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Western Digital Corporation has acquired privately held VeloBit, a provider of high-performance storage I/O optimization software. VeloBit will be fully integrated into HGST, a wholly owned subsidiary of Western Digital. Headquartered in Lincoln, MA, VeloBit enhances storage system performance with its software technology by adding a transparent acceleration layer utilizing solid state drives (SSDs). Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
The acquisition builds on HGST's strategy to enhance the overall value of datacenter storage by integrating HGST SSDs with software. VeloBit's SSD caching software dramatically accelerates applications and increases server density by enabling higher I/O performance, lower latency, and more efficient usage of processor and storage resources.
Both the VeloBit acquisition and the proposed sTec acquisition by Western Digital reflect acceleration by its HGST subsidiary in the fast growing and strategic enterprise SSD space, augmenting its technology position and IP portfolio with additional engineering and design resources.
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Verbatim, a global pioneer of data storage technology, introduces MediaShare Wireless – a portable device which connects with up to five Wi-Fi enabled tablets and smartphones allowing you to view, play, stream and back up photos, video clips and music simultaneously, anywhere.
For times when it is impractical to access a computer or on-board storage is limited, the portable device effectively creates its own Wi-Fi network enabling users to wirelessly stream or archive media files securely and quickly between an iPad, iPhones, iPod Touch and Android based device. For example, Verbatim’s MediaShare Wireless could help keep children entertained on long journeys by streaming media content chosen by parents through to the child’s tablet, smartphone or portable media player.
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HighPoint Technologies unveils the Industry's first 6Gb/s SATA Expander Module with Built-in Enclosure Management - the Rocket EJ340. Rocket EJ340 SATA Expander Modules are ideal for applications that demand cost-effective, high-capacity 6Gb/s storage configurations, and are available for PC and Mac platforms. The Industry standard Mini-SAS connectors and Centronics compliant form factor allow Rocket EJ340 expander modules to be easily integrated into a variety of storage Enclosure.
The Rocket EJ340 allows RocketRAID series 6Gb/s HBA's support up to 16 SATA hard drives from a single connector, effectively quadrupling the storage capability of each external Mini-SAS port! Rocket EJ340 SATA Expander Modules EXPAND the Storage Capability of RocketRAID 6Gb/s Mini-SAS RAID HBA's: 400% more Storage Capacity and Scalable Performance.
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Western Digital Corporation and sTec, Inc. announced today that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which sTec, Inc., an early innovator in enterprise solid-state drives (SSDs), will be acquired by HGST, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Western Digital. sTec will be acquired for approximately $340 million in cash, which equates to $6.85 per share. This represents approximately $207 million in enterprise value, net of sTec’s cash as of March 31, 2013.
The pending acquisition augments HGST’s existing solid-state storage capabilities, accelerating its ability to expand its participation in the rapidly growing area of enterprise SSDs. HGST remains committed to its highly successful joint development program with Intel® Corp. and will continue to deliver current and future SAS-based SSD products with Intel.
sTec has strong engineering talent and intellectual property that will complement HGST technical expertise and capabilities. HGST will continue to support existing sTec products and collaborate with its customers to understand their future requirements.
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ASUS today announced the Xonar Essence STU USB external digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and headphone amplifier, based on the acclaimed design and quality of Xonar Essence ST/STX internal sound cards and going beyond their already high standards. Offering audiophile-grade performance, Xonar Essence STU delivers USB connectivity and accessible external controls.
It offers clear sound with a 120dB signal to noise ratio (SNR), strong 600ohm headphone amplifier, asynchronous USB audio and swappable Op-Amps for DIY sound modification. Precision clock tuning technology further enhances audio fidelity, making Xonar Essence STU a great choice for discerning music lovers who need a quality DAC and headphone amplifier to drive the full capabilities of high-end headphones.
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ASUS today announced the compact Xonar U7 USB external soundcard and headphone amplifier, which offers powerful and clear 114dB SNR audio with USB convenience. It incorporates a headphone amplifier, Dolby® Home Theater v4 support, plus dedicated microphone and volume controls.
Xonar U7 serves the needs of PC gamers who want to enjoy strong and clear sound via headphones, and is also ideal for listening to music as it produces much more impactful and detailed audio than onboard hardware. Connecting via USB, it requires no standalone power supply and works instantly setup-free with no need to open the PC case.
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Realtek Semiconductor Corp., one of the world’s largest IC design houses and a market leader in USB interface application technology, today announced the Realtek SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) hub controller (RTS5401) has passed USB 3.0 compliance and certification testing by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF).
“The USB-IF is pleased that Realtek has achieved certification for its SuperSpeed USB hub controller (RTS5401),” said Jeff Ravencraft, President & COO, USB-IF. “Realtek is a USB-IF member company dedicated to USB device standardization, and their efforts support the USB-IF’s mission to expand the SuperSpeed USB ecosystem”.
As the SuperSpeed USB market continues to grow at a rapid pace, hub solutions are needed to conveniently manage multiple consumer devices using USB 3.0. Realtek SuperSpeed USB hubs provide a flexible connection between the host and peripheral devices, with no sacrifice in transmission performance.
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Skyera Inc. and Western Digital Corp. today announced that Skyera has received strategic funding from Western Digital Capital as part of its recently announced Series B round of financing. Western Digital Capital co-invested in the $51 million round as an extension of the strategic relationship between the two companies that also includes joint technology development. Western Digital had previously funded Skyera as its initial outside investor.
“The backing of Western Digital has enabled us to ramp our business across marketing, sales and engineering which has been instrumental in creating the industry’s most innovative solid-state solution,” said Radoslav Danilak, chief executive officer of Skyera. “With our skyHawk family of enterprise solid-state storage systems we are witnessing the next era of solid-state storage and I strongly believe that having a close working relationship with Western Digital, the world’s top disk drive vendor, is invaluable as we set out to reshape the storage landscape.”
“One of our primary goals in developing strategic relationships with technology innovators in the broader storage ecosystem is to enable customers to develop highly optimized storage solutions that meet their changing data management needs,” said Steve Milligan, president and chief executive officer, Western Digital. “We see companies like Skyera as offering a dramatic improvement over traditional approaches to emerging storage challenges. We will continue to support innovation by collaborating with customers and partners, and investing in companies who are addressing today’s most exciting storage opportunities.”
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ZOTAC International, a global innovator and leading manufacturer of graphics cards, mainboards and mini-PCs, today embarks on a new era of digital media sharing with the StreamBox and RAIDbox accessories that eases sharing digital audio, video and image files.
The ZOTAC StreamBox bridges the gap between mobile devices and television sets to enable easy broadcasting of audio, video and image files from Android smartphones, tablets and notebooks via the industry standard DLNA protocol. Display mirroring capabilities are available for select Android mobile devices via Miracast compatibility.
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LSI Corporation today announced the company is first to ship production-level 12Gb/s SAS RAID-on-Chip (ROC) and I/O controller solutions to OEM customers. 12Gb/s SAS technology is designed to deliver double the data transfer rate of prior SAS solutions and unleashes the full performance potential of next-generation enterprise systems deploying high-performance solid-state storage.
The new products include:
- 12Gb/s SAS ROC: LSISAS3108
- 12Gb/s SAS I/O Controller: LSISAS3008
At CeBIT, LSI is demonstrating the LSISAS3108 ROC plus MegaRAID® 6 technology along with the LSISAS3x48 SAS expander. For those looking to take advantage of 12Gb/s speeds with existing 6Gb/s drive infrastructure, LSI is showcasing DataBolt™ technology, a bandwidth optimizer performance acceleration feature. DataBolt technology, combined with the extended bandwidth of PCIe® 3.0, is designed to deliver double the throughput performance while using today's 6Gb/s SAS or SATA drive solutions. With this feature, DataBolt technology offers product enhancements and future proofing that helps protect customers' hard disk drive (HDD) and solid state drive (SSD) investments.
