That solution doesn't help anyone who's using external storage, though, so it kinda feels like a half billion dollars spent on a limited solution.
Why not come up with a solution that covers external storage too, instead of spending all that money and relying on external solutions? I just don't understand why they couldn't have optional checksums in APFS.
ReFS exists, so Microsoft knew they needed to do something, but they have utterly failed to protect the vast majority of users.
Don't get me wrong, there's no reason Microsoft can't transition to another filesystem (like offering ReFS outside of Server or whatever Windows variants support it currently), but I don't understand why a company would transition to a new filesystem in 2016 and not include a data checksums option. Hell, ReFS predates APFS, and I think it even has optional data checksums.
Handling file integrity in hardware is a big step up.
Is there any evidence that Apple actually has better hardware data integrity than anyone else, though? They make claims in the article linked a few posts back, but AFAIK SSDs in general make use of error correcting codes, not just Apple's SSDs.
That article also points out how even multi-million dollar arrays are known to return bad data, and previous Apple SSD devices have been known to do the same.
I agree that the state of default filesystems is bad, but I'm not convinced that Apple's hardware solution is anything more than them saying, "Trust me, bro."
https://forums.guru3d.com/threads/testing-instaling-windows-...
We’re talking “watch the mouse crawl across the machine” crushed. Completely useless. Life returned to normal when I uninstalled it.
Also, I’ve heard anecdotes that ZFS and USB do not get along.
I’ve also heard contrary experiences. Some folks, somewhere, may be having success with ZFS on external drives on an iMac.
I’m just not one of them.
By using external storage, instead of paying $10k more for more storage, you are directly harming Apple’s margins and the CEO’s bonus which is not ok /s