active media products pop can usb flash drive.jpgActive Media Products, a leading manufacturer of SSDs and USB drives, today announced a new pop can shaped USB 2.0 flash drive. This unique new style of USB drive is shaped exactly like a standard cola can, in miniature. Active Media Products VP of Sales, Jerry Thomson commented, "so do we call it a soda can, a cola can or a pop can? Whatever you call it, this is one cool USB drive that will make an excellent Christmas gift." It measures merely 1.7 inches tall and 0.8 inches in diameter. The volume of the Pop Can drive is less than half an ounce, or about 96% smaller than a real 12-ounce pop can. The Pop Can USB Drive's very small form factor means it won't add bulk to a keychain, and it will easily slide into a pocket. The red finish recalls vintage cola colors.

The Pop Can Drive includes a strong steel keychain and clip for attaching the drive to a backpack or keyring. This new Pop Can Drive is available now through Amazon, at approximately $11 for the 4GB model and $20 for the 8GB drive.

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silicon power 256gb e20 ssd.jpgLeading flash memory manufacturer, Silicon Power today unleashes their new 2.5” SATA solid state drive (SSD) ~ E20, a new prospect in computer storage! The new E20 challenges SSD limitations with uniquely developed technology to boost read speeds up to 250MB/s and write speeds up to 230MB/s, both data transfer rates surpass the major SSD on the market today. In addition, E20 also supports TRIM Command. It is specifically for Windows 7 users, allowing for swift tens of seconds OS startup time and instant application and software use. For users using other OS, E20 provides Garbage Collection Technology. It enhances SSD’s already strong performances and prevents poor computer responses from long hours of continuous use. It is the ingredient to achieving twice the result with half the effort.

Silicon Power’s brand new SSD E20 proposes effective and practical solutions for most common problems faced by users today:

DDR2 DRAM Cache Memory Implementation: Users are most concerned with lag when using computers as it affects workflow and efficiency. With E20’s built-in DDR2 DRAM Cache Memory, even during continuous intensive-write situations, computers shall lag no more! This feature not only enhances SSD’s read and write performances, it also extends SSD’s lifespan.

Circuit Current Sensor: During read and write, users most dread irregular current supply resulting in data lost or corruption. Silicon Power’s E20 has specially added circuit current sensors to detect fluctuating or abnormal current to effectively protect your personal data!

S.M.A.R.T Support: Through Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology (S.M.A.R.T.), user can monitor the health of E20.

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Toshiba Storage Device Division (SDD), the pioneer in small form factor hard disk drives (HDDs), today announced a 7,200 RPM 2.5-inch (6.4cm) Self-Encrypting Drive (SED) that provides government-grade AES-256 hardware encryption incorporated in the disk drive’s controller electronics. The MKxx61GSYD is the newest addition to the Toshiba family of drives designed for commercial notebooks and security-sensitive applications, including shared desktop PCs. The drive’s built-in hardware encryption offers benefits that go beyond software encryption.

Based on the Opal Security Subsystem Class (Opal SSC) specification from the Trusted Computing Group (TCG), the new Toshiba SED enables secure and quick deployment of encryption on notebook and desktop PCs to protect confidential information. Many organisations are taking steps to comply with security policies and new laws governing data privacy. The SED technology from Toshiba helps IT departments to achieve strong, cost-effective security without interrupting business flow or impacting application performance.

SEDs designed to the Opal SSC specification provide advanced access authentication and built-in hardware data encryption. Because it is an open industry standard, Opal encourages broad support from both security solutions vendors and SED makers – enabling seamless management of most deployments that support both pre-existing software encryption and Opal SSC-specified SED storage. SEDs designed to the Opal specification help organisations easily and cost-effectively protect data from theft or unauthorised access, while easing the administrative burdens associated with re-purposing, or retiring client systems and data storage.

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The CompactFlash Association (CFA) today announced the formation of a new working group to develop a next-generation memory card. Nikon, SanDisk and Sony proposed the new format in order to meet the needs of professional type digital single lens reflex camera (DSLR) and professional video markets over the coming years. CFA members can join the new workgroup for considering the ratification of the new specification.

Sophisticated imaging applications such as High Definition video and professional photography require a new generation of memory cards with cutting-edge speeds and capacities capable of processing the larger file sizes. The development of the new card is designed to meet the future demands of professional imaging and video markets.

“Future professional photography and video applications will require memory cards with faster read/write speeds,” said Mr. Shigeto Kanda of Canon and the CFA chairman of the board. “The development of a new high-performance card standard with a serial interface will meet the needs of the professional imaging industry for years to come and open the door for exciting new applications.”

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SanDisk Corporation, Nikon Corporation and Sony Corporation today announced the joint development of a set of specifications that addresses the future requirements of professional photography and video markets. The three companies proposed the specifications to the CompactFlash® Association (CFA), the international standards organization, with the intent to standardize the format.

Professional photography and High Definition (HD) video applications require a new generation of memory cards capable of processing significantly larger files. To address the imaging industry’s future speed and capacity demands, SanDisk, Nikon and Sony proposed a new card specification whose performance and storage capabilities surpass those of existing memory cards. Once accepted, the new format will enable exciting new possibilities in the professional imaging and video markets.

The proposed specifications achieve data transfer rates of up to 500 megabytes per second (MB/sec) (theoretical maximum interface speed) using the highly versatile PCI Express interface. The increased speeds will enable imaging and video applications that could not be accomplished using the current CompactFlash specification’s Parallel ATA (PATA) interface. CF6.0, released in November 2010, offers maximum performance of up to 167MB/sec.

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ADATA Technology, the worldwide leader in DRAM modules and flash memory products, today released its latest Micro Memory Card Reader, the microReader version III, an ultra-compact and stylish solution for easy and convenient data transfers between mobile phones and PCs via High-Speed USB 2.0 interface.

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For users of digital devices who are constantly on the go, moving and sharing personal files from memory-enabled phones to other devices can be a hassle when there is no USB cable on hand. Weighing just 3 grams, and the size of a small coin, the new ADATA microReader is one of the smallest card readers available on the market, with incredible portability that provides the freedom of data transfers any time, any place. Due to its ultra-compact size, the microReader can be plugged into the USB slot of a notebook PC at all times, without blocking the neighboring slots or getting in the way when the computer is stowed in a bag.

Unlike most conventional memory card readers, which have unfriendly card retrieval designs, the microReader features a patented one-push card-ejector that makes any data transfer a fast and pleasant experience. Available in elegant black and passionate red colors, the microReader features a stylish LED indicator that shines brightly when the device is in use.

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sans digital towerstor ts5ct.jpgSans Digital, a leading provider of high performance storage subsystems, is introducing a brand new TowerSTOR series featuring an abundant array of host connectivity interfaces including the Mac friendly Firewire 800, high-performance eSATA, and the widely available USB 2.0 interfaces, providing over 200 MB/s of data transfer rate in a compact elegant silver metallic-finish RAID tower system that is aesthetically pleasing to the eyes.

The TS5CT is a 5-bay tower supporting five 3.5” hard drives, while the TS25CT is a 5-bay tower supporting five 2.5” hard drives. Both the TS5CT and TS25CT are embedded with the hardware RAID processors to offload complex RAID algorithm calculations while reducing CPU utilization from the host computer or server. The built-in hardware RAID engine supports RAID 0, 1, 10, 3, or 5, JBOD, and CLONE (N-way Mirror) to provide data protection against potential hard drive failure, and at the same time increases data transfer throughput. Since RAID engine is built-in on both the TS5CT and TS25CT, it eliminates the potential of an in-compatibility between the host computer OS and the RAID controllers as the TS5CT/TS25CT do not require software driver or any additional RAID controller, making them extremely versatile for use with various operating systems such PC, MAC or Linux. The built-in LEDs also provide critical status information regarding the health of the RAID array while the included software RAID monitoring utility provides real-time information of the TowerSTOR RAID system.

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ADATA Technology, after listening attentively to the voice of the market, ADATA has launched a new product in its Superior series of flash drives, the S101. Produced under advanced COB (Chip On Board) manufacturing processes, the S101 is a compact and delicate technological jewel. High quality black leather exterior with a unique and comfortable toothed texture allows you to manifest your personal sense of elegance, at a price the stays true to your sense of moderation.

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This new addition to the superior series has a smaller profile due to the COB manufacturing used. With a length of only 3.3 cm, and width of 1.6 cm, the S101 is more compact than traditional USB flash drives, and as small and exquisite as a Bluetooth headset.

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Pegasys Inc. announced today that it has formally signed an agreement with x264 LLC for the use of the x264 H.264/AVC encoder under a commercial license. The x264 encoder will be integrated into the next generation of Pegasys’ popular video conversion software, TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress, and will be the first commercial software granted a commercial license for this technology in Japan.

x264 is used by well-known websites such as YouTube and Facebook, and is widely regarded as the world's best H.264 encoder. With ten years of experience in video software and user interface design, Pegasys will seamlessly integrate the x264 encoder into TMPGEnc and bring x264's state-of-the-art encoding technology to their video creation software.

Pegasys is world renowned for its video conversion software, used to compress and convert video files to numerous formats with an easy-to-use interface that attracts users the world over. Customers demand a high-quality video format that is easy to process. The x264 encoder, with its combination of encoding quality and flexible options, falls in line with Pegasys’ goals and the customer’s needs making this agreement a perfect match.

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slysoft-logo.gifAs of January 1st, 2011, SlySoft will discontinue the 'lifetime' update subscription. This is being announced well in advance to give everybody a final opportunity to acquire SlySoft products and product upgrades with lifetime free updates and renew limited subscriptions to lifetime.

To make your decision even easier, you'll get a 20% discount, applicable to all products including upgrades from AnyDVD to AnyDVD HD and renewals of update subscriptions for all SlySoft products.

This promotion is only valid until Friday, December 31 2010, so if you are entertaining the thought of purchasing one or more of their products, now is the right time to act ...

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