Other World Computing
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CES 2015: OWC's Envoy Pro mini brings SSD performance to a thumb drive form factor
While flash "thumb drives" are convenient, cheap and come in a variety of capacities, they don't exactly thrill users with their speed. Other World Computing yesterday announced the Envoy Pro mini, a USB 3.0 SuperSpeed SSD drive in the form factor of one of the ubiquitous flash drives. The drive, which won the Storage Visions 2015 Visionary Product Award for Mobile Consumer Storage, is packed in a sturdy aluminum enclosure and can be used for storing and transferring data or backing up your Mac. Unlike a traditional USB 3.0 flash drive, you could also probably get away with installing an OS X beta onto the Envoy Pro mini for test purposes since it should be much faster. OWC says that the drive "achieves sustained transfer speeds up to 433 MB/s". The Envoy Pro mini will be shipping in January in two sizes: 120GB (US$119) and 240GB ($199). OWC also announced that the drive will be available soon in a 480GB capacity with price to be determined.
Dev Interview: Larry O'Connor, Other World Computing
TUAW and MacTech are once again teaming up to interview developers surrounding Apple's announcements at WWDC. Hear what they have to say. Introduction We'd like to welcome our guest, Larry O'Connor, Founder & CEO at Other World Computing. Other World Computing develops products for Mac, iOS, and Larry took some time to tell us about WWDC and how it impacts the company. What were you most excited about hearing in Apple's recent announcements? The new iOS development environment is very exciting to us as is what Yosemite brings next to the Mac platform. In terms of the iOS side - it's perfect timing with respect to entries we have planned to enhance the customer experience with our product. With respect to 10.10 [aka Yosemite] - the new OS offers a lot of user benefit without, so far, the kind of drastic changes that 10.9 introduced on the developer impact side. The open, public beta aspect also should mean far less being addressed pre release - wider range of scenarios addressed - vs. surprises post release. What does your company do? OWC Designs, Manufacturers, and Distributes the solutions that enable greater use from our customer's technology investments. Whether it's a brand new Mac or one from years ago, we're about providing the right solution that meet the needs of our customers and best enable them to maximize that technology to the requirements they require. What is the coolest thing you can tell us about what you do? Our team - great solutions are by no means easy, but providing exceptionally great support is what makes the solutions we provide truly another step above. We work to understand, educate, and truly enable our customers by having a team that cares and is truly driven to provide not just the best solution possible, but the solution that is the best possible for the different customer use scenarios it can be applied to. The best product is of little benefit if it is not the right solution. Our team is here to see that all customers of OWC and NewerTech brand solutions are enabled thereby. Did Apple make any announcements that will impact your direction? The new development tools on both the Mac OS and iOS side will definitely enhance our ability to produce the tools we have in the pipeline as well as advance their production. What's coming from you and your team? Thunderbolt, Thunderbolt, more Thunderbolt, supercharged SSD 2.5" & PCIe, high-level storage ... and keyboards. We are customer driven both from a practical standpoint and a solutions standpoint. Both the physical solutions we have in our pipe as well as technology we will be deploying to further enhance our Thunderbolt and storage in general, we believe, meet very critical needs very effectively. SSD technology is by no means standing still here... and the occasional segue such as our soon-to-be-introduced Bluetooth keypad all continue to fit to a profile of the needs expressed. Anything more you can tell us? OWC is often misunderstood as a simple etailer. For over two decades we have been designing and manufacturing/assembling the products that bear our brand name. OWC products are currently available in hundreds of retail and etail outlets with more resellers and distributors being added as work to see our market leading solutions available when and where our customers need in addition to direct availability via Macsales.com. Today we have distribution facilities in Illinos, Nevada, and Texas with Creative Design now based in Austin, TX. All of our final testing, final assembly, and and a growing portion of our core manufacturing (which includes OWC Memory and Solid State Drives) are physically manufactured right here in the USA - mainly in a joint facility just outside of Austin, TX. We have a passion for quality, performance, and for Apple and we are here for our customers and only because of our customers. Find out more For more information on Other World Computing, see www.macsales.com This developer interview was put together by the staff of TUAW and MacTech Magazine about how Apple's new technologies will impact them and you, their customers. What to know more about MacTech? See the web site, or check out one of the many live events MacTech puts on each. If you're a developer, consultant, or IT Pro, come join TUAW and media throughout the industry at MacTech Conference 2014.
OWC Named Green Tech Company of the Year by BIG
TUAW, and I'm sure the Mac community at large, would like to congratulate Other World Computing (OWC) in Woodstock, Ill., for being named Green Tech Company of the Year by Business Intelligence Group (BIG). OWC shares the award with Betsy's Bricks, a heating pellet manufacturer and Arise Virtual Solutions, a work-at-home call center company. Business Intelligence Group's industry awards program uses a "unique scoring system [that] selectively measures performance across multiple business domains and then rewards those companies whose achievements stand above their peers." Twenty judges from a variety of industries are listed on the site. OWC is committed to reducing its impact on the environment. It has been successful in a variety of ways, starting with its 2008 move to a low-environmental impact headquarters. The OWC campus is 100 percent on-site wind powered. As noted in the OWC blog: "On October 19, 2009, OWC became the first technology manufacturer/distributor in the US to become 100 percent on-site wind powered by switching its daily operations energy needs over to a Vestas V39-500 kW wind turbine." The turbines also provide a unique iPhone case testing environment. You can read Steve Sande's article on how OWC tested their NewerTech's NuGuard KX for iPhone 5 by tossing it off one of their wind turbines (minute 3:35). As part of OWC's green action program they use a comprehensive recycling program that includes onsite paper, plastic and can recycling. According to the company's blog, it rejects "non-recyclable pallets from vendor deliveries, recycles obsolete equipment through electronic equipment recyclers and reuses packaging materials (such as foam peanuts, etc.) whenever possible." In March 2010, the OWC campus was awarded the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum Certification by the Green Building Certification Institute. OWC was one of fewer than 300 companies to achieve this status at the time. You can view a virtual building tour on OWC's "Think Green" site. In an email conversation with OWC CEO Lawrence O'Connor, he told me: Everything we do is about an ongoing evolution. There are always new boundaries to push and not only is that reflected in our products, but in how we operate OWC as well. Team OWC is aware and engaged providing the best to our customers and with respect to our natural resources. Our focus on upgrading and extend the useful lifespan Macs is right in the same vein with maximizing the resources and minimizing waste which drives us. A year ago we took over a building in Austin, TX which is now our Creative Design HQ. Right now solar is being erected on the roof which will be generating for at least half the total requirements of this 3 story facility by December. Be it a Mac or the space we call our own, we're always working to make it better and maximize. OWC's Woodstock site includes more than 20 acres of protected conservation wetlands and in 2012, a pair of sandhill cranes came to the area. The sandhill crane has suffered greatly from a loss of habitat and OWC hopes they continue to visit their bird-friendly wetlands. According to O'Conner, "OWC team members have erected signs to inform and raise awareness for where turtles cross the street" also. According to the press release, "Other World Computing's efforts to reduce waste, recycle materials and use less energy include" the following list of features: On-site Vestas V39-500 kW Wind Turbine Geothermal underground system for heating and air conditioning. High-energy value materials in roofing and walls. Pyrolytic glass to reduce UV rays and cooling costs. Interior lighting enhanced with daylight harvesting technology. Interior wall and floor coverings that reduce emissions of VOC (volatile organic compounds). Groundwater protected by a bio-aquifer storm system. High-efficiency, water-saving plumbing fixtures "Smart room" technology to reduce energy use in unused spaces. In-house water filtration to reduce plastic bottled water use. High-end air filtering for staff health benefits Continual recycling programs with "Zero Waste" goal. Office and warehouse layouts optimized for efficient heating/cooling. Kudos to OWC! [Disclaimer: I used to work for OWC and use their hard drive products regularly, so I'm a tad biased.]
OWC CEO blogs about closed Macs, slowing evolution of Mac hardware
Other World Computing has been creating products for Apple users since 1988, so the company has been a witness to the remarkable turnaround by Apple since that time. In a post on the OWC blog yesterday, CEO Larry O'Connor took Apple to task for the slow pace of Mac hardware evolution and product intros, as well as the closed design philosophy that Apple has been displaying with most of the Mac lineup. O'Connor states that it's been more than 14 months since the current MacBook Pros were introduced, a year since the Mac mini design was updated and that, although we know about the Mac Pro, we still don't have an idea of the pricing of the top-end model. He notes that Apple was the first major computer manufacturer to support USB and moved quickly to adopt USB 2.0, but delayed the addition of USB 3.0 -- possibly in an attempt to stir up support an interest in Thunderbolt. O'Connor says, "I'm certainly not suggesting Apple doesn't lead and innovate, but it also can be selective and not to the user's benefit on the when and how." O'Connor's major beef, though, is that the new Macs lock users into what they get from the factory and have much more limited serviceability during their lifetime. Part of this complaint is obviously self-serving; most of OWC's revenues are derived from sales of aftermarket memory and storage upgrades. But he's got a point, since it's no longer possible for most of the Mac lineup to be upgraded, giving many users no option but to purchase a new Mac every few years instead of squeezing some additional life out of the old box with some RAM and a new SSD. Speaking of SSDs, O'Connor also expresses concern that Apple might ditch all traditional internal hard disk drives, creating "a serious burden for people that need to haul around a lot of data." The blog post is an interesting read from someone who has watched the Mac lineup go from near-extinction in the late '90s to being the only vibrant part of the personal computer market. We'll see for sure if Apple closes the door to user expandability of Macs even further if new products are announced at next Tuesday's event.
OWC Mercury Aura Bundles let you replace your MacBook Air's SSD, use it as external storage
Got a Macbook Air from 2010 or 2011 and want to upgrade the storage without dropping its pre-existing SSD module all together? Well, you're in luck, thanks to OWC's new Mecury Aura Bundles. After upgrading your Air with one of the company's Mercury Aura Pro Express SSDs, the included Mercury Aura Envoy lets you re-purpose the factory SSD as a bus-powered, USB 3.0-compatible external drive. Better yet, the Envoy is made of aluminum, matches the Air's tapered design and weighs just 1.5 ounces. Owners of the 2010 Air can opt for a 180, 240 or 480GB 3Gb/s drive, while those with the 2011 model can bump up to 6Gb/s bus speeds with the same storage allotments and a 120GB option. Pricing for the bundle starts at $200 for the 120GB variant, maxing out at a hefty $780 and $800 if you want to move up to the spacious 480GB offerings. Thankfully, like the SSDs, the Mercury Aura Envoy is available as a stand-alone enclosure, and it'll cost you just under $50 bucks. Hit up the press release after the break for the full details if this dual-drive setup piques your interest
MacBook Pro with Retina display running three external monitors
OWC posted up a photo that is every Mac user's dream. The photo shows a MacBook Pro with Retina Display powering not one, not two, but three external displays in addition to the notebook's own monitor. OWC lists the attached computers which includes the Retina display on the MBP set at its "best for Retina" setting; two 2560 x 1440 iMacs connected via the Thunderbolt and the Thunderbolt/DisplayPort; and a 1920 x 1200 LG monitor connected via HDMI. OWC says the performance was smooth and claims "moving images and media didn't create any lag." They also say they "were able to play video on all four displays simultaneously." As noted by MacRumors, Apple's support site confirms that the Retina MacBook Pro is capable of supporting one monitor on the HDMI port and two on Thunderbolt, but it's impressive to see such a setup in action. [Via MacRumors]
OWC's Mercury Accelsior PCIe SSD is Mac bootable, strictly neutral
If you've ever tried to jam a regular SSD into your Mac, then you'll know that many off-the-shelf drives feel like they're tailored and tested for, ahem, someone else. Not so with OWC's Mercury Accelsior, which claims to be the only Mac bootable and Mac supported PCIe SSD on the market. Regardless of which platform you use it with, however, the dual-SandForce card promises some neat tricks with its 24nm Toshiba Toggle NAND. Sequential read and write speeds are around 50 percent higher than what you'd get from a regular SATA III drive, with the cheapest 120GB model ($360) offering 758MB/s reads and 743MB/s writes. Random performance is notched up too, with around 100K IOPS in both directions. The 960GB version costs a coldly precise $2,096, but still -- a potential side order for when the Mac Pro line finally gets another refresh?
Other World Computing at Macworld iWorld 2012
If there's one company at Macworld | iWorld 2012 that epitomizes the leading edge of Apple accessories, it's Other World Computing (OWC). At this year's event, the company is showcasing a number of new or soon-to-be-released products for Mac and iPad. In the Mac realm, OWC is about to release two new versions of the venerable miniStack external drives for the Mac mini. The miniStack Max and miniStack have the same footprint as the post-2010 Mac minis, and features FW 400/800, USB 2.0/3.0 and eSATA (optional) ports, as well as an optical drive (Max only) and USB hub. When it comes to enterprise storage, OWC has announced and was demonstrating their new Jupiter mini-SAS storage solutions. Jupiter features input/output speeds three times faster than fibre channel and twice as fast as Thunderbolt, all with an infrastructure cost much less than you'd pay for fibre channel storage. Companies deploying iPads will like the new GripStand Station, which charges and secures up to eight iPads at a time. There's more to come in this short video from the show floor:
OWC Mercury Aura Pro Express SATA 3.0 SSDs doubles your (MacBook) Airspeed velocity
It's MacWorld, which means those providers of Apple gear are busting out wares for aftermarket insertion into your objects of desire. Other World Computing's latest offering is a slender solid-state drive ready to be crow-barred into last year's MacBook Airs. The bombastically named OWC Mercury Aura Pro Express 6G SSD is a SATA Rev. 3.0 drive with a promised 6Gb/s data speed at sizes of up to a staggering 480GB. Since the stock drives are limited to the 3Gb/s SATA Rev. 2.0 (but the controllers run 3.0), you should find a significant performance bump when swapping in the new unit. The toggle-synchronous NAND drives come in a variety of sizes, starting at 120GB ($260), but it's the brand new and quite beastly 480GB model that has us excited. Sure, $1,150 is a lot to ask for less than half a terrabyte of storage, but you'll get a three-year warranty for all that cash. We may never give you our money, nor our funny pages, but you can have the press release that's after the break.
Two OWC products win TUAW Best of 2011 voting for Best Mac Peripheral or Accessory
We have another winner! Or should I say we have two winners? Other World Computing, familiar to Mac users worldwide as OWC, has two products that won the coveted title of Best Mac Peripheral or Accessory of the Year in TUAW's Best of 2011 voting. Tied with precisely 24.2 percent of the votes each were the OWC Data Doubler drive brackets and the speedy OWC Mercury 6G Solid State Drives. The Data Doubler drive brackets provide a way to replace an optical drive in a MacBook, Mac mini, or iMac with another hard drive or a solid state drive. OWC is anticipating Apple's trend towards removing optical drives from its computers by making it possible to increase onboard drive capacity or add a speedy solid state drive to an existing machine. Speaking of speedy SSDs, OWC's Mercury 6G solid state drives were the other winner. These quiet, cool, and rugged drives start as low as $119 in price and provide performance that no hard disk drive can match. Our thanks to the TUAW readers who nominated their favorite Mac peripherals and accessories, and then voted in the competition. Congratulations to OWC on being the winner twice-over of this category in the TUAW Best of 2011.
OWC updates its Mercury Extreme Pro 3G SSD lineup, offers 30GBs for just $68
Say hello to Other World Computing's latest 2.5-inch SSD, the 30GB variant of its Mercury Extreme Pro 3G series (3Gb/s, of course). This SandForce-driven SSD may not have loads of storage, but priced at a wallet-friendly 68 bucks, it's certainly tempting if your optical drive's been gathering dust. Whether you're running an ungodly amount of Firefox tabs on a Mac or Windows machine, you'll be covered with "sustained data rates of over 275MB/s," keeping your tasks speedy. Ready to ditch the beach balls and hourglasses? It's available now from OWC and you'll find more info in the PR past the break.
OWC Mercury Electra 6G SSD lineup updated with smaller 60GB option for $130
Looking for a peppy SSD to turbo charge your workflow and don't need a whole lot of storage capacity? Back in June, Other World Computing introduced its speedy SandForce-endowed Mercury Electra 6G SSDs with a base model priced at $230 $200 for 120GB. Now the company's added a cheaper option to keep things fast and your wallet happy. Those wanting a taste of its 556MB/s read and 523MB/s write speeds can now opt for a 60GB variation, priced at just $130. Sure, it may not be ideal for saving your entire Queen back catalog, but it could be a nifty route for faster boot-up and load times, right? It's available now from OWC. Zip past the break for the full PR.
OWC Mercury Electra 6G SSDs boast big speeds, price to match
Other World Computing may specialize in upgrading aging Macs, but you don't have to own one to jam one of its new Mercury Electra 6G SSDs in your computer. The high-end SandForce Driven line of NAND drives range in size from 120GB to a far more impressive 480GB and, with the aide of 6Gb/sec SATA 3.0, can sustain write speeds of 523MB/sec and read speeds of 556MB/sec. Of course, this sort performance doesn't come cheap -- the smallest of the trio will set you back $230, while the massive 480GB model weighs in at a wallet-sapping $930. You can pick them up now from OWC if you've got a serious need for speed, and plenty of disposable income. Check out the PR after the break.
OWC offers 480 GB SSD for 2010 MacBook Air
If you want to give your 2010 MacBook Air a competitive edge with the largest solid state drive available for your notebook, then check out the Mercury Aura Pro Express line from Other World Computing (OWC). The third-party SSD is available in 180, 240, 360 and 480 GB capacities and fits both the 11.6-inch and 13.3-inch Air models that debuted in late 2010. Big and fast, OWC claims the Aura Express SSD delivers a maximum transfer rate of 275 MB/s and offers a 68% boost in performance over factory drives. Performance comes with a cost -- the entry-level 180 GB solid state drive will set you back US$480 while the top of the line 480 GB SSD costs a whopping $1579. This latter price tag surpasses that of some MacBook Air models, which start at $999 for the entry-level 11-inch model and climb up to $1599 for the premium 13-inch model. [Via Macworld]
OWC introduces 8 GB RAM modules for 2011 MacBooks
If, like many who've just purchased one of the brand new MacBook Pros released last week, you still have US$1,600 rattling around in your change purse, OWC have just the thing for you - a pair of 8 GB SODIMMs. A 16 GB memory upgrade is just what you need to give your shiny new MacBook the oomph it really needs. Even though Apple says the new machines have an 8 GB upper memory limit, OWC says its testing confirms the MacBooks can use 16 GB of RAM. Larry O'Connor, founder and CEO of Other World Computing said, "Our initial confirmed results, using the same 'diglloydMedium' CS5 testing parameters employed by macperformanceguide.com, reveals a nearly 50% performance improvement with 16 GB of RAM installed vs. the factory maximum of 8 GB. This upgrade truly lets owners of the latest MacBook Pro models unleash the power of their machine with performance approaching that only previously available in Apple desktop and tower models." Those with slightly shallower pockets can go for the 12 GB upgrade, a mere $879.99. [via MacStories]
Elgato and OWC hawk upgraded Mac Mini HTPC bundles: Blu-ray burner, 12TB, TV tuner
Simmer down, son -- neither Elgato nor Other World Computing are actually shoving 12TB of hard drive space within a 2010 Mac Mini, but if you order one of their new bundles, you'll definitely end up with as much. OWC is now selling pre-pimped Mac Mini machines, complete with bolstered storage options, an internal Blu-ray burner, Elgato's EyeTV Hybrid tuner (or HD DVR), more RAM than usual and an Apple Remote. The company plans to offer both the 2.4GHz and 2.66GHz Core 2 Duo systems, and it swears up and down that the machine will arrive preconfigured and ready to rock your home theater. The addition of a Mercury Elite-AL Pro Qx2 4-bay storage solution enables you to keep even a vast library of digital content nearby, but there's no telling how much the outfit will charge for such a luxury. Hit the source link if you're scrounging for details, but don't expect pricing or an order button just yet. Update: So, it seems that OWC isn't actually selling new Mac Minis itself, but will upgrade your own if you send it in. We'd like to take this opportunity to now recommend that OWC actually sell upgraded Mac Minis itself.
OWC aims SandForce-based Mercury Aura Pro SSD at 2008 / 2009 MacBook Air
Own a first generation MacBook Air? If you're perfectly fine with hanging onto it for awhile, Other World Computing is now offering a tempting upgrade in the storage department. The newly announced Mercury Aura Pro is promised to deliver up to 275MB/sec, which equates to right around 3x faster than the factory SSD on 2008 - 2009 MacBook Air models. It's said to be the first SandForce-based SSD available for those machines, with 60GB, 120GB, 240GB and 480GB models available. The foursome is available today for $199.99, $299.99, $579.99 and $TBA. Curious, but true.
OWC will cut a hole in your new 27-inch iMac, put an eSATA port behind it
Say what you like about Apple, as a company it's not exactly on the forefront when it comes to offering standard connectors for peripherals. Case in point: the latest iMac revisions lack eSATA, something of a bother for companies that make external storage devices. Companies like OWC. So, that particular organization is introducing a service to add that to 27-inch iMacs, cutting a small hole into the bottom-right of the display and sticking an eSATA port behind it. It's a nice idea, the results look flush enough, and 48-hour turn-around time is great -- but $169 is hardly small change. You can, however, take that time to get a 480GB Mercury Extreme Pro SSD stuffed in there as well for a mere $1,649 more.
OWC debuts uber-capacious 480GB 2.5-inch Mercury Extreme Pro SSD
Mmm, now we're talking. For years now, 2.5-inch SSDs have largely been too tiny (in terms of storage space) and too pricey to take seriously -- at least, for everyone except those willing to pay substantially more to ride the cutting edge. But Other World Computing just threw a monkey wrench into the norm, dishing out an incredibly roomy 480GB Mercury Extreme Pro solid state drive meant to supplant your aging laptop HDD. It's one of four in the range (60GB, 120GB and 240GB models are also available), all of which are pegged to deliver up to 285MB/sec sustained data rates with "no speed degradation." All four sizes are up for pre-order now for both PC and Mac platforms, with prices set at $219.99 (60GB), $379.99 (120GB), $699.99 (240GB) and $1,579.99 (480GB). What, you expected 480 gigabytes of sweet, succulent flash memory to come cheap? Puh-lease.
NewerTech releases the iFolio luxury iPad case
With just a few days to go before we can actually get our hands on an iPad, Newer Technology Inc., better known to us as NewerTech, has introduced quite a fancy custom handcrafted Brazilian leather protective carrying case for the iPad. It's made in the US and comes in either black or red at an introductory price of US $99.99 (down from the MSRP of $129.99), for shipment on April 5th. It seems to be built like a battleship and is backed with a lifetime warranty. It comes with a double stitched leather handle and a shoulder strap that extends from 24" to 48". The left side, sports a 7" X 10" hard backed document sleeve and two taffeta lined pockets so you won't mar whatever you decide to put in them. The right side features 4 elastic, non-marring leather restraining straps which give you enough room to hold an iPad that's already in a silicone case. Belt and suspenders might be overkill, but can you really be too safe? Probably not, since there's also a hard shell sewn in, surrounded by soft padding and a heavy duty nylon zipper to keep it closed. The only online seller of the case so far seems to be our friends at Other World Computing. I can see one of these in my future.
