LIVEdigitally

Advanced Media, Inc., manufacturer and marketer of the popular RIDATA brand of recordable CD and DVD media, electronic storage products, and digital media accessories, is adding an unbalanced Secure Digital memory card to its RIDATA line “Our unbalanced Secure Digital memory card is further indication that Advanced Media is dedicated to providing its customers the latest advancements in electronic storage media,” remarked Charlie Shiang, VP of Flash Products “This fast card enables users to store specific navigational or mapping information for use in a variety of mobile devices. It can also be used to hold trip details and highly detailed charts.”

The applications are unlimited, any type of digital content provider with the consideration of protecting the intellectual content while in need to be able to sell or populate the whole content will definitely benefit from the Unbalanced SD card, more examples include educational markets, remote learning education, automobile and defense industry ” added Shiang.

The uses for this product will be centered on two parts of SD memory formation: encrypted output control segment and accessible data segment. The data stored on the Encrypted output control segment is strictly prohibited for any kind of “check-in” (write data) or “check-out”(export data) activities with any other devices. Any form of the data movement is actually impossible.
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Advanced Media, Inc., manufacturer
and marketer of the popular RIDATA brand of recordable CD and DVD
media, electronic storage products, and digital media accessories, is
adding two photovoltaic solar powered battery chargers to its popular
RIDATA product line. Model SP 3900 charges cell phones and any
electronic device that has USB connectivity, such as Cell Phones, MP3
players, PDAs, GPS, hand-held games, radios, etc. Model SP 1300 charges
up to two AAA and AA batteries. Both will be on display in the Advanced
Media 2006 International CES booth, South Hall #35320.

“Solar power chargers may be the most important and most significant
addition to the electronic and battery accessories industries ever,”
said Harvey Liu, Advanced Media president. “They allow battery-operated
devices and batteries to be charged virtually anywhere in the world
without having to worry about a compatible electric outlet being handy.
Besides its convenience factor, solar power also is environment
friendly – clean, renewable – and absolutely free.”

Both RIDATA photovoltaic solar-powered chargers are lightweight,
durable, and waterproof. Each is as efficient as any current
conventional charger. The company believes individuals who are
concerned with energy costs as well as those who favor green energy
will be attracted to its solar chargers. Additionally, the SP 3900 will
find favor with travelers and campers, while the SP 1300’s attractive
design will also draw individuals to it.

The SP 3900 is a three-panel solar-powered charger with a 900mA power
bank. It will charge cell phones and any device with USB connectivity.
Typically, it will fully charge such items in direct sunlight in four
hours.

The SP 1300 charges AAA or AA batteries. It will fully charge two
AAA-size units in five hours in direct sunlight and two AAs in 10
hours.

One of the main pluses of solar power is the fact it is renewable. That
is, as long as it keeps shining, the sun will be an excellent source of
energy, and scientists believe that should be for at least another 4.5
billion years. It also produces no air pollution, little or no noise,
and requires no transportable fuels. Even on cloudy days, there is
still enough solar energy for these chargers to do their job, albeit
not as quickly.

For all those folks that need their batteries on the go, this will be a must have item. Any card carrying Greenpeace member will also want this in their bag of tricks. I hope this starts a trend of solar charging, as this will be convenient, and good for the environment.

The HWU8DD is designed to connect your desktop computer or laptop easily to any Wireless-B or Wireless-G network via a USB connection. Hawking’s award winning Hi-GainTM Antenna technology extends wireless connection distances by up to 300%. The HWU8DD is equipped with a new 8dBi Directional Dish antenna that provides more distance and better speeds than other wireless adapters on the market. The Hi-Gain Wireless-G Dish Adapter is the only wireless adapter to integrate the distance benefits of wireless Dish Technology with WiFi networking. The built-in LED signal strength indicators provide network signal information to pinpoint the strongest signal available within your area.

Read the original press release.

Wisair is determined to take USB cables off of the personal computer. The company has taken another step in the Ultra Wideband (UWB) industry with the release of a Wireless Universal Serial Bus (WUSB) reference design.

The new reference design includes a WUSB PC dongle and a WUSB hub, providing consumer electronics and peripheral manufacturers with the means to offer customers wireless connectivity to existing USB-enabled devices.

Printers, scanners, remote hard disk drives, digital cameras and mobile phones are able to plug directly into the WUSB Hub and receive wireless connectivity to a PC. The WUSB Hub replaces any wireline USB connection with a wireless connection.

We had heard that wireless was the direction for the 3rd generation of USB products, but this is the first actual product I’ve seen. Between the omnipresent WiFi, and the sexy Bluetooth products, Wireless USB may be a little late to this wireless party. On the other hand, most of the Bluetooth gear is expensive, and most computers do not ship with a Bluetooth transmitter built in. If the USB folks could integrate their transmitter into their existing USB chips, and the new computers shipped with it built in, they may leap frog Bluetooth in this game. In the meantime, I look forward to not having so many cables around my desk!

See here, here, and here for more info.

Advanced Media, Inc., manufacturer and marketer of the popular RIDATA brand of recordable CD and DVD media, electronic storage products, and digital media accessories, is adding yet another advanced product to its lineup of electronic storage media. Its new high-speed RIDATA Laser Pointer USB Drive features a USB 2.0 flash drive with a laser pointer. It is set to be shown at the upcoming 2006 International CES show.

“Our new, easy to use RIDATA thumb-sized portable USB flash drive with laser pointer enables users to securely exchange huge amounts of data between computers or notebooks with a USB port,” stated Harvey Liu, Advanced Media president. “Its plug-and-play simplicity makes connecting to any computer a snap, allowing access virtually anytime, anywhere. No power supply or external cables are required.”

The versatile USB drive also features four new useful functions:

Auto Login: This is a convenient application that automatically enters IDs and passwords from a database created on the USB Drive to Web sites. With Auto Login, users can carry all IDs and Passwords on the USB Drive.

Bookmarks: This feature saves the user’s own Web bookmarks to the device, allowing easy access to them from whatever computer that is connected to the device.

FLASH Mail: A small Email software program, that allows users to access email from the USB Drive.

Secret ZIP: Creates a Secret folder and a Zip folder. This allows users to zip a file by simply dragging the file to the ZIP folder, or a encrypted Zip file by dragging into Secret Folder.

With high storage capacity and blazing fast speeds, the handy RIDATA USB Flash Drive with laser pointer is an ideal choice to replace floppy disks, ZIP disks, and hard disks. This high-speed USB flash drive performs data transfer at a rate up to 19MB/s for read and14MB/s for write in dual-channel mode, and up to 10MB/s for read and 7MB/s for write in single-channel mode.

It supports multiple operating systems: Windows® ME, Windows® 2000, Windows® XP, Mac TM 9.x or later, Linux TM Kernel 2.4 or later (no driver needed); Windows® 98 and Windows® 98SE (driver enclosed). It also comes with a security lock (Safety Zone); is shock proof; and has power-saver functionality. An advanced software package is included.

The class II laser pointer has an average wavelength of 650nm, and will make a 0.4-inch spot from approximately 11 feet. It meets TUV, FDA, and ROSH requirements.

The RIDATA Laser Pointer USB Drve is available in 128MB, 256MB, 512MB , and1GB capacity sizes. It has an MSRP of $69.99 based on 512MB capacity.

This sounds like a great idea for a combo item. I always carry a USB flash drive, having a laser pointer handy would be a plus. I’m also intrigued by the email and bookmark utilities included on the device as I see these flash drives making it easier for users to take their settings between computers. We’ll work on getting on of these in the lab for a full once over!

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today announced that it has solidified its leadership position in the server memory market with a new 8GB product offering. Following the introduction of its
8GB Registered Dual In-line Memory Module (R-DIMM) in October, Samsung has now increased the density of its Fully Buffered Dual In-line Memory Module product line-up (FB-DIMM) to include 8GBs by adopting 80 nanometer 2Gb DDR for high-speed servers. This represents a significant leap forward in advanced server memory architecture.

OEMs that use Samsung’s high-density memory can increase the amount of installed memory and keep slots in reserve for future upgrades. Samsung memory such as the new 8GB FB-DIMM is ideal for space-constrained applications in blade and 1U servers.

The FB-DIMM architecture overcomes the previous limitation of two-to-four module capacity per channel.
A FB-DIMM system’s DRAM module content can be increased to as many as eight modules without reducing the speed. The new system can also process an increased amount of data at the same time with the advanced memory buffer (AMB) chip connecting each module in the system point to point. As a result, the server market demand for high density DRAMs is expected to increase significantly.

With Samsung’s high-density memory modules, designers can take full advantage of increased memory support in the latest server operating system to maximize performance. In addition, Samsung is offering next-generation memory solutions such as the 8GB FB-DIMM to allow servers to benefit from ultimate memory density and bandwidth.

Samsung’s complete product portfolio includes all variations of DRAM memory from DDR to DDR2, and R-DIMMs to FB-DIMMs with densities ranging from 512MB all the way to 8GBs.

For those of us with an insatiable appetite for memory, this may fulfill it for a while.

From Akihabara.

The Japanese company Seiko will release a limited edition of 500 units of their Spectrum SVRD001, the first watch in the world that uses flexible e-paper or Electrophoretic Display (EPD). The design of the watch is similar to a bracelet and the body is made of stainless steel and a black & white e-paper. The price of one of these 500 units is an extremely affordable 1900 EUR. It will weigh 134g and will be 37mm thick. It will be available worldwide in January 2006.

This may be one of the first products to come to paper that uses the e-ink technology. E-ink promises to have a high contrast surface, with a minimal power consumption. It uses electrostatically charged balls as the basis for its display.

From Popular Technology and Akihabra News.

Advanced Media, Inc., manufacturer and marketer of the popular RIDATA brand of recordable CD and DVD media, electronic storage products, and digital media accessories, is set to introduce a USB-powered digital video broadcasting-terrestrial (DVB-T) tuner. The unit allows over-the-air or broadcast digital television signals to be received by and shown on PCs, laptops, or other mobile devices such as PDAs. It will be introduced at 2006 International CES. The DVB-T standard is applicable in Europe, Taiwan, and Australia.

The company expects to have available a similar device for the American ATSC standard when ATSC-compliant Transport Streams to be transmitted via terrestrial broadcast include the necessary embedded digital compression components in the Program and System Information Protocol is available.

“Until recently, it was not possible to enjoy over-the-air digital television programming on anything other than a television set,” stated Harvey Liu, Advanced Media president. “Our USB DVB-T tuner now makes it
possible in an easy, one-step, plug-and-play device. That means anyone with a PC or laptop, among other devices, will have instant access to their favorite digital programming as well as be able to record it without needing a television.”

Its compact, easy-to-transport size (it resembles a RIDATA EZ Drive portable storage device) assures users will be able to take and use it virtually anywhere. All it takes is a simple connection to a compatible unit’s USB port.

Too bad the rest of the world will have this before us in the States. I can’t wait to have something simple like this that can tune in TV on my notebook.

It looks like Apple’s not the only game in town anymore if you’re interested in monstrous flat-panel monitors. Engadget reports that Dell’s adding a 30-inch beast to its stable, set to be released on the streets around December 21. If the pricing scheme is similar to that of its 24-inch models, look for something a few hundred smacks less than the Apple cinema display. I must confess, however, that I love me some brushed metal exterior. Drool-worthy, either way.

Mmmmm. Huge display.

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!

Nokia has added Wi-Fi 802.11g support to its 9300 smart phone.

The new device will ship as the 9300i. Like its predecessor, it’s a tri-band (900/1800/1900MHz) GSM/GPRS handset with support for EDGE data-transfer acceleration technology. It also sports the 9300’s 640 x 200, 65,536-colour display, and incorporates 80MB of RAM, expandable to 2GB using the MMC slot. It runs Nokia’s Series 80 UI on top of Symbian 7.0S.

The 9300i has Bluetooth on board, along with infra-red and USB. There’s a built-in speakerphone capable of connecting up to five parties simultaneously.

Now that every phone comes with a camera, what else is there to add to a phone that already sports a USB, infrared, and triband connections, as well as a MMC slot? Well WiFi, of course. We’ll have to wait to see the details to see what the WiFi actually adds. Surfing the net on a teeny screen- probably. Making an internet phone call wirelessly- I doubt it. I can picture the web page of hacks already to enable such money saving functionality. WiFi is the wave of the future for telephony, but it will take a while for the greedy telecoms to get on board.
From Popular Technology.
See the original press release here.

All the latest buzz in storage has been in the Blu-Ray vs. HD-DVD standard. With storage capacities of 25 GB to 50 GB, this is clearly going to be needed for the latest high definition programming. What could be better? In a word, holograms!

With storage capacities starting at 300 GB, and scaling up to 1.6 TB (that’s 1600 gigabytes), this has the potential to swallow data like a hungry shark. Thoroughput starts at 20 mb/s, and is predicted to scale to 120 mb/s.

“Holographic recording technology utilizes intersecting signal and reference laser beams to store data in a number of 3D hologram images capable of saving hundreds of data pages in a single location. One 5¼ inch-diameter optical disc can store up to 150 million pages - more than 63 times the capacity of DVD. Also, with holographic recording, a multiple of form factors, such as discs, cards, etc., and laser wavelengths (red, green, and blue) can be used.”

Once again, I will be able to back up my hard drive on one disk. I can’t wait!

Read the entire press release here.