What I think (when I say “CompactFlash RAID") is why? At least, for now I think why?

Addonics Technologies announced a $50 PCI card Tuesday that’s got four CompactFlash card slots. The cards can be configured as four individual drives, a single large volume, or set up with RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) 0, 1 or 10 to stripe data across multiple cards or mirror data from one onto another.

Note that there’s no support for RAID 5 and that cards can’t be hot-swapped, so no adding capacity nondisruptively by plugging in newer, bigger flash cards, according to President Bill Kwong.

Not as flexible. Tremendously more expensive even with far lesser capabilities. Not hot swappable.

When the price of those little cards comes down enough, this will make far more sense--at least, assuming that there isn’t a similar reduction in the cost of spinning platters or that some other technology doesn’t supplant both of the above. Maybe I’m not thinking creatively enough--maybe there is a person out there thinking, “CompactFlash RAID. I need that.”

I’m betting it’s more of an object of minor geek lust right now, though. I really don’t see a situation where the need isn’t served better by cheaper spinning platters.

Now, somebody set me straight.

Read the rest.