LSI AIS 2012 - Most of us haven't spent a lot of time with Windows To Go yet but those articles are in the pipeline. W2G is a feature in Windows 8 Enterprise that allows Win 8 Enterprise to boot and run from mass storage devices, like flash drives. The general concept has been around for years with other devices and software tools but Windows To Go puts a big name, Microsoft, at the head of the table.

At AIS 2012 LSI displayed three Windows To Go solutions. Kingston had their solution running on an off-the-shelf notebook. The DataTraveler Workspace is currently shipping in 32GB and 64GB capacity sizes. A 128GB model is available by special order according to Kinston's website. You know what model I want.

SPYRUS offers the Secure Portable Workplace and Super Talent has the USB 3.0 Express RC8, both with LSI SandForce controllers.

LSI AIS 2012 - LSI's acquisition of SandForce is really paying off for enterprise customers. LSI's Nytro product line started off with the original Warp Drive has expanded from there. Last week we told you all about the LSI Nytro WarpDrive 800GB BLP4-800 in our breakout enterprise review but today we peer into the future.

The Nytro WarpDrive we reviewed last week used four SSD cards but the model we see here doubles the card capacity to eight total! If that's a PCIe 3.0 ROC under the black heat sink then the next generation WarpDrive products will not only increase in capacity but also receive a massive performance improvement as well.

LSI integrated Nytro products to their existing MegaRAID line up to offer an additional tier of performance to datacenters. Innovative products like the Nytro WarpDrive XD add advanced software to the solution and increase overall efficiency with minimal investment.

LSI AIS 2012 - The keynote from LSI CEO Abhi Talwalkar today focused on the data deluge that is currently overwhelming system administrators in some of the world's largest datacenters. This onslaught of data is being driven primarily by the explosion of mobile devices and social media. With users increasingly turning to the 'cloud' to store and share their data, the flood of information being stored in the datacenter is becoming overwhelming.

This data deluge is leading to new and exciting technologies on the storage front to handle the load. As noted on the banner behind the CEO, more data equals more opportunity for those in the data storage business.

This chart puts things in perspective. In 3 minutes alone there were over 183,423 (or 18 years) hours of video downloaded, 3.9 million YouTube views and 18 million Facebook views. YouTube views on mobile devices was up a staggering 300% last year alone, and the year over year growth for mobile usage is intended to multiply further this year. The increase in mobile bandwidth, with 4G and faster connections becoming prevalent, is placing the focus increasingly upon service providers to deliver better latency to serve customers faster.

While in San Jose we visited Corsair to see the new lab toy. The Longwin LW-9266 is an advanced fan testing machine but don't let the application fool you. This 45K USD tool is a serious piece of hardware that takes fan testing to levels far beyond the reach of computer component reviewers.

It looks like something from the movies, a cart the bad guys wheel from a truck to blow up a city.

A system of interchangeable plates allow the operator to change fans quickly.

LSI AIS 2012 - We've known about PNY's growing relationship with USA based system builders for some time but the HP connection just became a little more public. Before we dive into the new products though let's have a brief look at PNY's new Made in the USA manufacturing facility located in New Jersey.

Image Courtesy of PNY

PNY has a new manufacturing facility in New Jersey. The new green factory gets up to 40% of its power from solar cells, quite an achievement considering the amount of power needed to run SMT lines. While looking for information about the factory we found several positions available so if you're looking for a job in the high technology manufacturing sector PNY is a good place to send your resume.

LSI AIS 2012 - Avant Technology made a rare public appearance at AIS 2012. Before you ask we'll fill you in. Avant Technology is responsible for the design and manufacture of several SSDs sold around the world. As a private company we don't have access to specific numbers but we know it's a significant market share. CTO Paul Goodwin joined Avant in 2007 and personally designs most, if not all of the innovative Avant SSDs.

The first product is a massive 2TB 2.5" SSD in an enterprise standard 15mm z-height. Combining four SF-2281 controllers, a LSI RAID controller and SAS 6GB/s, this unannounced product surpasses HDD density in the 2.5" form factor. I'm sure the performance is a bit better as well.

Avant's focus isn't just on the enterprise market. Here we have a new mSATA SSD with 480GB capacity. In order to achieve form factor leading density Avant added a daughter board to hold additional flash. At the same time this product increases the performance over standard mSATA SSDs because it utilizes all 8 channels of the SF-2281 controller. Most mSATA SSDs only use 4 channels so the performance of this mSATA product should line up with 2.5" SF-2281 SSDs.

LSI AIS 2012 - LSI beat the rest of the market to release the SAS 6Gb/s controllers that now dominate the datacenter, with over 75% of the channel and 4 out of 5 major OEMs utilizing their current generation products. LSI aims to extend this lead and has shown us some of the initial results for their new 12Gb/s SAS products.

The Invader, referred to as the 9271-8i MegaRAID, sports LSIs latest ROC, the 3108. This chip provides excellent scalability and the potential for speeds that saturate the current PCIe 3.0 bus.

We can also observe the battery backup unit, and also the innovative cache module that provides a fail-safe cache protection for mission critical applications.

According to Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, Amazon's streaming service that comes with an Amazon Prime membership isn't anywhere near profitable. In fact, he pegs the yearly loss at an amount somewhere between $500 million and $1 billion. That's an incredible price to pay to try and enter a market, but Amazon has the ability to do so.

The way Hastings has determined this estimate is by using the value of content deals that Amazon picked up when Netflix and Amazon were directly competing for them. Netflix is planning on spending over $2 billion on content over the next year, so the fact that Amazon is only losing $1 billion isn't such a big deal.

Both Amazon and Netflix charge the same amount per month for their services, $8, but Amazon also offers free two-day shipping and other benefits for that $8. Amazon spokesman Andrew Herdener, via email to All Things D: "We don't comment on our individual investments but it's correct that Prime Instant Video is an amazing value for customers. Not only do Prime members get unlimited streaming video, but they also get free 2-day shipping and the Kindle Owners' Lending Library as well."

The purple haze appears to be a phenomenon with most high-end smartphone cameras, not just something limited to the iPhone 5 and a few others. The latest device to join the purple haze party is Google's recently released Nexus 4 smartphone, which is selling quite well, if you hadn't heard the news.

As you can see in the picture above, the purple haze affects this brand new device just as much as the others. It only shows up in a few different lighting scenarios, so people should try to avoid these few conditions that will lead to the purple haze. Mainly, avoid shooting towards bright lights that are just out of frame.

The current thought regarding the issue is that the hard crystals that are used as lenses impart the purple hue because they are not perfectly clear. When the light comes roughly straight through, it doesn't present a problem, but as it reaches the outer parts of the lens, the purple color becomes apparent. Of course, this is only a theory.

People buying the WiiU might be upset that they must basically be in the same room as the WiiU to use the WiiU GamePad. While the recommended usage distance is in fact 26 feet, the designers of the wireless chipset used in the tablet say that it is capable of much, much more, but Nintendo wanted to be sure they wouldn't be sued by someone trying to use it too far away.

Ultimately, the range comes down to the amount of wireless interference present in the installation location. If you're in an apartment building in New York City, you'll likely have much less range than someone out in the middle of nowhere, a location where not even cell phones get reception.

In the latter situation, Dino Bekis, senior director of Wireless Connectivity at Boradcom has said that people could likely get up to 100 feet of range. It also depends on what your house is composed of and different factors. The bottom line is that Nintendo went pretty conservative on the number to ensure that all users would receive a decent experience.