Both shock and sea bath-proof (to depths of a modest one meter for 30 minutes at a time), the rubber-coated SH93 protects up to 640GB of files through your stupidest (or clumsiest) adventures. Still, the most handy feature might not have to do with its toughness: The drive's wrap-around USB cord means that, typhoon or mudslide, you won't be fumbling around for the wire. (Then again, your business-class laptop will be destroyed anyway.)

There's no pricing or availability information just yet. [A-DATA via OhGizmo!]

A-Data's XPG Plus Series DDR3-2200+ DRAM, aside from having a name chock full of acronyms, is the world's fastest of its kind, with a 2,200MHz clock speed (the previous record was 2,133MHz). The standard 1.65V modules are available in 2x1GB and 2x2GB configurations, both with A-Data's "Thermal Conductive Technology" cooling system and paint jobs that'll make you happy RAM stays locked up inside your computer. A-Data hasn't released price or release dates, but we'll update this post with them as soon as they do. [A-Data via iTechNews]

In the background you can see that the female has ripped the face off the male and stuck his lifeless corpse up on the fridge with a phony suicide note. Tragic I know—but it's nature and we mustn't interfere. Available in 2, 4 and 8GB capacities. [A-DATA]

Skepticism over new formats aside, the specs seem fairly impressive: initial transfer rate and storage will be around 480Mbit/sec and 8GB, respectively, with both improving over time. The expected maximum capacity? 2048GB. I can definitely get behind two terabytes in my pocket. (I'm also happy to see you.)

Twelve companies are already backing the new format:

A-Data Technology Inc., Asustek Computer Inc., BenQ Corp., Carry Computer Eng. Co., C-One Technology Corp., DBTel Inc., Power Digital Card Co. and RiChip Inc.

Of course, adoption by technical associations and corporations (and calling it a "global standard") doesn't necessarily mean consumers will also take up the new cards, but backwards compatibility with current standard ports, like USB, should help. What do you think? Do we really need yet another format taking up shelf space at Best Buy? – Matt Buchanan

Taiwan's miCard chosen as global memory card standard [Computerworld via /.]

–Travis Hudson

A DATA Pirates of the Caribbean Limited Edition Flash Drive and Memory Card [Fareastgizmos]

A-Data 12GB Mini Cube [via UberGizmo]

The Info SD is a big step forward for memory cards, but I think I know a better step. Here is my million dollar idea: find a way to add a mini-USB port onto the actual card. No need for card readers or any of that jazz, just plug the card directly into your computer. Anybody want to tackle this? I'll give you a cut of the profits. – Travis Hudson

A-DATA

Yeah, you could use a USB drive with some sort of software security feature, but it's probably only a matter of time until eastern European hackers crack that code. However, as this isn't Men in Black, you're already in possession of an excellent method of identifying yourself: your fingerprints. A-Data's FB1 USB drive scans your fingerprints on first use and identifies those fingerprints as the owner's. From then on, if you want to access the data on the drive, a simple fingerprint scan unlocks the drive. If, for some reason, your digits become unavailable, there's also a backup password system.

This fingerprint scanning USB drive is available in 256MB, 512MB, 1GB and 2GB sizes, with the largest drive retailing for $59.99. – Nicholas Deleon

Product Page [A-Data via The Inquirer]