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Flash Memory
PNY Technologies and Ironkey have announced that they've partnered together to deliver IronKey’s Secure USB Flash Drive to retailers. Offering the same features as the IronKey Standard Edition, the PNY 4GB IronKey includes military-grade hardware-encryption, an onboard web browser and internet authentication software to protect online accounts and passwords.
With concerns about identity theft on the rise among consumers nationwide, PNY Technologies, Inc. and IronKey have partnered to deliver IronKey’s Secure USB Flash Drive through retail channels. The IronKey has been designed with military-grade standards for hardware-encryption and tamper-resistant durability. It provides an unprecedented level of data security and protection of online passwords, critical documents, files, and images to consumers. The relationship between PNY and IronKey gives retail shoppers access, for the first time, to a secure USB flash drive that meets the requirements of the nation’s most demanding security experts...

...The IronKey Secure USB Flash Drive, which has a high-speed data transfer rate (up to 20MB/sec. write, up to 30MB/sec. read), is housed in a rugged metal casing that is filled with an epoxy-based potting compound, making it both waterproof (MIL-STD-810F compliant) and tamperproof.
The PNY 4GB IronKey is shipping now and retails for about $149.99. Full details can be found here. Add a comment

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abit AN-M2HD Motherboard @Virtual-Hideout
D-Link DIR-655 Xtreme N Gigabit Router @Futurelooks
ECS G31T-M Motherboard @TweakTown
Gigabyte Triton 180 Case @Tweaknews.net
Hades H1 3200dpi Gaming Mouse @OCModShop
Ultra 7 Port Buddy Hub @HardwareLogic
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Flash Memory
SanDisk recently announced that they filed two lawsuits against 25 card vendors and controller suppliers, alleging that they infringed upon five of their patents. The company also filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission (ITC), asking that they ban importation of infringing products into the U.S.
SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) today announced the filing of three patent infringement actions against 25 companies that manufacture, sell and import USB flash drives, CompactFlash cards, multimedia cards, MP3/media players and/or other removable flash storage products. The actions, filed in the United States District Court in the Western District of Wisconsin and in the United States International Trade Commission (“ITC”), allege that the defendants have infringed various SanDisk system-level patents, and seek damages and a permanent injunction in the federal court actions, as well as a permanent exclusion order from the ITC banning importation of the products into the United States.

“These actions demonstrate SanDisk’s long-term commitment to enforcing its patents, both to protect our investment in research and development by obtaining a fair return on that investment, and out of fairness to third-parties that participate in our patent licensing program,” said E. Earle Thompson, Chief Intellectual Property Counsel at SanDisk. “Our goal is to resolve these matters by offering the defendants the opportunity to participate in our patent licensing program for card and system technology. Otherwise, we will aggressively pursue these actions, seeking a prompt judicial resolution awarding damages, obtaining injunctive relief and banning importation of infringing product.”
If you'd like to read more, SanDisk's entire press release can be found here. Add a comment

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A-DATA 16GB Class 6 SDHC Memory Card @I4U
ASUS Xonar D2 Ultra Fidelity 7.1 PCI Sound Card @HotHardware.com
Cooler Master Sphere CPU Cooler @HardwareLogic
Envision L19W661 19" Wide LCD HDTV @I4U
GIGABYTE GSmart i350 GPS Mobile Phone @TweakTown
GIGABYTE iSolo 210 ATX Chassis @Virtual-Hideout
Kingwin Revolution RVT-9225 Heatpipe Direct Touch CPU Cooler @Bigbruin.com
Kingwin Z1 External HDD Enclosure @Virtual-Hideout
Leadtek Winfast PX8800 Ultra Leviathan @TweakTown
Logitech G9 Laser Gaming Mouse @ASE Labs,Everything USB
Rosewill RX-358-S-SLV eSATA And USB Hard Drive Enclosure @Bigbruin.com
Samsung BD-P1200 Blu-ray Disc Player @ThinkComputers.org
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Optical Storage
I-O DATA Japan has announced a new series of drives based on the Panasonic's 4x Blu-ray Disc writer, the SW-5583. The internal BRD-SM4 and external BRD-UM4 feature 4x BD-R, 4x BD-R DL and 2x BD-RE writing speeds and a maximum BD-ROM read speed of 4x. Here are some of the specs:



Writing Speeds:
BD-R: 4x
BD-R DL: 4x
BD-RE: 2x
DVD±R: 16x
DVD±R DL: 8x
DVD+RW: 8x
DVD-RW: 6x
DVD-RAM: 5x
CD-R: 40x
CD-RW: 24x

Read Speeds:
BD-ROM: 4x
BD-R: 4x
BD-R DL: 4x
BD-RE: 2x
DVD-ROM (Single): 16x Max
DVD-ROM (Dual): 8x Max
DVD±R: 18x Max
DVD±RW: 8x Max
DVD±R DL: 8x Max
DVD-RAM: 5x Max
CD-R/ROM: 40x Max
CD-RW: 32x Max

Access Times:
BD-ROM: 210ms
DVD-ROM: 170ms
DVD-RAM: 350ms
CD-ROM: 150ms

Buffer Size: 8MB


The BRD-SH6B and BRD-UXH6 will ship in the middle of November and are priced at 63,500 Yen ($514US) and 69,000 Yen ($558US) respectively. More information can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment
While the release of "Transformers" has given HD DVD a much needed boost, the format is still lagging behind Blu-ray in regards to movie sales. According to a report by Home Media Research, Blu-ray movies outsold HD DVD by almost 2-to-1 in the U.S. during the first nine months of 2007.
Blu-ray DVD titles outsold rival HD-DVD titles by almost 2-to-1 in the first nine months of the year, but analysts expect additional HD-DVD support and new hit releases to "transform" the high-definition DVD battle score in the fourth quarter.

Home Media Research, a division of Home Media Magazine, said on Tuesday total U.S. sales of Blu-ray discs, using a Sony Corp -backed technology, totaled 2.6 million units from January 1 through Sept 30, versus 1.4 million HD-DVD discs sold.
These numbers are still quite small, especially when you consider that more than 8.3 million "Transformers" DVD's were sold in the first week alone. Unfortunately, high-def sales probably won't come close to these numbers until there is one clear winner. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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Optical Storage
With the price of DVD writers dropping to all time lows, there hasn't been much demand for CD-ROM and CD-RW drives. In response, Hitachi-LG Data Storage (HLDS) and Toshiba-Samsung Storage Technology (TSST) will reportedly stop production of CD-ROM and CD-RW drives in early 2008.
Hitachi-LG Data Storage (HLDS) and Toshiba-Samsung Storage Technology (TSST), two of the top three global ODM/OEM for optical discs drives (ODDs), will stop production of CD-ROM drives and CD-RW burners in early 2008 because global demand has been quickly decreasing due to the continuous drop in the price of DVD burners, according to the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) newspaper.
Taiwan's optical drive manufacturers will continue to produce CD-ROM and CD-RW drives, but the volume is expected to be only 5% of their total shipments. If you'd like to read more, head on over to DigiTimes. Add a comment

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Software
Corel sent out a press release this morning, announcing the HD Power Pack for Ulead DVD MovieFactory 6 Plus. This addon expands the capabilities of Ulead DVD MovieFactory 6 Plus by providing support for AVCHD, BDMV and HD DVD Advanced Content authoring as well as M2TS import.
Corel Corporation (NASDAQ:CREL; TSX:CRE), a leading developer of graphics, productivity, and digital media software, today announced that users of its Ulead DVD MovieFactory 6 Plus software can now install the new HD Power Pack to add AVCHD (Advanced Video Codec High Definition), BDMV (Blu-ray Disc Movie Video) and HD DVD Advanced Content authoring capabilities as well as M2TS import.

“With the new HD Power Pack, Ulead DVD MovieFactory 6 Plus users now have the world’s only all-in-one HD solution for creating professional-looking HD results fast,” said Jeff Hastings, President and General Manager, Digital Media at Corel. “Customers want to produce professional quality videos, whether they are using them in a business context or for the pure enjoyment of family and friends. Our commitment is to ensure we provide tools that are built to take advantage of the latest technologies, while also remaining easy to learn and use.”
Starting today, registered users of Ulead DVD MovieFactory 6 Plus can purchase the HD Power Pack for $19.99. Full details can be found here. Add a comment

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Optical Storage
Sony NEC Optiarc Europe has announced the launch of their first LightScribe capable DVD writer, the AD-7191S. Along with support for LightScribe, the AD-7191S features 20x DVD±R, 8x DVD±R DL and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds.
Sony NEC Optiarc Europe GmbH (Optiarc Europe) has launched a DVD burner with LightScribe technology. The Optiarc AD-7191S burns DVD+/-R media at up to 20x speed. The LightScribe Label System enables the individual labelling and design of home-burned CD and DVD.

The AD-7191S has a serial ATA interface for data transfer rates of up to 150 MB per second. It burns single DVD media at up to 20x DVD speed, rewritable and dual layer DVDs at up to 8x speed and DVD-RAMS at up to a maximum of 12x DVD speed.
While the AD-7191S's bezel is very NEC-like, there have been numerous reports that it, and the AD-7191A, are based on Lite-On designs. More information, including a full list of specs, can be found here. Add a comment

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3R System R240 Zion Case @Hardware Zone
APEVIA X-Jupiter Jr. G Type Case @ThinkComputers.org
ASUS P5E3 Deluxe Motherboard @Phoronix
Coolmax CUQ-1200B Green Power 1200 Watt ATX Power Supply @Tweaknews.net
Danger Den Torture Rack @HardwareLogic
Lian-Li PC-C32 ATX Case @Virtual-Hideout
M-Audio Studiophile AV 20 Portable Desktop Speaker System @Futurelooks
OCZ Flex XLC PC2-6400 CL3 Memory @DV Hardware
Trendnet TEW-633GR Wireless N Gigabit Router @The TechZone
Ultra m998 Mid-Tower Chassis @Velocity Reviews
Zalman CNPS7800 LED Heatsink @hi-techreviews.com
Zalman VF1000 LED Video Card Cooler @Madshrimps
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