Other World Computing (OWC) announces a 12TB capacity option for the Mercury Elite Pro Dual line of dual-bay external storage solutions, making part of the OWC Thunderbolt interface storage product family.

The Mercury Elite Pro Dual is available in capacities starting from 0GB (add your own drives) to up to 12TB of total storage, adding tremendous capacity to any Mac or PC with a Thunderbolt port. Data rates reach up to 442MB/s read and 450MB/s write, making the them ideal for applications such as AV post-production, photography, music, graphics, data management and backups.

The secret to the higher capacity optical storage might be held within ancient Roman glassware, University of Cambridge researchers say as they develop a new means of making multicoloured holograms from a thin silver nanoparticle film.

One example of the glassware in question is the Lycurgus cup. Made in the 4th century, the cup changes colour from green to red according to the position of the light due to gold and silver nanoparticles incorporated into the glass.

Of course the ancient Romans did not know of the specifics of the phenomenon, called dichroism-- in fact research into the glassware's unique properties only started round 20 years ago, and now the researchers have managed to create "nanoscale metallic nanoparticle arrays" able to form multicolour holograms.

More security-aware customers-- or simply those wanting to live the secret agent dream-- can now get self-destructing SSDs courtesy of British storage maker Secure Drives, specifically the Autothysis 128s and 128t.

The two drives offer 128GB of storage together with automatic 256-bit hardware-level encryption. Oh, and they can be remotely wiped clean of data before self destruction via either SMS kill message or optional tap-to-destroy token.

Self-destruction also takes place in case of removal from PC, too many PIN prompt failures, low battery level or too quiet signal from the built-in GSM radio. The Autothysis 128s also features a companion smartphone app providing a command centre and, yes, another means for self-destruction.

Synology announces the DiskStation DS415+-- an Atom-powered 4-bay NAS server designed for enthusiast home customers and SMBs allowing users to centralise data storage, backup and file sharing.

It carries a 2.4GHz quad-core Intel Atom processor, AES-NI hardware encryption engine, floating-point unit and 2GB DDR3 RAM. Connectivity comes through USB 3.0, USB 2.0 and eSATA, as well as dual LAN ports for failover and link aggregation duties.

The four drive bays handle "huge amounts of storage capacity," the company says.

The DS415+ is also energy efficient-- it uses 46.2W during peak usage and only 17.3W during hibernation. Performance clocks at average reading and writing speeds of 228MB/s and 233MB/s respectively with link aggregation enabled, while encrypted file transfer reach 232MB/s read and 206MB/s write.

SanDisk launches the Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-1 memory card, the highest-capacity SD card on the market according to the company at 512GB, making it ideal for industry professionals and prosumers working in video and photography.

“4K/UHD is an example of a technology that is pushing us to develop new storage solutions capable of handling massive file sizes," the company says. "The 512GB SanDisk Extreme PRO SDXC UHS-I card is a tremendous advancement that enables professionals to reliably store more content on a single card than ever before.”

As well as high capacities the Extreme PRO features write speeds of up to 90MB/s, transfer speeds of up to 95MB/s and UHS Speed Class 3 (U3) recording speeds for efficient post-production workflow.

Connected Data announces a new version of the portable Drobo Mini prosumer storage solution-- the Drobo Mini with SSD, a self-explanatory upgrade configured with four 2.5-inch SSD drive bays.

It connects via Thunderbolt or USB 3.0, and carries an mSATA accelerator to deliver what the company says is up to 80% more performance compared to a Mini configured with traditional HDDs.

Like all Drobo storage products it also features automatic self-repair in case of multiple SSD drive failure and batter backup for protection in case of sudden power outage.

Toshiba announces the Canvio AeroMobile-- a pocket-sized storage device combining the convenience of portable storage with the benefits of SSDs, with integrated wireless functionality and USB 3.0 port.

It provides 128GB storage (expandable via SD card slot), and allows the browsing, saving and streaming of files with Android and iOS devices via Wireless SSD app.

An internet pass-thru mode also allows simultaneous web browsing and access to the AeroMobile wireless SSD.

“With so many ways for consumers to capture and share the world around them the ability to backup, protect and access content with ease is becoming increasingly important," Toshiba says. "The Canvio AeroMobile wireless SSD has been created to give extra freedom when storing and sharing data, with the added reassurance that precious memories are safely backed up.”

AMD announces a partnership with Toshiba's OCZ Storage Solutions in Radeon-branded SSDs-- specifically the Radeon R7 Series SSDs, available in 120, 240 and 480GB capacities.

The drives are based on the Vertex 460 SSDs, if tweaked with a faster version of the Barefoot controller (the Barefoot 3 M00) and the latest Toshiba A19 MLC NAND flash.

According to AMD read/write speeds clock at 550MB/s and 530MB/s respectively, and the drives come in a special anodised black housing.