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Optical Storage
Contrary to earlier reports, CMC Magnetics is holding off on commercial production of BD-R and BD-RE media. According to company chairman, Robert Wong, the company will invest in BD R&D until the demand for blank BD media justifies the high cost of equipment and royalties.
CMC Magnetics will not start commercial production of blank Blu-ray Disc (BD) discs until the global BD market emerges to some extent, and will instead invest in BD R&D to cultivate its technological capabilities in the interim, according to company chairman, Robert Wong.

Since as many as 21 owners of BD patents plan to claim royalty charges, there are many problems that need to be solved while charge rates are expected to be high, Wong pointed out. In addition, production equipment for BD discs is currently very expensive. The cost of equipment and royalties, together with the small demand render BD investment unfeasible at the moment, which is why CMC will not to step into production of BD-R (recordable, write once) and BD-RE (rewritable) discs for the time being, Wong explained.
Wong also predicts that, due partly to high royalty rates, the BD market will not take off for another 2 to 3 years. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment

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Hard Disks
Samsung announced this week that it has begun shipping the world's first 500GB 2.5" mobile hard drive. The Spinpoint M6 consists of three 167GB platters and features a 5400rpm spindle speed, an 8MB cache and 3.0Gbps SATA interface.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a worldwide leader in digital consumer electronics and information technology, announced today that it is shipping the world's first half-terabyte (500GB) 2.5" mobile hard drive - the new Spinpoint M6. The Spinpoint M6 is designed to fit the industry's standard 9.5mm height dimension and armed with a massive 500GB capacity, the drive is targeted to meet the growing storage needs of today's notebook computers as well as slim form factor PCs and high density mobile applications.

"Our customers require more and more notebook storage for their data, video and music files", said Andy Higginbotham, director of hard drive sales and marketing, Samsung Semiconductor. "Our Spinpoint M6 easily fits within notebook PCs with no modification to the notebook PC chassis, giving users more storage power than ever before."

Samsung's new Spinpoint M6 consists of three 167GB platters in a 2.5" hard drive frame measuring just 9.5mm in height. This critical feature gives notebook PC manufacturers the option of easily integrating the Spinpoint M6 into the tens of millions of notebook PCs that ship every quarter.
The Spinpoint M6 is available now for a suggested retail price of $299. Full details can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment
Samsung has reportedly cancelled their second gen Duo HD player, the BD-UP5500. In a statement issued to PC World, the company announced that, following Toshiba's decision to drop HD DVD, the window of opportunity for a dual format player is smaller than before and that consumers should move forward with Blu-ray.
The company's statement today notes that "now that Blu-ray has been chosen as the next-generation format, the consumer can move forward with confidence and enjoy the incredible experience that Blu-ray offers. Samsung believes that a multi-format player like the current BD-UP5000 Duo HD Player (Duo) offers the best and only solution for consumers that want access to all available High-Definition (HD) titles in the short term. It remains a practical solution, but the window of opportunity is smaller than it was before. In light of recent announcements, Samsung will not introduce the BD-UP5500 Duo HD Player."
If you'd like to read more, the entire blog post can be found here. Add a comment

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Other
AMD 780G Chipset & AMD Athlon X2 4850e Dual-core CPU @I4U
Antec Nine Hundred Case @ASE Labs
Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 Rev 2 VGA Cooler @HardwareLogic
CoolIT Freezone Elite @BCCHardware
Honeywell SecuraDrive 1.8-inch 80GB USB Hard Drive @ThinkComputers.org
Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard @ TweakTown
NZXT Cryo LX USB 'Trio Fan' Laptop Cooler @Everything USB
PNY Verto GeForce 9600 GT Graphics Card @I4U
SimpleTech 160GB SimpleDrive Portable 2.5 Inch Hard Drive @Techwarelabs
Yoggie Gatekeeper Pico Security Mini-Computer @ThinkComputers.org
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Other
To celebrate St. Patrick's Day , SlySoft is offering a 20% discount on all products (except upgrades and t-shirts)). To redeem the coupon just enter the
  • coupon code: stpatricksday
in the 'Coupon / Promotion Code' box at the bottom of the check-out form. Please note that this coupon is only valid until March, 16th 2008.

What are you waiting for? Head on over to the SlySoft website and take advantage of this sale! Add a comment

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Flash Memory
Transcend announced this week that it will be introducing 16GB and 32GB versions of its JetFlash V20 flash drive. These value priced drives feature a transparent color-band that lights up during use as well as Transcend’s JetFlash elite software suite which includes functions like Autologin, PC-Lock, Mobile E-mail and DataBackup.

Transcend Information, Inc. (Transcend), a worldwide leader in flash memory products, today introduced two new high-capacity USB portable storage devices - a 16GB and 32GB version of its popular JetFlash V20 flash drive. The versatile V20 features an attractively shaped pearlescent chassis with a semi-transparent color-band that lights up during use. Its smooth contoured design fits comfortably in your hand and slips effortlessly into any pocket or purse. With the V20’s copious amount of storage space, you can easily store all of your personal files, music, digital photos, and even full-length HDTV movies and still have space left over for work or school documents.
If you'd like to read more, Transcend's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Software
Nero has announced that it will be releasing Nero Linux 3.5 in mid-March. This new version of the software features a command line client and support for subnotebooks with small screen resolution.
Nero, leaders in digital media technology, have announced that they will be releasing Nero Linux 3.5, the latest update of the definitive burning solution for the Linux operating system, allowing users to access content on a variety of platforms. Nero Linux 3.5 further extends Nero’s technology expertise with a new command line client that lets users engage the powerful engine through scripts and third-party applications.

Nero Linux 3.5, available in mid-March, now also includes support and screen resolution enhancement for popular subnotebooks that are pre-loaded with the Linux operating system and have a very small screen-resolution of 800 x 480 pixels.

Based on the burning technology found in Nero 8, the award-winning digital media suite, Nero Linux 3.5 is also the only solution on the market to provide Linux end users with full Blu-ray/HD DVD data burning support.
If you'd like to read more, Nero's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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Other
AMD 780G Chipset and Athlon X2 4850e Processor @Techwarelabs andHotHardware.com
Cooler Master COSMOS S @InsideHW.com
Cooler Master Hyper TX2 CPU Cooler @TweakTown
Landisk NS347 NAS @Review Spring
Microsoft Reclusa Gaming Keyboard @Tweaknews.net
NVIDIA Quadro FX1700 512MB @Phoronix
OnAir USB HDTV-GT Receiver & DVR For PC @Virtual-Hideout
Patriot Memory PC2-6400 4GB LL DDR2 Kit @TweakTown
VIA ARTiGO Builder Kit @VIA Arena
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Optical Storage
CDRLabs has taken a long overdue look at LG's second generation Super Multi Blue drive, the GGC-H20L. While lacking BD writing capabilities, the drive sports specs similar to its more expensive sibling, the GGW-H20L. The GGC-H20L is capable of 16x DVD±R, 8x DVD+RW, 6x DVD-RW, 4x DVD±R DL and 5x DVD-RAM writing speeds and a maximum DVD read speed of 16x. On top of that, it can read HD DVD's at 3x and Blu-ray Discs at speeds as high as 6x.

In this review we'll take a look at some of the features found on the GGC-H20L and see how it compares to some of the Blu-ray Disc drives from the competition. Does the GGC-H20L have what it takes? You'll have to read the review to find out.


LG GGC-H20L Super Multi Blue Blu-ray Disc & HD DVD-ROM
If you have any comments or questions about this review or the LG GGC-H20L, please post them in the forum. Add a comment

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Hard Disks
Iomega announced this week that it will be unveiling its third generation REV backup drive at CeBIT 2008. Designed to provide the performance of a hard drive with the removability of tape, Iomega's new drive offers transfer rates of up to 35MB/second and a maximum capacity of 120GB.

Iomega Corporation (NYSE: IOM), a global leader in data storage and protection, today announced the new Iomega REV 120GB Backup Drive, the third generation of its award-winning REV technology and a benchmark in smart, sensible backup for small and medium-sized businesses, remote work groups and others.

Iomega will unveil the new Iomega REV 120GB Backup Drive and REV 120GB disks at CeBIT 2008, the international technology tradeshow beginning today in Hanover, Germany, and running through March 9. Iomega is located at CeBIT in Hall 2, booth D56.
The Iomega REV 120GB Backup Drive is expected to be available in April as external USB 2.0 and internal SATA models. An ATAPI model is also planned for mid-year. Full details can be found here. Add a comment

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