Anand Lal Shimpi:
Remember, SandForce’s technology only works on files that are easily compressed. Good encryption should make every location on your drive look like a random mess, which wreaks havoc on SandForce’s technology. With FileVault enabled, all transfers look incompressible - even those small file writes that I mentioned are usually quite compressible earlier.
[…]
The improvement in storage performance is even more revolutionary. Similar to the rMBP, with the 2012 MacBook Air Apple has entered the world of modern SSD performance. The impact of the faster SSDs is felt everywhere from boot to application performance. Once again there are two SSD suppliers, but unlike in previous models both can be deliver good performance. If you use FileVault or plan on working with a ton of already compressed data, you’ll want to pick a 256GB or 512GB drive to end up with Samsung’s controller rather than the SandForce driven Toshiba solution.
Rainmaker Research (via James Thomson):
It is with great sadness that Rainmaker Research Inc. announces the loss of its founder, Evan Michael Gross, who passed away suddenly at the end of June, 2012.
Evan was the author of Spell Catcher software and owner of Rainmaker Research Inc. The original version was released as Thunder! in 1986 and evolved into what we know as Spell Catcher X today.
There’s also a company tribute page. I was a big fan of Thunder 7 and wrote to him in May 1996, worried about the future of the product, when I’d heard a rumor that it had been sold. He replied:
Thunder 7 is now called Spell Catcher, and will be published by Casady &
Greene starting sometime very soon.
It now has a great future with a good publisher behind it!
Indeed, SpellCatcher shipped later that year and was one of the first products that I reviewed. Casady & Greene is gone now, but Rainmaker is still publishing Spell Catcher X.
Update (2012-07-20): Ted Goranson:
The basic idea is unique personal inspiration of a tool creator, enabling similarly unique and personal creation by a user. It is all personal, part of crafting a life. I love this sort of collaborative creation thing and my work environment is cobbled together from the products that shine in this way.
Rest in Peace
