TechWatch: Storage; Desktop Management; Tablet PCs

If you've got mobile users, need better ways to roll out new desktops or simply need a new type of drive, check out these selections. Got any hot products you want to share? E-mail [email protected].

Fujitsu Has SAS

Need disk drives for storage that are more reliable than Serial ATA but not something too high-end? Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) promises to provide that middle ground for systems builders offering white-box servers and storage arrays with much higher performance than traditional parallel SCSI drives. The first such offerings include Fujitsu's 2.5-inch SAS drives, which are available in 10-K rpm spindle speeds and support up to 73 GB of capacity. Fujitsu says its MAV-branded drives offer increased throughput over parallel SCSI drives, while reducing heat and power. When used with host-bus adapters from LSI Logic and with the direct-connect architecture of AMD 64 processors, the new drives achieve 4x performance improvement over its own parallel SCSI drives, according to the company.

2.5-inch sas drives, www.fujitsu.com Price: N/A

CA Unicenter Takes On Desktops

Computer Associates has taken the wraps off its own version of Desktop DNA, software that makes it easier to administer PCs and to migrate system settings and data from one client computer to another. CA acquired the Desktop DNA from Mirimar Systems and, with this new release, added the Unicenter brand to the product. The software migrates user settings, including printer paths, screen resolution, bookmarks, and the look and feel of the desktop. The new release also adds remote troubleshooting and restoring of PC information. The software adds incremental backup support, thanks to technology from CA's BrightStor, though company officials don't see it cannibalizing ARCserve or BrightStor.

Unicenter Desktop DNA r 11, www.cai.com Price: $22 per node for 100 notes

Modular Tablet

Motion Computing's new LE1600 sets out to raise the bar on versatility, design and handling for mainstream tablet PCs. Weighing a mere 3 pounds, the device comes with a keyboard that doubles as a docking station with support for Gigabit Ethernet connectivity. Based on Intel's new Pentium M LV758 processor and a Windows XP Tablet PC Edition 2005, the unit comes with an Intel PRO/Wireless 2200 802.11b/g wireless network card, has a 12-inch XGA TFT display with a viewing angle of up to 180 degrees, and supports up to a 60-GB hard drive and 1.5 GB of RAM. The 1.8-inch hard drive is designed to reduce the risk of failures. The LE1600 also comes with the Trusted Platform Module and an improved integrated management of security over previous models.

LE1600 Tablet PC, www.motioncomputing.com Price: $2,199 for 512-MB RAM, 30-GB HDD; $199 for battery