[Tfug] Small-ish (capacity + size) disk alternatives

[Bexley Hall]

Hi Tyler,

On 1/31/2013 10:32 PM, Tyler Kilian wrote:
> Honestly, I'm not trying to be confrontational, but this thread
> has thousands of words trying to explain why no manufacturer of
> hard drives on this planet makes a product sufficient for a home
> automation project.  I find that hard to believe.

No one has concluded that "no manufacturer of hard drives on this
planet" makes an appropriate hard drive (or *other* storage medium
with high availability and low total system cost per byte).

And, "a home automation project" grossly simplifies the problem
domain.  Find me an existing product (money being no object) that
controls *everything* in your house (note that I said "controls"
and not "allows YOU to control"... big difference in those few
words!), surveillance, tracking, multimedia, etc. and *doesn't*
require you to hire a staff to ensure its continued availability.

*If* you can find such a beast, then I'd love to know how "widely
deployed" it is (i.e., how many folks are willing to pay whatever
it costs to actually install one!).

In your leisure, you might want to browse the web for "automation"
and "multimedia" offerings.  You'll find *some* things offered that
will "run on a PC" (i.e., leaving the reliability issue up to the
customer).  You'll find lots of things that perform *one* task
(surveillance, HVAC, music, etc.).  You'll find sensors and actuators
for a variety of "field" devices (doors, lights, thermostats, etc.).
You'll find some specialty products that serve very rigidly defined
needs (e.g., share your FAX with your answering machine; mute your
TV when your phone rings -- though you'd need to buy one for EACH
TV...).

Some will offer limited connectivity options (e.g., forward your
voice mail as an attachment to an email).  Some will offer fancy
control/status interfaces (e.g., control panels, graphic displays,
speech I/O, PC interfaces, etc.).

About the only thing that these devices will *share* is the AC
power!  They'll all be isolated little "islands of automation".
Like having a remote for your TV, another for your DVD, etc.
Nothing willing (or capable!) to talk with anything else!

And, with the possible exception of a "setback thermostat", none
of them will do much to identify *your* needs and usage patterns.
In short, they'll just be glorified control panels where all the
intelligence resides in the user's mind.  As such, they don't
*need* much in terms of computational resources!  (look at how
little is in your handheld TV remote *control*!!)

> Even critical IT systems don't have the availability requirements
> being thrown out here to where folks scrutinize the minutia of drive
> usage patterns.  Drives fail, they always have, they always will.

How many UNATTENDED "critical IT systems" do you know of?  Do you
want to have to take out a service contract to ensure you've got
a "home automation specialist" on call 24/7 for those times when
something goes wrong with your home automation system?  "Critical
IT systems" solve the availability problem by purchasing human
resources that they can deploy via pagers.  And, paying them
salaries (or per diem) to *be* available.

Data centers have special power conditioning, cooling, shielding,
etc.  And, appropriately sized budgets for those things.  Should
we plan on a "server room" in all homes built in the future?  And
solar panels to offset the additional power required for a "data
center" style solution?

> I really think a solution exists.

I'm waiting for someone to point me at it!  :>  I should receive some
"suggested" drives in tomorrow's mail -- but I can't yet comment on
how appropriate they are likely to be!

> The worry, to me, seems unfounded.  If it were me, I'd invest in a
> good quality drive.

*Which* drive?  What sort of endurance do you expect from it?
What's the price point?  What is the total system cost (average
per year) when you factor in replacements (parts, labor and
opportunity costs)?  Will your *mother* be able to buy one
and install it when the existing drive dies??

> I know that's more than two cents. :)

The problem is that "commodity parts" are geared to two very different
markets:  consumers (ever vigilant for low price and EXPECT to discard
or replace items "frequently" to keep up with technology, The Joneses,
etc.) and enterprise (who have deep pockets and are willing to throw
money, equipment and personnel at problems).

Home automation (BEYOND A GLORIFIED REMOTE CONTROL) wants the
enterprise's availability levels at the consumer's price point!

When the Reading Machine was released in the 70's, it's price point
was *way* too high for an individual to purchase (though Stevie
Wonder purchased one... "deep pockets").  They were all delivered
to "organizations/institutions" where they could be shared among
the clientele served by said organization.

A big reason for the high cost (besides the low quantity) was
the cost of support and the timeliness required in that support!
I.e., if a machine was misbehaving, someone had to be *there*
the next calendar day (weekends, holidays, etc. notwithstanding).
It wasn't possible to ship the machine back for repairs nor ship
out a replacement (think:  washing machine).  And, even if you
had "skilled staff" on the premises, the components used in the
machine were not available "off the shelf":

      "Excuse me... can you tell me which aisle I can find
      the speech synthesizers in?"

Last I heard, the newest generation of Reading Machine is
essentially a glorified cell phone -- affordable for an
individual (with a fair amount of disposable income).  But,
more importantly, a replacement can be "overnighted" for
a modest fee making support (and total effective product cost)
more affordable

I've seen this approach (and evolution) followed many times
with high availability products:  buy a "spare" $30,000 controller
in case the one you have in production goes down (and you can't
afford to wait even a *shift* for a replacement -- let alone
a whole day of travel time!).  Then, when the technology evolves
to the point where the entire controller will fit in a "flat
rate USPS box", keep a spare on hand and exchange the suspect
unit for a replacement, "overnight".

How many homeowners would engage in *either* sort of approach?

[We have put off installing an on-demand *or* solar hot water
system solely because of the support issue.  I've got to pay
a PLUMBER to service an ELECTRONIC control system??  You can
already guess what *that* is going to be like!]