"SSD" and "Critical Firmware Update" makes me think of one thing, and one thing only: a bug has been found which can cause data corruption in normal use. Critical as in your computer (data) is at risk if you do not fix it, so stop whatever the system is used for right now, and apply the update!
This is an Important issue, in that it fixes the possibility of reduced performance, and improves the drive's resilience as it ages, but is in no way critical as it can be safely left until the end of the day, or the end of the week if you wish, but they feel it would be preferable if you didn't forget about it all together.
I was certain that OCZ described the update as critical on its website, but looks like I misremembered. That's the only reason I used the word critical because otherwise I agree that it's a recipe to mass hysteria. I guess this is what happens when you write stuff at 11pm...
Either way, it's still listed as a "mandatory update", which speaks for its importance, so I don't think critical is too much of an overkill here. That said, if I wrote the article now, I would probably choose a milder word.
Well now that you have realised your error why not update the title so it seems less sensational? Unless its not 'critical' to you that people perceive you as being sensationalist!
I decided to go ahead and edit the title and the first paragraph, but especially title edits are a bit tricky when done afterwards. The issue is that the social media links still contain the old title, so some readers (who don't read the comments, obviously) may suspect that we changed the title to be more positive due to pressure from the manufacturer. Hence I typically avoid editing the title unless there is a major error or misunderstanding.
"Critical" implies that something terrible will happen if you don't take action. Clearly that's not the case here and you would be just fine not applying this at all which I'm sure will be the case for the majority of the drives out there.
While critical in the title is a good word to guarantee that the visitor will read the article, when we are talking about OCZ, it is an extremely bad word because your first though is that drives are killing themselves just to honor their heritage. This article is informative and thank you because I also have an ARC 100 120GB. But this title by itself, is pretty bad and unfair publicity for OCZ because many will only read the title and be glad they don't own an OCZ SSD.
I agree. Thank you Kristian for detailing what OCZ didn't. They make this update sound important, whereas I'll likely pass applying it to the majority of ARC100's I have out in the field based on your explanation. It isn't important enough to risk bricking a drive during flashing that probably isn't even backed up.
I've had great luck with Barefoot 3 drives. The fresh, conservative controller paired with reliable Toshiba NAND has worked out well for the new OCZ.
Clickbait with zero explanation. "the update puts improvements in place in case the NAND blocks storing the..." that entire thing is a load of crap. Clickbait. I hope you discontinue this sort of thing, unless of course you just seek to be another mediocre "news" site in the sea of thousands.
When this website starts off with titles like "6 ways to make a woman fall in love with you" that lead to articles about cpus, then maybe we'll take you seriously.
Paragraph 1 and 2 are actually contradicting each other:
"First things first, the word critical in this context doesn't mean that the drives are subject to a major issue or bug that turns the drive into a brick, so there's no need for mass hysteria here."
"That lead to potential DRAM corruption that could jeopardize the drive's reliability, [...]"
DRAM corruption means that the drive is potentially writing incorrect data to the drive hence jeopardizing data integrity -- in my book that is maximum one notch better than bricking the device. If a device is bricked I know it's time to get a new drive and fetch that backup, if the data is silently corrupted things might end up much worse...
Simple fact is, 'critical' was poor choice of word for the article title. Given the distinctly ferocious nature of many of those who read tech sites, it's unfair to post something which many will choose to interpret as being an indication that something has gone fubar with an OCZ SSD. This sort of thing can create a lot of unwarranted FUD. At the very least, edit the title to make it more sensible.
Well, to be honest something did go haywire with the ARC100 480gb. I know cuz mine semi-bricked itself as a result of the aforementioned firmware bug. I almost thought the drive was dead until I found out about the firmware update, and after I finally managed to get the firmware utility to boot on my system, installed the firmware, and reset the drive, it is working better than ever! I wasn't too happy about losing my data, but I find it hard to knock a product as defective when the manufacturer releases an update to fix a major bug, so it is back in use now.
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eanazag - Monday, February 9, 2015 - link
I'd replace the word critical with important/major. Critical gives the sound of being absolutely necessary to avoid major issues.PrinceGaz - Tuesday, February 10, 2015 - link
"SSD" and "Critical Firmware Update" makes me think of one thing, and one thing only: a bug has been found which can cause data corruption in normal use. Critical as in your computer (data) is at risk if you do not fix it, so stop whatever the system is used for right now, and apply the update!This is an Important issue, in that it fixes the possibility of reduced performance, and improves the drive's resilience as it ages, but is in no way critical as it can be safely left until the end of the day, or the end of the week if you wish, but they feel it would be preferable if you didn't forget about it all together.
Kristian Vättö - Tuesday, February 10, 2015 - link
I was certain that OCZ described the update as critical on its website, but looks like I misremembered. That's the only reason I used the word critical because otherwise I agree that it's a recipe to mass hysteria. I guess this is what happens when you write stuff at 11pm...Either way, it's still listed as a "mandatory update", which speaks for its importance, so I don't think critical is too much of an overkill here. That said, if I wrote the article now, I would probably choose a milder word.
smilingcrow - Tuesday, February 10, 2015 - link
Well now that you have realised your error why not update the title so it seems less sensational?Unless its not 'critical' to you that people perceive you as being sensationalist!
Kristian Vättö - Tuesday, February 10, 2015 - link
I decided to go ahead and edit the title and the first paragraph, but especially title edits are a bit tricky when done afterwards. The issue is that the social media links still contain the old title, so some readers (who don't read the comments, obviously) may suspect that we changed the title to be more positive due to pressure from the manufacturer. Hence I typically avoid editing the title unless there is a major error or misunderstanding.smilingcrow - Tuesday, February 10, 2015 - link
I think that's a good call and the new Toshiba owned OCZ deserve a break and the title wasn't really giving them one.Operandi - Tuesday, February 10, 2015 - link
"Critical" implies that something terrible will happen if you don't take action. Clearly that's not the case here and you would be just fine not applying this at all which I'm sure will be the case for the majority of the drives out there.Alexvrb - Tuesday, February 10, 2015 - link
I'd consider it critical. Heck, look up all the negative reviews of ARC drives corrupting data. I'd put CRITICAL in all caps. :Pyannigr2 - Monday, February 9, 2015 - link
While critical in the title is a good word to guarantee that the visitor will read the article, when we are talking about OCZ, it is an extremely bad word because your first though is that drives are killing themselves just to honor their heritage. This article is informative and thank you because I also have an ARC 100 120GB. But this title by itself, is pretty bad and unfair publicity for OCZ because many will only read the title and be glad they don't own an OCZ SSD.Samus - Monday, February 9, 2015 - link
I agree. Thank you Kristian for detailing what OCZ didn't. They make this update sound important, whereas I'll likely pass applying it to the majority of ARC100's I have out in the field based on your explanation. It isn't important enough to risk bricking a drive during flashing that probably isn't even backed up.I've had great luck with Barefoot 3 drives. The fresh, conservative controller paired with reliable Toshiba NAND has worked out well for the new OCZ.
hansmuff - Monday, February 9, 2015 - link
Clickbait with zero explanation. "the update puts improvements in place in case the NAND blocks storing the..." that entire thing is a load of crap. Clickbait. I hope you discontinue this sort of thing, unless of course you just seek to be another mediocre "news" site in the sea of thousands.Mr.r9 - Tuesday, February 10, 2015 - link
What? Kristian clearly details what and this update is required. Go read the second paragraph idiot.Flunk - Tuesday, February 10, 2015 - link
When this website starts off with titles like "6 ways to make a woman fall in love with you" that lead to articles about cpus, then maybe we'll take you seriously.Daniel Egger - Tuesday, February 10, 2015 - link
Paragraph 1 and 2 are actually contradicting each other:"First things first, the word critical in this context doesn't mean that the drives are subject to a major issue or bug that turns the drive into a brick, so there's no need for mass hysteria here."
"That lead to potential DRAM corruption that could jeopardize the drive's reliability, [...]"
DRAM corruption means that the drive is potentially writing incorrect data to the drive hence jeopardizing data integrity -- in my book that is maximum one notch better than bricking the device. If a device is bricked I know it's time to get a new drive and fetch that backup, if the data is silently corrupted things might end up much worse...
mapesdhs - Tuesday, February 10, 2015 - link
Simple fact is, 'critical' was poor choice of word for the article title. Given the distinctlyferocious nature of many of those who read tech sites, it's unfair to post something
which many will choose to interpret as being an indication that something has gone
fubar with an OCZ SSD. This sort of thing can create a lot of unwarranted FUD. At
the very least, edit the title to make it more sensible.
Vector 180 due out in about 6 weeks btw.
Ian.
Jsec42 - Wednesday, April 27, 2016 - link
Well, to be honest something did go haywire with the ARC100 480gb. I know cuz mine semi-bricked itself as a result of the aforementioned firmware bug. I almost thought the drive was dead until I found out about the firmware update, and after I finally managed to get the firmware utility to boot on my system, installed the firmware, and reset the drive, it is working better than ever! I wasn't too happy about losing my data, but I find it hard to knock a product as defective when the manufacturer releases an update to fix a major bug, so it is back in use now.