toshiba_consumer_3tb_hdd.pngToshiba Corporation today announced the launch of a family of advanced 3.5-inch HDDs that bring multi-terabyte capacities to the consumer space. Four series of high-performance models offer a total of 12 variants: four models offering 3TB capacities, complemented by models offering 2TB and 1.5TB levels of storage. Volume shipments of the drives, produced with manufacturing equipment acquired in a recent transaction with Western Digital Corporation of the United States, will start at the end of this month. In adding these drives to its current line of 250GB to 1TB consumer-use 3.5-inch HDDs Toshiba will expand its product coverage to a wide ranging 250GB to 3TB.

The high capacity storage devices that add to the performance of today's digital devices, among them desktop PCs, external hard drives, digital video drives and TVs with an integrated recording function, must match advances in HD image quality and the proliferation of TV channels and other digital sources with density advances that can meet increasingly heavy demands on capacity. Toshiba is making this possible with a new product line-up that includes 3.5-inch drives with a full 3TB capacity.

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Other World Computing announced today the ‘Triple Interface’ model of its award-winning OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro bus-powered portable storage solution now features a USB 3.0 ‘SuperSpeed’ port which is also USB 2.0 backwards compatible. Complemented by two FireWire 800/400 ports, the new USB 3.0 capability enables the Mercury On-The-Go Pro to deliver real-world, benchmark-proven data transfer speeds up to 285MB/s. All that speed is housed in a pocket-sized drive offering up to 1.0TB of storage capacity—enough space to hold up to one million JPEG photos, 500 DVD movies, 76 hours of digital video, or 350,000 MP3 songs.

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Designed for the active “On-The-Go” computer user who needs the largest and fastest portable storage solution available on the market, the Mercury On-The-Go Pro is compact at 3.5″x 5.5″x 1″ in size — small enough to fit into a shirt pocket, yet big enough to offer up to 1TB of capacity. Stylishly engineered in a sleek, acrylic enclosure, the Mercury On-The-Go Pro is bus-powered, so it doesn’t require an AC adapter, which makes it ideal for presentations, multimedia, law enforcement, surveyors, and other “mobile office” uses. Additionally, notebook users with internal 5400RPM drives will find that using the Mercury On-The-Go Pro 7200RPM and SSD models as a start-up disk offers faster system boot-up and overall system performance.

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Plextor, a leading developer of high-performance digital storage equipment, today announced the M5 Pro Series Solid State Drive, a high-performance professional-grade SSD engineered using the latest Marvell® 88SS9187 Monet controller. The M5 Pro provides a unique enterprise-grade double-data protection featuring random read/write speeds of up to 94,000/86,000 IOPS and sequential read/write speeds of up to 540/450 MB/s.

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The M5 Pro has the ability to consistently deliver high read and write speeds for all forms of data and use the multi-core controller to handle extreme high loads. This makes the M5 Pro suitable for use in a heavy workstation, server role, or Raid 0 configuration setting. The M5 Pro also makes use of True Speed Technology to prevent the drastic performance drop seen in some SSDs after intense or long-term usage.

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Mimoco , creator of the MIMOBOT line of designer USB flash drives and MIMOMICRO card readers, is thrilled to release the second in the Legends of MIMOBOT series, Bruce Lee MIMOBOT. Featuring the icons, geniuses, and stars of the human race that have changed our world for the better, the Legends of MIMOBOT series debuted with the release of Einstein MIMOBOT in early 2012. Now, Bruce Lee MIMOBOT continues the series by transforming the most influential martial artist of all time into designer flash drives that hold up to 64GBs of data, and come preloaded with bonus Mimory such as MimoDesk personalization suite of Bruce Lee-themed wallpapers, icons, video, and avatars, and MimoByte sound software that plays sound clips each time Bruce Lee MIMOBOT is inserted or ejected from one’s computer.

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Bruce Lee pioneered the martial arts movie genre, developed his own style of martial arts called Jeet Kune Do, and introduced the discipline, power, and speed of martial arts to the western world. Now, Bruce Lee is, quite literally, the most kick-ass MIMOBOT flash drive ever made. This battle tested Bruce Lee MIMOBOT has the tiger claw cuts, yellow tracksuit, and matching nunchucks, and the suave determination that made the Legend himself so iconic. The bad guys won’t get near your data, not if Bruce Lee MIMOBOT has something to say about it.

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The ASUS SDRW-08D3S-U external 8X DVD writer adds instant optical media to various devices via USB 2.0 and the exclusive AV Function, including smart TVs and tablets. It maintains full compatibility with Windows and Mac OS, and keeps data safe through multiple security methods plus 256-bit encryption. Its Zen-like design sets it apart from generic drives as it delivers ASUS AVWHERE optical media convenience, just as the slender 20mm profile and 365g weight factor allow it to integrate easily into any home entertainment center as well as complement portable devices that require easy mobility.

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Connecting instantly to different devices via USB 2.0, the SDRW-08D3S-U offers one-press AV Function switching that automatically syncs it with PCs, smart TVs and tablets, turning it into their external optical media drive for setup-free multimedia playback. Customers can therefore easily enjoy content in living rooms as well as anywhere in homes via portable devices. It is therefore highly useful in situations where devices do not have a built-in optical drive. For better flexibility and to accommodate more customers, the SDRW-08D3S-U ships with support for multiple versions of Microsoft Windows and Apple’s Mac OS. The feature set remains full and consistent across all compatible operating systems.

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Sony Creative Software, a leading provider of professional video and audio editing applications, today announced the availability of Pixelcast, a new online media sharing service. Pixelcast encourages collaboration between friends and family with videos, photos and music to create a complete multimedia experience. Videos can also be uploaded directly to Pixelcast.com from within the newly upgraded Movie Studio Platinum 12 software, making it easier than ever for users to share creations with others.

“It’s not unusual for photos from a family event to become scattered across multiple social sites, computers, or even e-mails. Pixelcast offers a new solution by enabling users to interact and collaborate with one another to create jointly-produced albums, or experiences. Collaboration is only part of the fun. Pixelcast also ensures that photos and videos uploaded to an experience can only be accessed by someone who is invited to view, edit, or contribute to it,” said Dave Chaimson, vice president of global marketing for Sony Creative Software. “We’re thrilled to introduce Pixelcast as a new service for our users to create unique experiences to share and collaborate with friends and family. Check out the introductory video at Pixelcast.com for information on uploading and sharing to the Pixelcast cloud and, while you’re there, give the service a try by signing up for a free account.”

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sony_movie_studio_12.pngSony Creative Software, a leading provider of professional video and audio editing applications, today announced the availability of the latest upgrades to their award-winning line of consumer products which include Movie Studio Platinum 12 and ACID Music Studio 9. These applications offer hobbyists, independent filmmakers and aspiring musicians the tools to produce compelling, professional-quality projects for distribution from the desktop to the cloud.

Movie Studio Platinum 12 provides users with an easy-to-use interface and straightforward editing process. New toolbar buttons for splitting and trimming video events, 3D project templates, additional stereoscopic 3D adjustment tools, and other usability enhancements make video editing startlingly intuitive. Movie Studio Platinum 12, along with its standard 32-bit installer, now boasts a native 64-bit installer for improved stability and performance. Users will also be able to upload their movies directly to www.pixelcast.com, a new cloud-based creative and collaborative online service from Sony Creative Software that provides a unique way to share digital photos and videos.

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strontium_hawk_ssd.pngStrontium Technology has announced a new series of high-performance solid state drives called HAWK solid state drives. These are Hynix-made solid state drives with Strontium branding and after sales support. They are based on SandForce’s SF-2281 controller and SK Hynix flash.

The drives are meant to be an upgrade option for consumers who are looking to buy new laptop or desktop. With over 500MB/s of read and white performance, the HAWK SSD will make Mac Books and PCs run faster. In addition, SSDs feature enhanced durability, shock-proof, silent operation and are more reliable as compared to traditional hard drives.

Strontium HAWK SSD simply makes the computer more responsive than ever. With quicker boot up and shorter lead time in applications loading, it will definitely enhance your daily productivity and ensure your system takes flight to the next level. HAWK SSD is backed by a three-year warranty and the reliability of Strontium.

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LaCie announced today that it has updated its entire USB 3.0 portfolio to include 2nd generation USB 3.0 products. The next generation USB 3.0 products are available now in Apple® retail locations.

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For the last three years, LaCie has delivered premium USB 3.0 solutions to millions of Mac and PC customers. Building on this industry experience and momentum, LaCie has re-engineered its USB 3.0 range to take full advantage of computers that include the Intel® Ivy Bridge processor with native USB 3.0 interfaces. LaCie's new USB 3.0 storage solutions will also benefit from performance enhancements within OS X® Lion and Mountain Lion. Thanks to UAS (USB Attached SCSI Protocol), people with the latest Macbook Air®, Macbook Pro® and Macbook Pro with Retina Display will experience maximum USB 3.0 performance.

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Following their press releases issued on May 23, 2012 and June 14, 2012, Seagate Technology plc and LaCie S.A. announced today the completion of the purchase by Seagate of all of the shares of Philippe Spruch and his affiliate, representing 64.5% of the outstanding shares of LaCie for a provisional price of €4.05 per share. The price payable to Philippe Spruch and his affiliate may be increased by 3%, to €4.17 per share, in the event that within six months following today's date, Seagate holds at least 95% of the share capital and voting rights of LaCie.

The completion of the transaction follows the required clearances from the French Ministry of Finance and the US and German Antitrust Authorities.

As a result of the completion of the transaction, Seagate intends to file in the coming weeks with the French Autorité des marches financiers an all-cash simplified tender offer on the remaining LaCie shares.

As previously announced, Ricol Lasteyrie & Associés has been appointed as independent expert by the Board of Directors of LaCie on May 23, 2012.

Following discussions with the Board of Directors of LaCie, in particular with the independent members, Seagate has increased the proposed offer price at which it will file its tender offer to €4.50 per LaCie share (without an additional 3% price supplement in the event that a squeeze-out procedure is implemented). Seagate may carry out a squeeze-out procedure at the same price of €4.50 per LaCie share if it were to hold at least 95% of the shares and voting rights of LaCie.

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