One of the many complaints about the new MacBook Air concerns the optional Solid State Drive. Not its price (at $1000, it's only $50 more than Dell's) but its longevity. Instead of just bitching and moaning, Charles Arthuer over at the Guardian did some research.
It turns out that the fears about SSD life are based in the 1990s. Back then, drives could only stand as little as 10,000 write cycles. And because drives were smaller, a given block would be written to often. Today, though, that number is up to two million cycles. After some calculations (linked below), we get to a theoretical life of 51 years for a 64GB SSD. Even in a worst-case scenario, a 160GB drive will last for 13 years, putting spinning-platter hard drives to shame.
You'll be a lucky Mac Owner indeed if your notebook is still working in 2059. And by that time, 64GB will look as ridiculous as a 110KB floppy does today.
So how long might the Flash drive in a (pricey) MacBook Air last? [Guardian]
SSD Myths and Legends - "write endurance" [Storage Search]
Debunking Misconceptions in SSD Longevity [Bitmicro]
