Memorex sent out a press release this morning, announcing a 500GB version of its Ultra TravelDrive. This new portable hard drive also sports an ocean and onyx black finish as well as a blue LED that illuminates when it is plugged into a computer's USB port.
memorex ultra traveldrive 320gb.png

To meet the mobile users' demand for higher capacity portable storage, Memorex, a portfolio brand of Imation Corp. (NYSE: IMN), brings a new look and greater capacity to its award-winning Ultra TravelDrive(TM) line of USB hard drives. The compact, high capacity, ruggedly designed Ultra TravelDrive now delivers up to 500 GB of capacity for significant storage and back up capacity for data, photos, music and video. A cool blue LED light illuminates when the drive is plugged into any computer's USB port and flashes during data transfer, so you always know when the drive is in use.

Add a comment
Kanguru Solutions announced today that its latest encrypted flash drive, the KanguruDefender, has been added to the FIPS 140-2 Pre-Validated list. The drive offers a number of key features such as hardware AES encryption, admin free setup, a rugged aluminum design and remote management capabilities.
kanguru defender.jpg
Add a comment
Earlier this week, we reported that Prodisc had filed for corporate restructuring and would be shutting down its optical disc business. According a new report by DigiTimes, the company is currently in negotiations with lending banks so that it can continue production of optical discs.
Prodisc Technology asserted that it will continue producing optical discs following its request with a local court for corporate restructuring and emergency measures, according to company chairman Ming-fa Lin.

This is the clarification Lin made in response to a rumor that Prodisc will stop production of optical discs due to its financial difficulties.
Add a comment
Kingston Technology announced its new line of small and stylish USB flash drives this week. The DataTraveler Mini Slim comes in your choice of black, blue or pink and is available in both 2GB and 4GB capacities.

kingston dt mini slim.png

Buffalo Japan has announced a new external 20x "Super Multi" drive based on the Pioneer DVR-116. The DVSM-SL20U2 features a "Turbo USB" interface and is capable of 20x DVD±R, 10x DVD±R DL and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds. The drive can also upscale standard DVDs to 1080p using the bundled PowerDVD software. Here are some of the specs:

buffalo dvsm-sl20u2.png

Add a comment
Panasonic has officially announced its new 8x Blu-ray Disc writer, the LF-PB371JD. This new drive features 8x BD-R, 8x BD-R DL and 2x BD-RE writing speeds as well as a maximum BD-ROM read speed of 8x. Here's part of their press release, translated from Japanese.
panasonic lf-pb371jd 400.jpg
Back in July, Pioneer announced that it had developed the world's first 16-layer optical disc with a capacity of 400GB. Following new research conducted by its engineers in Japan, the company has now announced that a 20-layer 500GB disc is feasible.

A 20-layer optical disc is now viable, following research by our team of engineers at Pioneer HQ, Tokyo. Each layer of the disc can store 25GB of information to provide a mammoth 500GB of storage.

The news follows the International Symposium on Optical Memory (ISOM) and Optical Data Storage, held during July in Hawaii, where Pioneer Corporation presented its research, defining draft specifications for the 500 GB disc.

The ISOM had previously outlined the industry objective of creating a 20-layer disc to be available between 2010-2012.

Add a comment
Antec Twelve Hundred Case @ HardwareLogic
Creative Aurvana X-Fi @ InsideHW
MSI Wind U100 Sub-Notebook @ Futurelooks
OCZ ReaperX HPC 4GB PC2-6400 Memory Kit @ Benchmark Reviews
SilverStone Lascala LC13-E @ Phoronix
Supermicro X7DWA-N Motherboard @ PC Review
Tagan BZ Series 900W Modular Power Supply @ ThinkComputers.org Add a comment
Micron recently announced its next-generation RealSSD solid state drives (SSDs) for enterprise computing and notebook applications. The enterprise-class RealSSD P200 is available in capacities up to 128GB and is capable of sequential read and write speeds of 250MB/s. The client-focused RealSSD C200 is available in 2.5-inch and 1.8-inch form factors in capacities up to 256GB.

micron realssd 400.jpg
Things aren't looking good for Prodisc. Earlier this week, the company asked a local court in Taiwan for protection against its creditors to prevent them from seizing its assets. According to the China Economic News, Prodisc has also filed for corporate restructuring and will be shutting down its optical disc business. Add a comment