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LaCie's New 120 and 160GB FireWire Hard Drives Eliminate Performance Barriers
LaCie's New 120 and 160GB FireWire Hard Drives Eliminate Performance Barriers Leveraging its expertise in mass storage and FireWire technology, LaCie has announced two new Giga-capacity external hard drives that stream data to the computer at a sustained transfer rate of nearly 35MB/s. With the ability to provide a constant data stream, LaCie's 120GB 7200 rpm and 160GB 5400 rpm FireWire drives virtually eliminate the possibility of corrupt data or lost video frames. Reliability is further enhanced with LaCie's unique sturdy casing for added heat and shock resistance. Especially designed for video users, the LaCie 120GB drives can store more than 30 hours of MPEG-2 video or 10 hours of uncompressed DV. Available storage is even higher with the LaCie 160GB drive, which can store more than 300 hours of CD-quality audio or a mile-high stack of text-files. "The demand for high-capacity hard drive storage has been overwhelming," said Olivier Mirloup, LaCie Storage Product Manager. "Until now, the biggest problem has been the performance bottleneck at the IDE drive and 1394 interface. But with our new two-chip, single firmware interface design, we've virtually eliminated the performance barrier because our new drives consistently deliver 35MB/s sustained data throughput to the computer," he explained. "With twice the transfer rate of first-generation FireWire drives, the new hard drives open up the data pipe that today's higher-performance video production and content development computers offer. Users won't have to worry about data, quality or frame loss anymore when they are using our new FireWire drives." By enhancing the external 120GB and 160GB drives with a new built-in FireWire controller and a 2MB buffer, LaCie provides users with a fast, reliable means of exchanging large files such as high-resolution photos and digital videos with no risk of data loss. Both drives can be quickly and easily connected to the native FireWire ports that are standard with Macintosh(R) G3, G4 and iMac DV systems as well as PCs incorporating Windows(R) 98 Second Edition, Windows 2000 and Windows XP. LaCie's new FireWire controller is a 400 Mbps interface that is based on a 1394 to IDE bridge dual chipset. The higher transfer rate of the latest-generation FireWire digital link makes the LaCie external hard drives ideal for users storing large-volume video and graphic files or capturing video from DV camcorders. The compact drives also provide content developers with added security because complete projects can be stored on the drives, removed and locked up when they are not being used. With latest-generation FireWire support, the drives are hot-pluggable. Users can plug a LaCie drive in, remove it or swap it with others without shutting down or rebooting the computer. The drive mounts automatically as soon as it is connected. There is no need for terminators, device IDs or elaborate setup. This allows the LaCie FireWire hard drives to be easily transferred between Macintosh G4 workstations and Cubes, FireWire-equipped PowerBooks and iMac DV systems. When plugged into a FireWire-equipped computer, the LaCie drives look and perform just like any other drive on the system. Properly formatted, the drives can even be used to share video and graphics files between Mac and Windows computers.
Features:
A key advantage with the new LaCie FireWire hard drives is they can be used as a 'data shuttle' to enable several professionals to work successively on the same project from their own machine. In the event of a computer crash, the LaCie FireWire drives can also be quickly plugged into another system so that work can continue with a minimum of downtime. Focused on customer satisfaction, LaCie tests the drives thoroughly to ensure that they are cooled properly and to make certain there are no excessive noise or power consumption problems. LaCie's 120GB hard drive has an acoustic rating of 3.6 decibels, making it one of the quietest half-height disk drives currently available. In addition to being remarkably quiet, the drive has an idle power consumption of only 3.75 watts. Available in February through LaCie authorized resellers and mail order partners, the suggested retail prices for LaCie's new FireWire hard drives are $399 for the 120GB 7200 drive and $449 for the 160GB 5400 rpm drive. The FireWire hard drives include the LaCie 1394 cable, an internal international power supply for worldwide use, and LaCie's Silverlining Pro drive utility software for Mac OS environments. Silverlining is the most comprehensive drive management software on the market and the only driver able to manage USB, IDE, SCSI and FireWire peripherals at the same time.
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SmartDisk Introduces Tiny, Palm-Sized FireFly 5 Gigabyte Hard Drive for USB 2.0 SmartDisk Corporation has announced the creation of the world's smallest portable 5 Gigabyte (GB) Universal Serial Bus (USB) 2.0 hard drive, FireFly for USB. Approximately the size of a deck of playing cards, FireFly for USB stores up to five hours of superior quality video, more than 1,000 MP3 songs or more than 2,000 high-quality digital photographs. SmartDisk is demonstrating the new drive in booth 13311E & F (South Hall), Las Vegas Convention Center at the Consumer Electronics Show and in booth 1544, Moscone Convention Center, at Macworld Conference and Expo/San Francisco 2002, January 8-11. 
Perfect for the creative mind on the go, FireFly is ideal for a variety of digital video, audio, data backup and multimedia applications used by consumers and professionals. FireFly stores and rapidly transfers large volumes of music, video, photos and data to and from desktops and laptops. Its small, durable magnesium casing - just 2.5" (W) x 4" (D) x .5" (H) - and weight of less than four ounces make it easy to carry in a purse, a briefcase or even a shirt pocket. It supports both USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 host systems, which means that users in transition between the two versions can use a single FireFly on any USB machine. "The storage capacity and compact size of FireFly for USB are incomparable to anything on the market today," said Rod H. King, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing for SmartDisk. "With advancements like this, photographers, audiophiles, consumers and professionals alike can store and carry entire music, photo or data collections in their shirt pocket." "FireFly for USB answers the call for a truly portable and universally compatible storage solution from the millions of consumers and professionals who use Windows and Macintosh computers and applications," said Stuart Cox, Vice President, Product Development for SmartDisk. "FireFly is truly built to be portable: it's small and lightweight, and because it's powered by the computer itself, it doesn't require its own power adapter. FireFly is also 'Mass Storage Class' compliant, which means users don't have to install software drivers before using FireFly - they can just plug it into their computer's USB port and go." With a sleek, silver-colored magnesium casing, FireFly has a unique, striking appeal. Its rapid read and write speeds mean users can work on applications and data directly on the drive - there's no need to copy anything first to an internal drive. FireFly was first introduced with FireWire connectivity at last July's Macworld Conference and Expo in New York, where it was given a "Best of Show" award.
FireFly for USB is priced at $299.95 MSRP for the 5 GB capacity model, with plans underway for additional higher capacity models in the near future. The 5 GB model will be available in February through retailers and distributors, as well as through the company's Web site at:
SmartDisk Introduces New FireLite Portable FireWire Hard Drives SmartDisk Corporation has also announced a new line of FireWire hard drives that fit as conveniently in a hand as on the corner of a desk, yet still offer up to 40 Gigabytes (GB) of storage capacity. The new FireLite drives sport a unique, high tech look in a strong, durable, lightweight magnesium casing. SmartDisk is demonstrating FireLite drives in booth 1544, Moscone Convention Center, at Macworld Conference and Expo/San Francisco 2002 and in booth 13311E & F (South Hall), Las Vegas Convention Center at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 8-11. FireLite drives are designed for professionals and consumers who use data-intensive applications, create and manage very large files, transport data between multiple computers or need a robust external drive for system and data backup. They are ideal, for example, for transferring large files between home and office, for storing hours of superior quality video or warehousing huge graphics files. The drives are available in capacities of 20 GB, 30 GB and 40 GB, and have performance rates that easily allow users to access and use data directly on FireLite without first copying it to a personal computer. "The FireLite series is the second new line of lightweight portable hard drives we've introduced in the past six months," said Rod H. King, Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing for SmartDisk. "Like our FireFly drives, which are smaller in size and in storage capacity, the FireLite drives offer users outstanding performance, ease of use and a stylish housing. We're committed to ongoing innovative leadership in this growing market segment." Featuring a sleek, silver-colored magnesium casing, FireLite drives are just 3.25" (W) x 5.0" (D) x 0.75" (H) and weigh just over six (6) ounces. They are completely "plug and play" storage peripherals, requiring no driver installation when used with operating systems like Mac OS 9, Mac OS-X, Windows XP and Windows Me. The FireLite drives are also FireWire bus-powered, which means they are powered by the computer itself and don't require their own AC adapter. They can be 'daisy-chained' together to meet the most demanding storage requirements. Each drive ships with software for Macintosh users, including SmartDisk Tools 2.5 (for drive formatting and partitioning, password control, write protection and encryption), SmartDisk Hot Plug Events (for automating tasks upon initial drive plug-in) and a full copy of Connectix CopyAgent( (for data backup, recovery and synchronization).
Prices for the FireLite drives are $279.95 for the 20 GB model, $349.95 for the 30 GB model and $429.95 for the 40 GB model. All models will be available at the end of February through retailers and distributors, as well as through the company's Web site at:
SanDisk Introduces Cruzer Pocket-size Storage Device With Removable Flash Memory Cards SanDisk Corporation has introduced Cruzer, the world's first portable, pocket-size storage device with removable and upgradeable flash memory cards. The personal storage device, about three inches long, one and three-fourth inches wide and about three-quarters of an inch thick, can be slipped into a pocket or purse for easy transport of personal computer data files, image files, video and audio between homes, offices and other locations where one would like to take their personal files and information. The Cruzer will accommodate both SD cards and MultiMediaCards, two extremely compact size storage cards that have wide industry support. The SanDisk Cruzer was introduced at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) at the Las Vegas Convention Center where SanDisk is showing products in booth 11511. Wes Brewer, SanDisk's director of business development, said, "It is rare that a new storage product can be described as 'unique'. Cruzer is unique because it is the first pocket-size, personal data storage device that is fully compatible with both PCs and consumer electronic devices. Up to now, all small flash storage devices were either PC centric or consumer electronic centric and could not be upgraded by the user. Cruzer provides the connectivity to both the PC/notebook environment and the consumer electronic appliance and also has a unique, stylish, highly ergonomic design." He added that, "Cruzer fills a void in the portable storage market today that neither floppy disks nor memory cards can address. Floppy disks cannot be used in many electronic products because they are too large and lack adequate capacity. With memory cards, there are several different incompatible card formats and this prevents many of the cards from being used in various electronic systems. Cruzer helps to bridge those problems because it plugs into the industry-standard USB port that is built into desktop PCs, portable notebook computers and numerous other products, while its removable storage medium can also easily link the PC to a broad array of consumer electronics devices such as digital cameras, music players and PDAs that have an SD or MultiMediaCard slot." Eric Bone, retail product marketing manager, added, "The Cruzer is targeted at today's active, on-the-go lifestyle. Today, people want to conveniently carry some of their music to a friend's house to share the sounds. They want to take some new photos to a family gathering to show them to their relatives. And those in business surely would find it much more convenient to carry their electronic presentation in their pocket, rather than a laptop when they travel, and just plug the Cruzer into a USB port at their destination. The promise of the 'network everywhere' still has not occurred and the physical transfer of data is still highly practical with consumers. The Cruzer allows them to carry and move that personal data in a secure, reliable, solid-state device." "Cruzer is the ideal truly portable personal storage device," said J. Gerry Purdy, Ph.D., CEO of Mobile Insights in Mountain View, Calif. "With Cruzer, mobile professionals will have an upgradeable storage system that can operate on millions of PCs in the world. Cruzer benefits from the dramatic price reductions in flash memory in the past year, which bring the price of a 128 megabyte (MB) Cruzer to parity with the price of a 100MB Zip drive." Cruzers initially will be available in four capacities -- 32, 64, 128 and 256MB. Consumers could, for example, store 35 to 70 songs (depending on compression scheme used) on a 128MB Cruzer or at least 64 high-resolution images on a 64MB Cruzer. More than 40,000 pages of double-spaced text could be stored on a 32MB Cruzer. As higher capacity cards become available users will be able to upgrade their Cruzers to these higher capacities. Cruzer features Mass Storage Class (MSC) compliance, which allows for true "Plug-and-Play" operation when used with Windows 2000, Millennium Edition (ME) and XP. MSC is natively supported in Windows 2000, ME, XP, Apple OS 9.X and OS X which means consumers do not need to install an extra driver to use Cruzer. Cruzers also work with Microsoft Windows 98 and Macintosh computers with Mac OS 8.6 and USB support. Cruzer production units will include software passwords for enhanced protection of personal files. The Cruzer's advantages over floppy disks include higher capacities to store more files, data transfer speeds that are at least 10 times faster and a much more compact and robust design. It is expected that the Cruzer will be available early in the second quarter of 2002 in many of the 38,000 retail stores worldwide where SanDisk-branded products are sold. The device is expected to sell, depending on capacity, at prices ranging from $59.95 to $199.95. It is expected that the 128MB Cruzer will sell for $99.95.
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Medea VideoRaid RTR and VideoRaid RTRX disk arrays are designed to support digital content creation (DCC) applications, such as 2D/3D animation, compositing, special effects, game development and non-linear video editing. "Apple and companies, such as Digital Voodoo, Aurora Video Systems and Pinnacle, are empowering today's digital content creators by providing professional level non-linear editing tools at a fraction of the cost of traditional NLE systems," said Roger S. Mabon, vice president of channel marketing for Medea. "Medea is playing its part in this 'revolution' by supplying innovative and affordable DV, SD and HD compatible storage solutions for the Macintosh platform. For instance, our new VideoRaid RTR line of disk arrays offers Ultra160 SCSI connectivity and data redundancy at prices less than unprotected JBOD products." The RTR family of disk arrays features a high-performance Ultra160 SCSI interface that enables the desktop models to sustain a data transfer rate of up to 130 MB/second. The dual-channel, rack mountable VideoRaid RTRX sustains more than 200 MB/second -- more than enough performance to support 10-bit, 1080i HD capture and playback. In addition to offering industry-leading performance, Medea's RTR and RTRX disk arrays also provide RAID data protection. In the unlikely event of a disk drive failure, the systems will continue to operate with no loss of data and no degradation in data transfer rate. The ability to operate at full performance with a "downed drive" enables the user to complete work in real-time environments without requiring immediate drive replacement.
Additional common features of VideoRaid RTR and RTRX disk arrays include:
The 5-drive VideoRaid RTR is available in 160 GB, 240 GB and 300 GB capacities with list prices starting at $3,999. VideoRaid RTRX is available in 5- and 10-drive configurations with capacities of 160 GB, 240 GB, 300 GB, 320 GB, 480 GB and 600 GB. List prices on VideoRaid RTRX start at $4,599. VideoRaid RTR and VideoRaid RTRX are available now from Medea's authorized dealers and distributors. Call Medea toll-free at 888/BY-MEDEA for a list of these resellers.
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