Western Digital ships 4TB WD Black hard drive, melds speed with space for $339

The 4TB hard drives that we've seen gradually filter into the marketplace have come with a few snags for desktop users; they're usually either external drives we'd never boot from or pokey internal models not meant for anything speed-intensive. Western Digital doesn't want us settling. It's shipping a 4TB version of its WD Black desktop drive that holds nothing back for the sake of the extra storage, spinning at a healthy 7,200RPM while packing 64MB of cache, dual processing and a two-stage actuator that together keep the drive working at full burn. At $339, the SATA 6Gbps drive undoubtedly carries a premium in trying to be the best of all worlds; it may be worth the expense for performance-minded types who've been out of options (and capacity) for awhile.

[Source: Engadget]

Apple introduces 'Fusion Drive' as a build-to-order option for the new iMac

So you want the performance of an SSD with the extra storage of a good 'ole HDD? Apple has you covered with Fusion Drive for its new iMac. Unlike a standalone hybrid drive Apple is apparently "fusing" together the a separate SSD and HDD using software in Mountain Lion

[Source: Engadget]

Hard drive recall emails going out to owners of 1TB iMacs

Apple's extension of the iMac 1TB Seagate hard drive replacement program was mentioned last Sunday, and late this week customers began receiving email reminders to schedule a drive replacement. If you're an iMac owner but not certain your machine is covered, you can easily check your serial number via the online validation tool.

While the Apple service program covers replacing your potentially problematic drive, it does not include backup or restoration of your OS, applications or data: that is on you. Please take our advice and spare yourself much pain and misery -- back up your drive now.

[Source: TUAW - Click here to read the full story]

Apple extends Seagate drive replacement program for iMacs

As noted by MacRumors, Apple's extended service program for iMacs with 1TB Seagate internal hard drives was updated late last week to include iMacs manufactured as far back as October 2009. The program, launched in the summer of 2011, originally covered only machines made during a narrow window of that year. Drives can be replaced at the Apple Store, by an Apple Authorized Service Provider or by Apple Technical Support.

Apple has also extended the duration of this program more than once, and now will cover iMac hard drive replacements with affected drives for three years after the original retail purchase date or until April 12, 2013, whichever ends up providing longer coverage for the computer. You can check if your machine might be affected by entering your serial number on the program page. Of course, you'll need to back up your data prior to replacement, and you may need your OS installer discs depending on how you plan to restore your machine.

Seagate's had past problems with drive reliability, including a firmware flaw that resulted in data loss.

[Source: TUAW]