LIVEdigitally

Not too long ago there was an AP story about Wal-Mart and RFID technology. With RFID technology Wal-Mart has found ways to keep stores stocked up in an efficient and productive manner. While that’s great for Wal-Mart it means nothing for smaller business’ because none of them can buy RFID chips and software in bulk packages the way Wal-Mart can. RFID can do a lot for a business (Wal-Mart has proven that), but right now only a mega-business can afford it.

Enter: Open Source RFID
A group RadioActive is the first and only open source platform for RFID applications. Currently in the design stages these applications will allow for RFID technology to reach its fullest
potential. “We have a philosophy that RFID technology..is going to be as big as the Internet where RFID tags are like URLs.

The consequences of an effective open source application for RFID
would be pretty interesting. Here are some things I would do for fun.

On a serious note, it would greatly increase the ability of regular people to have RFID technology (is this a security issue of any kind?). But more practically, open source RFID would help small business’. Now your local hardware store could use the same tech as Wal-Mart, and don’t they deserve the same technological advantages.

Plextor today announces 2 new DVD-ReWriter drives; the company’s first portable DVD recorder drive, the PX-608U and the internal PX-755A Premium drive. Reflecting the consumer trend for highly portable and stylish units, the PX-608U comes in an attractive silver design and is one of the slimmest and lightest drives on the market – now laptop users can choose Plextor. The Premium PX-755A comes with a comprehensive package of high-end features to give the professional user full recording control.

Plextor PX-608U

As well as extending Plextor’s optical product line of internal and external DVD writers, the PX-608U complements Plextor’s latest range of stylish, silver portable hard disk drives. The high performance PX-608U is not only compact, measuring just 22.2 mm thick, but it offers double layer DVD+/- writing, multi-format DVD-RAM capability and high-speed USB 2.0 data transfer. It is capable of the following DVD speeds: 4x DVD+/-R DL; 8x DVD+/-R; 8x DVD+RW; 6x DVD-RW and 5x DVD-RAM.

Plextor PX-755A

The PX-755A, which can burn a single layer disc in about 6 minutes (and DL in about 14 minutes), is capable of the following DVD speeds: 16x DVD+/-R write; 10x DVD+R DL; 6x DVD-R DL ; 8x DVD+RW; 6x DVD-RW; 16x DVD-ROM.

These drives are from the Plextor Europe web site, and the press release is from yesterday. I think that we will see these drives in the States after the holidays. At any rate, it gives us a glimpse into what we can expect from optical drives in the next year, before Blu-Ray and HD-DVD dominate the landscape. The 608U is a USB portable drive, suitable for notebook users looking to “upgrade” from a combo drive. It is notable for DVD-RAM support (which is unusual for a Plextor drive). The 755A is a filler drive, as the 18x 760A is having quality problems and is delayed. It does stand out for 10x DVD+R DL burning, which should speed up the burn times on these large capacity discs. Just when we all thought that optical drives had maxed out, it’s great to see some more innovation. I can’t wait to hear about what the manufacturers are going to do to top this!