport Edge portable hard drives, offers both PC and Mac varieties
New portable storage options from Western Digital are breaking cover once again. This time around, the outfit has announced the My Passport Edge and My Passport Edge for Mac. These external hard drives tout USB 3.0 connectivity and 500GB capacities for packing those work files or carrying that Springsteen collection with you at all times. As the name of the Apple-labeled option suggests, it's well suited for your MacBook and works alongside Time Machine right out of the box -- all from the comforts of an aluminum shell. The premium exterior and Mac-friendly tech will cost you a bit more, though, as this version is priced at $119 while the regular offering will set you back $109. If you're looking to save a few bones and don't mind a plastic housing, you can take solace in the fact that the PC unit features an automatic backup function thanks to WD's SmartWare. The pair is available now, but if you're looking for a bit more info, consult the full PR below. %Gallery-164494%
Synology launches DiskStation DS413j NAS server for your own private cloud
If you like your data local, but crave remote access, you've now got options like Synology's new DiskStation DS413j -- a network-attached storage (NAS) server for your own private cloud. The feature-packed box has four drive bays for a total of 16TB storage, and you can mix and match HDDs of different sizes without losing the comfort of RAID. Along with what you'd expect from NAS, its media server will stream content to your console or TV via DLNA or UPnP and push tunes to your stereo, with iOS and Android apps for couch DJing. The server will sync your files across computers if you wish, and give you access to all that data on the move via the internet or mobile apps. And, if you need more files, you can download directly using your favorite protocols -- it'll even automate them if you trust RSS feeds to make recommendations. All this can be yours for around $380, depending on the retailer, but don't forget to budget for drives to fill those empty bays. %Gallery-164329%
ASUS Zenbook Prime faces teardown, affords a little expansion in an even smaller space
We often assume that Ultrabooks scarcely have any room to budge on the inside, and that's usually true. An iFixit teardown of ASUS' Zenbook Prime has proven that there's always an exception to the rule. Looking at a UX32VD with the same base layout as the UX31 we reviewed, the repair outlet finds that the upgraded Zenbook has both embedded and removable RAM: provided owners are still willing to perform some surgery, they can upgrade past the 4GB of included memory on their own terms. The repair team is a bit dismayed that there's a 5,400RPM hard drive spinning near the mini SSD -- how very 2011 -- but notes that it's equally swappable by those who want something faster. Whatever you think of the fully pieced-together ASUS PC, it's apparent there's a reward for those willing to take it apart.
