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Optical Storage
Toshiba Storage Device Division (SDD) has announced the world’s first slim HD DVD-RW drive for mobile PC's. The SD-L912A is compatible with most existing CD and DVD formats and can write to both HD DVD-R and HD DVD-RW media.


Toshiba Storage Device Division (SDD) today announced the world’s first slim HD DVD-RW drive for mobile PCs, further extending high-definition recording capabilities to the IT arena. The new drive can read, write and rewrite to HD DVD-RW discs, as well as read and write to HD DVD-R discs and standard DVD and CD discs.

Toshiba’s SD-L912A enables mobile PCs to replace larger desktop systems in the home with this additional high-definition functionality. The drive allows backup of large-capacity PC hard disk drives to the reusable format of HD DVD-RW discs and provides capabilities to store data-rich, high-definition digital content. HD DVD-RW functionality also opens the door to a wide range of applications involving storage and rewriting of large volumes of data.
No word on price yet. However, Toshiba plans to ship samples in July. More information, including a full list of specs, can be found here. Add a comment

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The AACS Licensing Authority (AACS LA) just can't catch a break. On May 22nd, Blu-ray and HD DVD titles containing the latest version of AACS (MKB v3) were released. A day later, someone going by the name "BtCB" posted the new processing key (45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2) on the Freedom to Tinker website. Its still not known how this key was retrieved. However, it has been verified to work by the folks on the Doom 9 forums.

The AACS LA has yet to respond to this. However, at this point, there isn't much they can do besides issue legal threats to websites posting the key. The group must give 90 days notice before revoking the key, giving hackers plenty of time to find a new one. Add a comment

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Other
Sony has been hit by yet another patent lawsuit. Cryptography software provider Certicom recently filed a suit against the company, claiming that Advanced Access Control System (AACS) and Digital Transmission Content Protection (DTCP) violate patents for Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC).
The patents-in-suit are two of Certicom's fundamental patents used in consumer electronics, in particular its world-leading version of Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC). In its complaint, Certicom alleges Sony has, and continues to, infringe, contribute to and induce the infringement of Certicom's patents by making, using, importing, offering for sale and selling their products in the U.S. without being licensed by Certicom to do so. These patents are related to content protection technologies, including Advanced Access Control System (AACS) used in Blu-ray and Digital Transmission Content Protection (DTCP) used in wired and wireless distribution of compression audio and video. Products affected include Playstation 3, DVD players, VAIO personal computers and certain high definition TV models and audio equipment.
Considering Certicom is looking to "resolve these issues through commercial discussions and without litigation", its pretty clear that they're looking to make money off of licensing fees. Nevertheless, if they win this case against Sony, other electronics manufacturers will be vulnerable to similar suits. More information on this lawsuit can be found here. Add a comment

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Flash Memory
Super Talent has announced the launch of their Exelerator family of ReadyBoost drives. By connecting directly to the motherboard, these internal flash drives can boost the performance of Windows Vista without using up an external USB port.


Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of DRAM memory modules and flash storage solutions, today launched the new Exelerator family of ReadyBoost drives that use an internal 9-pin USB header on the motherboard.

The Exelerator family of drives was designed expressly to elevate system performance in Windows Vista by functioning as a ReadyBoost drive. These innovative new Flash drives plug into a standard 9-pin USB header inside the chassis, on the motherboard, to function as a dedicated ReadyBoost drive. With lightning fast 25MB per second read speeds and sub-millisecond access times, Exelerator drives are the perfect cost effective system upgrade to enhance the Vista experience. These drives are offered with either vertical or horizontal connectors to accommodate space constraints within different enclosures.
Super Talent’s internal ReadyBoost drives will go into production in June. The 2GB models are expected to retail for about $25. More information can be found here. Add a comment

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Flash Memory
Kingston Technology recently announced two USB microSD card/reader bundles. Designed to make make mobile data transfers faster and easier, the reader included in the bundle features a USB connector and memory expansion slot that accepts the microSD card format.

Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced two USB microSD reader plus card bundles designed to enhance mobile consumers' moving data between multiple mobile phones, PCs and digital devices. Available immediately, the new USB readers ship with either a 1GB or 2GB capacity microSD card.

"Kingston saw an opportunity to serve mobile customers with our new USB microSD card/reader bundle," said Wendy Lecot, Flash marketing manager, Kingston. "Consumers now have a handy option to back up contact info when changing phones, move digital music and videos between PC and phone more easily, and download new mobile applications for mobile phones without using additional network time," continued Lecot.
The 1GB and 2GB bundles are available now for $19.00 and $37.00 respectively. More information can be found here. Add a comment

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Home Entertainment
As many of you know, Toshiba is currently offering instant rebates on their HD DVD players. According to Video Business, these rebates have boosted player sales as much as tenfold and has made the HD-A2 the top selling DVD player on Amazon.com.
Toshiba’s recent price drop on its HD DVD players and aggressive retailer pricing over the holiday weekend have driven up sales as much as tenfold at some retailers.

Since Toshiba began offering a $100 instant rebate on HD DVD players, sales have grown between fivefold and tenfold, depending on the retailer, said Jodi Sally, VP of marketing for Toshiba America Consumer Products.
If the rebates weren't enough, Toshiba is giving away five HD DVD movies with each player purchased. At these prices, this is a hard deal to pass up. If you'd like to read more, the entire article can be found here. Add a comment

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Optical Storage
Pioneer Electronics has announced two new "Super-Multi" drives, the DVR-X122 and DVR-R200. The faster of the two, the DVR-X122 features 18x DVD±R, 10x DVD±R DL and 12x DVD-RAM writing speeds. The DVR-R200 lacks the DVR-X122's top end speed. However, it makes up for this with support for HP's LightScribe technology.

Pioneer Electronics (USA) Inc. today announces two new high performance, multi-format DVD/CD writers for rapid and reliable preservation of digital movies, music, photos and data files. The Pioneer DVR-X122 external DVD/CD writer uses a high speed USB 2.0 port for quick connectivity to a PC lacking a built-in high-capacity writer, and also offers the portability needed to back up user files on multiple computers. For those who prefer a permanently installed drive, Pioneer offers the DVR-R200 internal DVD/CD writer. Both models are bundled with sophisticated software to create personalized videos, and the DVR-R200 features the LightScribe direct-to-disc labeling technology.
The DVR-X122 and DVR-R200 are available now for a suggested price of $99.99 and $69.99, respectively. More information can be found on Pioneer's website. Add a comment

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Optical Storage
I-O DATA Japan has announced a new series of drives based on the Panasonic SW-9576. The internal DVR-AM16CV and external DVR-UM16CV feature 16x DVD±R, 4x DVD±R DL and 5x DVD-RAM writing speeds and are backwards compatible with older, cartridge based DVD-RAM discs. Here are some of the specs:



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

Read Speeds:
DVD-ROM (Single): 16x Max
DVD-ROM (Dual): 8x Max
DVD±R: 16x Max
DVD±RW: 8x Max
DVD±R DL: 8x Max
DVD-RAM: 5X Max
CD-R/ROM: 40x Max
CD-RW: 24x Max

The DVR-AM16CV and DVR-UM16CV will ship in late June and are priced at 12,500 Yen ($103US) and 15,700 Yen ($129US) respectively. More information can be found here and here Add a comment

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