Seagate introduces 1TB(1000GB) Hard disk drives

Seagate Technology on June 25 introduced two 1TB hard drives for consumer and enterprise markets the Barracuda 7200.11 and Barracuda ES.2. Seagate claims to have "the world’s most advanced family of one terabyte drives" with the new Barracuda models. The Barracuda 7200.11 for desktops and Barracuda ES.2 enterprise PMR (perpendicular magnetic recording) hard drives deliver 1TB of capacity on a four-disk platform, 7,200-rpm spin speeds, and caches up to 32MB.

Seagate claims the new Barracuda 7200.11 only draws 8-watts during idle and 11.6- watts during seek. Acoustically, the Barracuda 7200.11 generates around 27-to-29 decibels of noise during idle and seeking tasks. Both drives will begin shipping in volume during the third quarter of this year. Pricing for each is set at $399.99. Seagate becomes the third hard drive manufacturer to reach the 1TB mark after rival Hitachi launched its 7K1000 3.5-inch drives in January this year.

Hitachi’s 7K1000 also sells for around the $US399 price. Thanks to new levels of competition in the market sector, storage devices continue to get smaller in footprint and less expensive, while offering increased capacity and more desirable features, such as auto-backup and encryption.

You can read the complete Press Release by Seagate here

Google invests in clean energy and green technology

Innovation goes to the heart of what Google does. Google recently announced its plans to positively make a contribution to the environment. The company has set out its strategy to help build a cleaner energy future. This plan will enable the
company to go carbon neutral by 2008 and help support environmental innovation that could ultimately benefit everyone.

Google has finished its Phase 1 of a 1.6 megawatt (MW) solar panel at its headquarters in Mountain View. Google says its committed to creating an additional 50 MWs of renewable energy generating capacity by 2012 (good enough to power 50,000 homes). This Google project is the largest solar installation to date on any corporate campus in the United States and one of the largest on any corporate site in the world.

Leveraging its assets to make an impact beyond its business. Google also plans to invests in innovative projects like plug-in hybrid cars (plug-ins) in order to make cleaner technologies commercially viable more quickly. Google understands that clean energy technology can dramatically shift how people make and use energy for their cars and homes by charging cars through an electric grid powered by solar or other renewable energy sources, and selling power back to the electric grid when it's needed most.

Google also recently sponsored the Climate Savers Computing Initiative which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by setting aggressive new targets for energy-efficient computers. More info available here.

Google.org the philanthropic arm of Google.. uses the power of information to help people better their lives. They develop and invest in tools and partnerships that can help bring shared knowledge to bear on the world’s most pressing challenges in the areas of climate change, economic development and global health

For the full details on this google initiatives please click here