VIA Labs, Inc., a leading supplier of USB 3.0 integrated chip controllers, today announced that the VIA Labs VL811+ 4-port SuperSpeed USB Hub controllers has achieved SuperSpeed USB certification from the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF). The VIA Labs VL811+ is among the first USB 3.0 hubs to achieve USB-IF certification.

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"VIA Labs has been working with the USB-IF since the beginning and we've seen USB 3.0 grow from just a specification to being designed into computing platforms and peripherals that we hadn't even dreamed about," said Jay Tseng, Director, VIA Labs, Inc. "We're very pleased to offer the industry a certified SuperSpeed USB Hub and we look forward to new possibilities for innovation."

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Introducing the FlexCage MB973SP-1B, a 3-in-2 Tray-less SATA Backplane Cage for 3.5" SATA hard drives. This is a commercially designed product in the FlexCage series for use in server environments, such as towers or rackmounts. This FlexCage incorporates the best technologies to meet those demands, with second to none fit, function, and reliability.

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The MB973SP-1B has been designed to maximize space use by allowing up to 3 x 3.5" SATA III hard drives, while only consuming two 5.25" device bays. The FlexCage also only requires two 4-pin power ports (or two 15-pin power ports with included 4 pin to 15 pin adapter cables), to power up to three 3.5" hard drives. In order to further the convenience of the FlexCage, our renowned tray-less technology is integrated into the cage -- no screws or tools are required to insert or eject the drives, making hot swapping a completely hassle free experience. However, because of the tray-less technology used, maintenance becomes dramatically reduced to simply ejecting a failed drive, and then reinserting the replacement.

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HighPoint Technologies, Inc., the industry's leading SATA 6Gb/s RAID HBA manufacturer, announces the availability of their second generation SATA 6Gb/s storage controllers – the RocketRAID 600L series. HighPoint's RocketRAID 600L series HBA's represent the industry's most comprehensive, and affordable selection of 6Gb/s SATA PCIe host controllers. Powered by industry-proven RAID technology, SATA port multiplier support, and an intuitive RAID Management Suite, HighPoint RocketRAID 600L HBA's are the ideal SATA 6Gb/s storage solution for any PC and Mac computing platform.

RocketRAID 2nd Generation SATA 6Gb/s PCIe Controller Portfolio
RocketRAID 600L series HBA's are the ideal 6Gb/s SATA storage solution for any PC or Mac. The four SATA/eSATA ports are available in internal, external and hybrid port-configurations, and are capable of supporting point-to-point and Port-Multiplier based storage devices. The compact board design, available low-profile form factor and industry standard port connectors make any storage upgrade, integration or expansion a seamless task.

HighPoint's newest 2nd generation SATA 6GB/s PCIe controller, the RocketRAID 642L, features both internal and external 6Gb/s SATA ports and is an ideal HBA platform for applications that require built-in storage expansion capabilities. The internal ports provide direct connections for up to 2 SATA hard drives and SSD's, while the external ports are capable of supporting an additional 10 SATA devices when used in conjunction with Port-Multiplier capable storage enclosures.

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VIA Labs, Inc., a leading supplier of USB 3.0 integrated chip controllers, today announced two new USB 3.0 Host controllers, the four-port VIA VL805 and the two-port VIA VL806. The VIA VL805 and VIA VL806 allow a PCI Express-equipped platform to interface with multiple SuperSpeed USB peripherals devices simultaneously for blistering fast transfers rates up to 5Gbps while retaining full backwards compatibility with USB 2.0 and 1.1 devices.

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The next generation single chip VIA VL805 and VIA VL806 Host controllers include enhancements for improved performance, seamless cross compatibility and interoperability, and new features such as support for USB Battery Charging and "Charging Downstream Port" which enables both fast data sync and rapid charging with compatible devices. The VIA VL805 and VIA VL806 comply with the Universal Serial Bus 3.0 specification and Intel's eXtensible Host Controller Interface (xHCI) 1.0 specification and add native inbox driver support for Windows 8. VIA VL805 and VL806 host controllers are USB-IF certified and are currently shipping.

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Synology Inc. today announced selected DiskStation and RackStation are officially certified for Microsoft Windows Server 2012, which delivers important advancements to help businesses increase IT efficiency as well as achieve a new level of availability.

The compelling combination of Synology NAS server and the new Windows Server® 2012 operating system entitles businesses to boost performance and flexibility when migrating running virtual machine without downtime. Additionally, the full Windows Server 2012 support ensures business continuity and minimizes disaster recovery time with real-time virtual machine remote replication. The combined virtualized platform also enables enterprises to flexibly leverage the new VHDX format and its ability of supporting up to 64TB storage per virtual hard disk. Moreover, Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV) 2.0 provides a highly scalable and flexible shared storage infrastructure with increased performance. CSV 2.0 will be supported with more workloads, including File Server for scale-out application data.

“Synology DiskStation and RackStation take full advantage of the enhancements in Windows Server 2012 to address the critical challenges around virtualization, cloud computing, and managing big data,” said Wayne An, product manager of Synology Inc. “They help IT administrators create dynamic data centers and cloud infrastructures that provide agility and high availability,” added An.

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WD, a Western Digital company, and a world leader in external storage and solutions for today’s connected life, today unveils the new My Net AC1300 HD Dual-Band Router and My Net AC Bridge as the latest additions to the acclaimed My Net family of HD dual-band routers. These products combine next-generation 802.11ac wireless technology with WD’s exclusive FasTrack™ technology for automatically prioritizing high-bandwidth entertainment services like Netflix™, YouTube™, online games and Skype™, to provide maximum streaming performance inside the home.

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A leading product testing and analysis organization, The Tolly Group, conducted performance testing of the My Net AC1300 router and My Net Bridge amongst comparable products on the market today.  Results show that the My Net AC1300 router is faster than leading competitive products averaged across ranges of 30 to 75 feet, demonstrating the strongest performance in providing stable wireless speeds over long distances, and cutting out buffering and lag times to provide a smooth HD entertainment streaming experience throughout the home.

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As the online karaoke and recording phenomenon continues to gain traction, demand has emerged for dedicated hardware that enables pro-level singing and recording via PC at home. The ASUS Xonar D-KARA karaoke audio card (PCI interface) presents professional effects and recording capabilities, designed by Xonar and music industry engineers. It supports simplified pre-set recording and extra-detailed input, with strong hardware that ensures optimized voice syncing and ultra-vivid 106dB SNR. D-KARA helps customers enjoy social singing, recording, editing, and sharing of vocal performances, consolidating features under the user-friendly Xonar Audio Center.

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Internet-based communal singing and karaoke-style experiences have seen tremendous growth recently. Supported by numerous services and sites (including YouTube), online karaoke is becoming more popular due to its social entertainment value. Like-minded people with a fondness for singing get together, friends and family gather for enjoyable singing sessions, and would-be performers hone their skills on the way to possible superstardom. Accommodating this, the Xonar team carried out research that shows over 100,000 people engage in daily online karaoke across Eurozone markets, while in mainland China the customer base stands at an amazing 500,000 singers per day. The team also received feedback showing that customers are interested in karaoke-specific hardware to improve their experiences, as software-based karaoke sites and services often offer basic features, suffer from latency, and lack proper recording facilities. Xonar D-KARA corrects these shortcomings in direct response to community input.

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Transcend Information, Inc. (Transcend), a worldwide leader in storage and multimedia products, today announced the release of its four-port USB 3.0 Hub, the HUB3 - a compact and easy-to-carry solution for connecting more peripherals to a computer than would normally be possible. Compliant with the SuperSpeed USB 3.0 specification, the HUB3 provides data transfer rates up to ten times faster than USB 2.0.

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As more and more devices incorporate the USB 3.0 standard, users of today's advanced Ultrabooks and thin-and-light laptops may feel that there is a lack of USB 3.0 connectivity options. To overcome these limitations, Transcend's HUB3 transforms a single USB 3.0 port into four, instantly expanding the number of high-performance USB 3.0 devices that can be connected to a single computer simultaneously.

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wd_my_net_wi-fi_range_extender.pngWD, a subsidiary of Western Digital, and a world leader in external storage and solutions for today’s connected life, today unveils its My Net Wi-Fi Range Extender to expand wireless home networks into out-of-reach areas of the home. Following the introduction of its first line of wireless home networking products, the acclaimed My Net family of HD dual-band routers, the selectable dual-band My Net Wi-Fi Range Extender provides faster, stronger and more reliable wireless network coverage to computers, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, media players, smart TVs and other Wi-Fi connected devices that suffer from a weak Wi-Fi signal within the home.

“Today’s home is filled with multiple Wi-Fi connected devices simultaneously streaming movies, music and TV shows on services such as Netflix, Hulu Plus, VUDU and others,” explains Scott Vouri, general manager for WD's connected life solutions group. “The My Net Wi-Fi Range Extender provides faster speeds at greater distances, enabling HD streaming to the outermost areas of the home.”

My Net Wi-Fi Range Extender’s power comes from its 3x3 multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) antenna array design, versus the 2x2 design used by most competitive products. This design enables customers to significantly extend the Wi-Fi signal from their existing routers or gateways, letting them enjoy HD streaming movies, online gaming and video calls in remote areas of the home with the fastest wireless-N speeds possible. The range extender also features a Gigabit Ethernet port, providing a high-speed Internet connection for distant, wired-only entertainment devices.

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adata_dashdrive_air_av200.pngADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash storage application products, today launched the DashDrive Air AV200, a groundbreaking device that functions as both a memory card & USB Flash drive reader, and also a portable router/access point(AP) and a repeater, which is an indispensable accessory in the digital life.

ADATA DashDrive Air AV200 adopts FTP file server/ HTTP Streaming protocol to provide simple data transfer and sharing, providing your mobile device (iOS/Android/Windows/OS X) with wireless access to your SD Card and USB Flash drive. Designed for iPad, iPod touch and iPhone users, and requiring iOS 5.0 or later versions, users can easily download the DashDrive Air application for use with the AV200. It can also act as a wireless router/AP or a repeater with support for 802.11 b/g/n wireless networking, conveniently connecting to the internet through an Ethernet to create a wireless hotspot, creating a shared internet connection for up to 5 mobile devices at the same time. This looks to be an ideal solution for smart phone, notebook and tablet users in situations where there is no wireless network available, but a connected Ethernet cable is present. AV200 can also be a personal mini-data center to conveniently share data with mobile devices.

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