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- Hard Disks
Freecom, part of the Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Group and award-winning manufacturer of external hard drives and portable storage devices, today unveiled the Hard Drive Sq, a 3.5” external hard drive with an innovative square form factor. With its unique appearance and state-of-the-art technology, the Hard Drive Sq strikes a perfect balance between elegant design and practicality. In addition to being able to back up and store files on a computer, the drive connects directly to a TV set for USB recording and playback, enabling users to store and watch their favourite shows quickly and easily.
“With the Hard Drive Sq, you can really put the information you need at your fingertips – whether it is on your PC, laptop of even a TV screen,” said Cas de Heus, marketing and communications manager EUMEA at Freecom. “From a practical point of view, the Hard Drive Sq is everything you would expect from a high-quality external hard drive in that it is fast, easy to use and visually stunning – but the ability to plug it into a TV set gives it an additional edge. People are changing the way that they watch television and with so much great content to choose from, many are opting to record and playback the programmes that they would most like to watch. The Hard Drive Sq enables users to make the most of this by reliably expanding their TV’s storage capacity.”
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Silicon Power, the world’s leading provider of memory storage solutions today unveiled Velox V60, a 2.5” consumer solid state disk that combines aesthetic and performance. V60 features a sleek metal body with SATA III interface delivering personal style, speed and quality, taking computing experience to a new level.
Unlike a traditional SSD that is rigid and bulky, SP V60 offers a stylish brushed aluminum enclosure in metallic gray. It features a hairline finished cover with a silver embossed diamond cut logo and a body with curved edges. Its minimalist design speaks quality and character; adding style to functionality so consumers will never need to compromise aesthetic for performance.
Featuring the latest SandForce controller, SP V60 unleashes the potential of SATA III 6Gbps interface to deliver up to 550MB/s reads; 500MB/s write transfer rate. The V60 can significantly improve performance over hard drive; it can boot a computer in seconds and quickly launch applications.
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ADATA Technology announces that the DashDrive Durable HD710 portable hard drive with an USB 3.0 interface is available in the US and Canada. The DashDrive family adds military-grade waterproof and shockproof (IPX7) protection to the company’s impressive lineup of external storage device.
With the HD710 you no longer have to worry about accidental spills or drops destroying all your precious data. The housing of the HD710 is comprised of a unique silicone material making this external hard drive tough enough to handle life's daily abuses.
The HD710 is capable of handling the toughest conditions while still delivering the blazing fast USB 3.0 transmission speeds consumers have come to expect. The USB cable tucks into a wraparound exterior slot in the drive casing so you don't have to fret about the cable hanging loose.
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OCZ Technology Group, Inc., a leading provider of high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) for computing devices and systems, today announced that its SAS-based Talos 2 SSDs have been selected by HyVE (Hybrid Virtualization Engine) Systems for implementation within three high-compute platforms targeted for virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) academic and corporate end user compute solutions. Providing stellar read/write input/output operations per second (IOPS) performance, high reliability and availability of stored data and desktop applications, the ability to grow with the HyVE Systems platforms, and cost-effectiveness were the key attributes that aided in the selection of OCZ Talos 2 drives.
Combining proven virtualization solutions with state-of-the-art, best-of-breed hardware products that support next-generation cloud requirements, the HyVE System VDI platform provides a cost-effective, high-performance environment that scales to the needs of their customers while providing an extremely low cost per desktop without jeopardizing quality, reliability or performance. A typical HyVE System VDI solution has a fixed cost of approximately $200 per desktop which is significantly lower than traditional virtual solutions that typically start at $1,500 per desktop, and scale down cost to approximately $700 per desktop, depending on infrastructure costs.
HyVE Systems' VDI solutions are smaller, less expensive high-compute platforms that can run either 100+ or 200+ VDI desktops on a single node. For example, many K-12 school districts do not have the budgets to purchase, deploy and maintain brand new computing equipment for their student population and must leverage the existing network infrastructure to cost-effectively extend its life while enabling students and teachers to use their own computing devices regardless of age, operating system or hardware architecture. This approach enables state-of-the-art VDI solutions to be stored as a virtualized desktop on the HyVE central server platform so that students and teachers can work from whatever local computing device they have while the system programs, applications, processes and data are kept on the remote server and run centrally.
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Dane-Elec, a global leader in consumer electronics, today announced Marvel's The Avengers USB drive product line with Marvel Entertainment, LLC. The four Avengers characters featured in Marvel's The Avengers movie premiering this May -- Captain America, The Hulk, Thor and Iron Man -- will be brought to life in the form of 8 gigabyte (GB) flash drives. Users can collect them all with Marvel's The Avengers 4-Port USB Hub and let the Super Heroes transport and protect their data for years to come.
"We are thrilled to offer Marvel fans our second line of USB drives, which is based on the characters in the upcoming Marvel's The Avengers movie," said Sherry Chapman, director of marketing for Dane-Elec. "The Marvel Classics line is extremely popular and we are excited to give movie fans the Marvel's The Avengers drives. Both adults and children can now store and transport data on these replica character statuettes that have a sleek sliding USB drive embedded in the base. Marvel's The Avengers Super Heroes collection is both unique and practical for all ages."
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- Flash Memory
You wouldn't think there would be much to say about a USB flash drive, but in this case, what you say, and how you say it, is your key to data security. Advanced technical skills are definitely not required, because this is a plug-and-play device, requiring no software installation. All critical software is embedded in the flash drive itself, and it is fully functional the moment it is removed from the box.
After inserting the USB into a computer, red and green LEDs flash to signal to the user that the drive is ready to hear the password through its on-board microphone. Armed with a dedicated on-board microprocessor, the drive's voice-recognition software then sorts out the various nuances and frequencies of an authorized voice, and the only necessary password is a spoken one.
The caveat of course, is any sort of illness which may alter one's voice, such as laryngitis, the common cold, or even a lack of sleep, which could prevent unlocking the data. An alternate method of securely unlocking files is provided should that occur. That procedure requires recognizing, and responding to, a specific sequence of flashing color LEDs. That pattern-recognition password is also secure and easy to use, because it is a combination that has been predetermined by the user, just as the user also chooses the spoken password.
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VIA Labs, Inc., a leading supplier of USB 3.0 integrated circuit controllers, today announced its 3rd generation USB 3.0 hub controller, the VIA Labs VL812. The VL812 USB 3.0 Hub Controller utilizes a new low-power design and features an industry-first integrated 5V DC-DC switching regulator, offering a single-chip solution that achieves both high power efficiency and greater system integration for further reduced BOM.
In typical configurations, the VIA Labs VL812 USB 3.0 Hub Controller consumes less than 0.5w under load, making it one of the market's low-power leaders. The low operational power consumption of the new VIA Labs VL812 USB 3.0 Hub allows users to attach an external 2.5" USB 3.0 hard drive, USB 2.0 Flash drive, and a USB Mouse simultaneously without the need for an AC adapter, when connected to a regular USB 3.0 port.
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Power Quotient International (PQI) has just announced the launch of its all-new U280L USB Traveling Disk today. The device’s small and compact design was inspired by computer keyboards and, at a mere 0.68 cm thick, is roughly the same size as a single key. When plugged into an Ultrabook, Notebook, or Tablet PC, it remains firmly attached and takes up almost no extra space. This streamlined design eliminates cluttering issues common among other bulky flash drives. In addition, its compact low-profile makes it a durable and resilient partner, ensuring that data remains safe and secure wherever the user takes it.
The PQI U280L features a special sandblasted plastic exterior that is both sturdy and attractive. The casing is reminiscent of morning mist, and comes in two colors: aurora white and storm black. In addition, a glowing red LED indicator at the end of the drive flashes during data transfers to clearly signal the device’s operation status. The U280L also comes with a free multipurpose chain which enables the device to be conveniently carried around as a stylish charm by attaching it to other personal items such as mobile phones, cameras, backpacks, and more.
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Rimage Corporation, the leader in secure digital content management and delivery solutions, today announced the launch of Blu Lock anti-rip copy protection technology for Blu-ray Discs. Blu Lock is the first anti-rip copy protection technology that integrates directly into the Rimage Blu-ray Disc publishing solution, allowing a broad range of businesses to deliver digital content securely to their customers. Blu Lock will be available in late June 2012.
Blu Lock’s anti-rip copy protection provides on-the-fly protection of commercial and pre-release Blu-ray video content. “Currently the distribution of Blu-ray video content is at risk due to the lack of a high-definition anti-rip copy protection technology. Blu Lock technology is the first and only technology that prevents the piracy of such digital content,” said Chris Wells, Senior VP and GM of Rimage Disc Publishing. “It gives businesses the comfort that their valuable content is protected, preventing revenue loss from unauthorized copying of Blu-ray Discs.”
Rimage provides Blu Lock as an integral feature within the Rimage Software System (RSS). It is easy to use, and offers the flexibility to integrate into most disc production workflows. Blu Lock technology also preserves the user experience and playback compatibility, leaving the original media content unmodified, while providing robust protection and upgradability.
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Other World Computing today introduced the OWC Mercury Accelsior, the industry’s first both Mac-bootable and PC-bootable, fully supported PCIe SSD card. By utilizing the fastest data interface available in a Mac Pro or PC—the PCIe slot—the Mercury Accelsior offers nearly 3x the performance vs. an SSD in a SATA 2.0 3Gb/s drive bay with well beyond even 6Gb/s speeds of up to 780MB/s. Now owners of PCs and Apple Mac Pros can stop waiting for I/O-intensive apps like Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, or Avid Pro Tools to render, capture or process; and can experience near instantaneous booting and application launches. The Mercury Accelsior will be highlighted along with other OWC storage solutions in booth #SL14110 during the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show being held this week in Las Vegas.
The OWC Mercury Accelsior PCIe SSD card is AHCI compliant, so no drivers are required for a truly Plug and Play solution. Besides turning a computer into a speed demon, this high-performance SSD is bootable on PCs and is the only Mac-bootable, Mac supported PCIe SSD available.
