Today, CDRLabs brings you an in depth look at Plextor's new Qflix enabled DVD writer, the PX-Q840U. With this new external drive, consumers can purchase and download movies from Cinemanow and then burn a permanent copy that can be played back on a standard DVD player. The PX-Q840U also offers 20x DVD±R, 12x DVD-RAM and 8x DVD±R DL writing speeds as well as support for Plextor's new PlexUtilities software.
Today LaCie announced the Rugged XL, a super-sized expansion to LaCie’s award-winning line of Rugged hard drives. Showcasing more than just its extra-large exterior, the Rugged XL doubles capacity to 1TB, and will surely amplify the style of any creative desktop.
Rugged XL leverages the design and durability of the popular Rugged drive, offering aluminum casing for superior protection on your desktop, as well as the signature orange rubber sleeve. Taking advantage of the Rugged’s reputation for resilience, the Rugged XL also features an internal bumper and heat dissipating features, making the LaCie Rugged XL able to withstand the challenges and blunders that can occur on anyone’s desk.
Suited for speed-intensive applications or for large-scale backups, the Rugged XL is versatile and compatible with both Mac and PC environments. In addition, it supports two key interfaces: Hi-Speed USB for universal compatibility, and the extreme speed of eSATA 3Gb/s. The new drive also includes a complete software bundle for easy formatting with LaCie Setup Assistant, as well as Genie Backup Assistant software for Windows users and Intego Backup Assistant software for Mac users.
CalDigit is excited to introduce the CalDigit VR mini, an innovative, compact and bus powered two drive RAID system, supporting a quadruple interface for easy connectivity. The CalDigit VR mini's modular design provides two removable drive modules and an easy to read frontside LCD. With support for RAID 0, 1, and JBOD the CalDigit VR mini can reach speeds fast enough for high definition video editing. It includes easy to use software allowing for firmware updates, configuration, monitoring and even supports email notification. The CalDigit VR mini packs a ton of performance into a small package, making it a truly portable storage solution that can fit in the palm of your hand.
“The increasing demand for mobile editing has inspired us to create a product thatʼs not only incredibly small, but powerful. Itʼs hard to imagine what the CalDigit VR mini is capable of when you pick it up. The speed that this small RAID can provide is truly impressive.” Jared Picune VP of sales and marketing for CalDigit.
The CalDigit VR mini is bus powered via FireWire, so no extra power supply is needed. When additional speed is needed use eSATA for data and FireWire for power. The CalDigit VR mini is smart enough to know which port to use, so you never need an additional power supply.
SandForce™ Inc., the pioneer of SSD (Solid State Drive) Processors that enable commodity NAND flash deployment in enterprise and mobile computing applications, today emerged from stealth mode and unveiled its first product, the SF-1000 SSD Processor family. These highly-integrated silicon devices address the inherent endurance, reliability, and data retention issues associated with NAND flash memory, making it possible to build SSDs that deliver unprecedented performance over the life of the drive with orders-of-magnitude higher reliability than enterprise-class HDDs (Hard Disk Drives).
The SandForce patent-pending DuraClass™ technology promises to accelerate mass-market SSD adoption. Leading OEMs are expected to release both SLC (single level cell) and MLC (multi-level cell) flash-based SSDs using SandForce single-chip SSD Processors later this year. IDC expects worldwide shipments of SSD's in the Enterprise and PC markets will exceed 40 million units in 2012, representing a CAGR of 171% from 2007-2012. (IDC, Worldwide Solid State Drive 2009-2012 Forecast Update, Doc # 216054, January 2009)
Pioneer Corporation and Sharp Corporation have announced today that they have signed a partnership agreement on the establishment of a joint venture in the optical disk business area.
The goal of the new joint venture is to make more effective use of the management resources of the two companies in the optical disk business field, and to capture a leadership position in this area, particularly in the Blu-ray Disc market where significant growth is expected in the future.
The optical disk businesses of the two companies will be transferred to the new joint venture, with a target date for the start of operations around October 1, 2009. The new company will engage in the development, design, manufacture, and sales of optical disk products, focusing on optical disk drives, recorders, and players.
