Seagate ''Ships'' First 3 TB External HDD

It's the world's first external drive with a 3 TB storage capacity.

Seagate said on Tuesday that the world's first 3 TB external hard drive is now available for purchase. Part of the company's FreeAgent GoFlex Desk line of drives, the new addition is USB 2.0 compatible by default, however Seagate offers an adapter--sold separately--that lets users connect the drive to USB 3.0 and FireWire 800 ports.

Sony Reveals PlayStation Network Plus Details

Sony has revealed some details of what gamers paying $50 per year for PSN Plus can expect for their money.

When Sony announced PlayStation Plus at E3 there was a lot of confusion as to what the paid version of PSN would offer users. Yesterday evening, Susan Panico, Senior Director for PlayStation Network, clarified the features of PSN Plus in a blog post to the PlayStation blog.

At launch subscribers will get full access to the PlayStation Network game WipEout HD; PSP minis; as well as PS One classics like Fieldrunners, Age of Zombies, Rally Cross; and a game trial of Infamous. There'll also be free monthly episodes of Qore.

Other features of PSN Plus are free monthly games that once downloaded, are yours as long as you remain a subscriber. If you delete the game and decide you want it back, you can redownload it for free (as long as you're still a subscriber). You'll also get exclusive PlayStation Store discounts ranging from 20 percent to 50 percent. Members will also be included in demos and betas before anyone else.

There'll be free trials for users, which will allow you to download an entire game and play it for a set amount of time (usually an hour) as a 'try before you buy' option. If you decide to buy, you can pick up where you left off when your free hour expired.

Lastly, Susan talking about a feature that will download patches and updates automatically if that's your desire.

Pricing is $49.99 for a year and $17.99 for three months of service. If you purchase a year, you'll get three months free.

Anyone interested?

Windows 7 SP1 Beta Now Out in the (Testing) Wild

Windows 7 SP1 Beta. It's a lot of hotfixes in a bundle... in beta.

As we reported last week, Microsoft has sent out beta invites for testers to give the upcoming Windows 7 SP 1 a go. The beta's been sent out and is now live for those who get to try it (or who find another ways of obtaining it).

According to Ars Technica, the build number is 7601.16562.100603-1800, meaning it was compiled on June 3, 2010 at 6 p.m. Furthermore, support items have appeared on Microsoft's website for those who are having troubles installing the SP1 beta, which confirms the availability of the test patch.

As Microsoft previously indicated, SP1 will not offer Windows 7-specific features, but rather serves as a culmination of updates released since the OS hit the market--a few additional hotfixes thrown into the mix.

For Windows Server 2008 R2, the new service pack will provide RemoteFX, a 3D graphical experience for remote users, and Dynamic Memory, a feature that allows Windows Server Hyper-V to "dynamically allocate more or less memory to each VM as needed, provided a more scalable and better performing VDI environment."

The public release of SP1 is slated for later this year.

YouTube Scores Huge Victory in Copyright Case

Google-owned video sharing site, YouTube, has won a landmark copyright case against Viacom.

It's been more than three years since Viacom first took YouTube to court in a $1 billion lawsuit alleging willful infringement of its content. YouTube has always maintained that it removes copyrighted content when requested to do so by the owner and in doing so, is fully compliant with the requirements laid out by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). 

Intel to Use eMLC in Next-Gen Enterprise SSDs

The next-gen of Intel SSDs using 25nm flash are coming later this year.

Intel recently announced that its 25nm NAND flash chips are now shipping in volume to customers. This also means that we can soon expect a refresh of the Intel SSD's that are currently based off of 34nm Postville parts later this year.

Intel's next generation 25nm SSD parts for enterprises will use a new type of enterprise multi-level cell (eMLC) flash memory, which are expected to be even more resilient than other existing technologies, according to a roadmap seen by X-bit Labs.

Those looking to beef up their home gaming rigs will probably be more interested in the SSDs targeted towards enthusiasts. The next round of Intel X25-M will come in 600GB, 300GB, 160GB and 80GB capacities. This will mean roomier drives for those with the resources to purchase one, while the 80GB and 160GB models hopefully will be more affordable to those looking for a speedy OS drive.

For reference, the 34nm-based 80GB and 160GB models can be had for around $200 and $400, respectively.