- Details
- Flash Memory
OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced that the Company has signed an asset purchase agreement with Toshiba Corporation, a global technology leader and manufacturer of NAND flash memory, to acquire substantially all of OCZ's assets in a chapter 11 bankruptcy proceeding for $35M. Under this agreement Toshiba will acquire OCZ's client and enterprise solid state drive business. OCZ will continue to operate and serve existing and future customers during this process. Toshiba has agreed to provide the Company with DIP (Debtor-in-Possession) financing to ensure that there is adequate capital and flash supply to support the business during the contemplated sale period. The consummation of the asset purchase agreement is subject to an auction and approval by the bankruptcy court in the Company's bankruptcy case.
This acquisition will provide Toshiba with access to OCZ's proprietary controllers, firmware and software, as well as the teams responsible for bringing these solutions to market, in addition to OCZ's established brand and sales channels. This strategic opportunity will bring critical controller IP and NAND supply all under one global organization, allowing for an even more robust and competitive solid state solution offering for all of OCZ's and Toshiba's mutual customers moving forward.
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- Optical Storage
The DVD6C Licensing Group (DVD6C) consisting of nine leading developers of DVD technology and formats - Hitachi Consumer Electronics Co., Ltd., JVC KENWOOD Corporation, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Panasonic Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., SANYO Electric Co., Ltd., Sharp Corporation, Toshiba Corporation and Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc. - today announced that it is revising its worldwide patent licensing program to offer a reduced royalty rate for DVD Read-Only Discs to licensees in good standing.
Specifically, the revised licensing program provides for the following reduced rates from the current US$0.04 per disc - for Read-Only Discs (DVD-Video Discs, DVD-ROM Discs, and DVD-Audio Discs) for licensees in good standing, i.e., licensees who have no overdue or incorrect royalty reports or overdue or underpaid royalties (including back royalties) and are otherwise in compliance with their license agreement with DVD6C:
- US$0.035 per disc for all DVD Read-Only Discs sold or otherwise transferred on or after July 1, 2013.
- US$0.033 per disc for all DVD Read-Only Discs sold or otherwise transferred on or after January 1, 2014.
- US$0.03 per disc for all DVD Read-Only Discs sold or otherwise transferred on or after January 1, 2015.
- Details
- Hard Disks
TDK Corporation has announced that its Thailand-based HDD suspension assemblies subsidiary Magnecomp Precision Technology Public Company Limited (“MPT”) concluded an agreement in October to acquire two HDD-related companies (EntroComponent Solutions, LLC and EntroComponent Solutions Singapore Pte Ltd) from U.S.-based specialty polymer and resin manufacturer entrotech Inc. MPT also inked a business alliance agreement with entrotech.
entrotech mainly manufactures and sells specialty polymers and resins. Products employing these materials span a wide range of fields, including automotive films, HDD-related components, aircraft paint, and medical products. The HDD-related product manufacturing and sales companies subject to this acquisition handle vibration dampening materials attached to HDD head suspensions, as well as filters, sealants and other products for HDDs. MPT specializes in the manufacture and sales of suspension assemblies for HDD heads, supplying products globally from its base in Thailand.
- Details
- Flash Memory
PNY Technologies has announced the launch of the Wave 3.0 USB flash drive, a must-have for users who want to store or share their photos, music, videos and documents while on the move.
Store and transfer images, music, documents and more up to 5x faster
Stylishly engineered with a sleek, retractable design, the PNY Wave 3.0 USB flash drive boasts super-fast read speeds of up to 80MB/s and write speeds of up to 20MB/s - that's 5 times faster than USB 2.0. Fully compatible with USB 2.0 devices, it's ready to plug and play with your existing gear.
The PNY Wave 3.0 with protective sliding cover is the perfect solution for safely storing, transferring, and sharing your valuable files, photos, videos, and more.
- Details
- Flash Memory
OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced that on November 25, 2013, it received notices that Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc. ("Hercules") took exclusive control of the Company's depository accounts at Silicon Valley Bank and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association. As set forth in the Company's recent SEC filings, Hercules and the Company are parties to a loan and security agreement. As previously reported, the Company is not in compliance with certain of the operating ratios and covenants in the loan agreement. As a result of such action and pursuant to Hercules' written instruction, the depository institutions disbursed the cash in the Company's respective accounts to accounts under the control of Hercules.
The Company has received an offer from Toshiba Corporation to acquire substantially all of the Company's assets in a bankruptcy proceeding. The parties have substantially completed negotiations on an asset purchase agreement and OCZ believes that all the material terms have been agreed to. The agreement is subject to various conditions: the preservation of the value of the business, including the retention of employees, the negotiation and execution of definitive documentation, the filing of bankruptcy petitions by the Company and certain of its subsidiaries, Toshiba's offer being accepted by the bankruptcy court as the highest and best offer under the circumstances after an auction process conducted under the relevant provisions of the United States Bankruptcy Code, and other customary closing conditions. The Company expects to file a petition for bankruptcy shortly after completing final documentation with Toshiba and Hercules, and to conduct the court-supervised auction process to attempt to maximize the value of the Company's assets and operations in an orderly process. More details will become available when the Company files its petition for bankruptcy.
- Details
- Flash Memory
Organizations with a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) can now get a significant performance boost with the Intel SSD Cache Controller RCS25ZB040. Powered by LSI Nytro Technology, the Intel RCS25ZB040 is designed to expedite data across a VDI while decreasing the cost per desktop.
The Intel RCS25ZB040 accelerates VDI performance with intelligent caching technology, which monitors frequently accessed data and retains it on its enterprise-grade flash for faster access. Plus, it moves data faster across a VDI and reduces the cost per desktop within the infrastructure.
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- Network Storage
Synology America Corp. today announced the release of its latest RackStation NAS with the RS814. The RS814 is a high-performance 4-bay 1U server designed to scale up to 8 drives when using an RX410 expansion module.
Optimized for SMB environments, the RS814 provides scalability for growing companies, and productive uptime. Building on top of its predecessor’s success, the new RackStation provides the award-winning DiskStation Manager OS with performance that small businesses need, exceeding 200MB/s for read task and 130MB/s for write. With the dual NIC configuration, it enables MPIO failover support for additional network redundancy.
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- Network Storage
QNAP Systems, Inc. today announced the release of the Turbo NAS HS-210, a silent NAS with a revolutionary fanless architecture. Underneath the stylish and compact brushed metal aluminum body, the HS-210 is packed full of cutting-edge features and apps to meet day-to-day multimedia entertainment, file storage, backup and sharing needs.
The HS-210 allows users to enjoy files and media contents without unwanted background noise. With the set-top and fanless design, the new model features an innovative thermal design that intelligently dissipates heat, and is also eco-friendly with power saving features including hard disk standby modes, and power management scheduling options.
- Details
- Flash Memory
WD, a Western Digital company and storage industry leader, today announced the release of the WD Black2 dual drive, a unique storage innovation that fuses a 2.5-inch 120 GB solid state drive (SSD) with a 1 TB hard disk drive (HDD) to offer a powerful dual drive solution. Perfect for consumers and service providers looking to upgrade notebooks, small form factor desktops, and single-slot and all-in-one (AIO) systems with both SSD level performance and HDD capacity, the WD Black2 dual drive connects through a single cable and fits into a conventional 9.5 mm slot.
“Our customers told us they like our Solid State Hybrid Drive technology, but our tech savvy users asked for more control of where they store their data,” said Matt Rutledge, senior vice president of WD’s Storage Technology business unit. “The WD Black2 dual drives empower our customers to enjoy SSD performance and access high capacity storage in a no-compromise package. The WD Black2 dual drive is a direct result of our interaction with our customer base through WD Labs initiatives. WD devised its beta labs program to provide an exclusive testing arena for key customers and technology influencers of existing and emerging WD storage products."
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- Other
ASUS today announced Xonar U7 Echelon Edition, a compact 7.1-channel USB sound card that retains the high audio quality of the award-winning Xonar U7 and adds the military-inspired digital camouflage pattern that is unique to the Echelon range.
As well as stylish looks, ASUS engineers have also worked hard to add an impressive range of exclusive features designed to help gamers, including Sonic Radar for in-game sound visualization and Sonic Studio Pro for fine control of every audio feature.
