We don't have details as to exactly how much these drives will cost or when we'll be seeing them in our computers, but we do know that they're shipping to Seagate's OEM and integrator partners at the very beginning of 2010. If the Momentus Thin lives up to all its claims, then its 160GB and 250GB capacities should be a rather attractive option for netbooks. Definitely something to keep an eye on next year.

SEAGATE UNVEILS WORLD'S THINNEST 2.5-INCH HARD DRIVE FOR SLIM LAPTOP COMPUTERS

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. - December 14, 2009 - Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) today announced the Momentus® Thin drive, the world's thinnest 2.5-inch hard disk drive for ultra-portable and entry-level laptops, high-end netbooks, backup devices and consumer electronics. At a wafer-thin 7mm in height – 25 percent slimmer than traditional 9.5mm 2.5-inch laptop hard drives – the Momentus Thin drive gives original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and system integrators significantly lower cost-per-gigabyte storage than solid state and 1.8-inch drives, enabling a new breed of entry-level thin laptops.

Of all netbook computers available today, 90 percent feature 9.5mm 2.5-inch laptop drives because solid state and 1.8-inch hard drives are largely cost-prohibitive for this market. The Momentus Thin drive provides the lowest-cost storage for netbooks and thin laptops, enabling computer makers to offer systems that reach a broader market.

"The Momentus® Thin drive promises to help computer makers differentiate on mobile-computing form factor and better compete in the fast-growing markets for thin laptop PCs and netbooks," said Dave Mosley, executive vice president of Sales, Marketing and Product Line Management at Seagate. "Seagate is committed to helping its OEM and system integrator partners meet market demand for thinner laptop PCs and plans to expand storage capabilities for thin laptops as demand for these slimmer models continues to grow."

The Momentus Thin drive rivals traditional 2.5-inch laptop drives in performance and power-efficiency, enabling thin-chassis designs in all segments of notebook computing and allowing OEMs both to design in greater value on high-end netbooks for easier upselling and to create a wider value differentiation between consumer and commercial laptop PCs. The Momentus Thin drive features two capacity points – 250GB and 160GB – an 8MB cache, a Serial ATA 3Gb/second interface and a 5400RPM spin speed. The drive is scheduled to ship to Seagate's OEM and integrator partners in January 2010.

The Seagate® Momentus® family now helps laptop makers give home and business users a sweeping upgrade path – from netbooks, often purchased as introductory, low-cost laptop PCs strictly for emailing and Internet surfing, to notebooks offering mainstream business and consumer applications, to feature-rich, high-performance laptops, all in standard-size and the increasingly popular thin models. Seagate Momentus 5400RPM and 7200RPM hard drives in the traditional 9.5mm height combine the industry's broadest feature set – including self-encryption, FIPS 140-2 certification and free-fall sensors – with up to 640GB of capacity, fast 3Gb/second Serial ATA interface speeds, cache sizes as large as 16MB, and among the highest hard drive shock-tolerance, acoustics and reliability specifications for entry-level, mainstream and high-performance laptops.

[Seagate]

Intel's got a lengthy spiel about how performance has been improved, albeit slightly, by the new fabrication process (they claim a 25% decrease in latency and slightly higher read/write performance), but the core of this upgrade, and the main benefit of switching to 34nm, is a lower price.

Looking again to Intel's claims, there's been a 60% decrease in price for the 80GB and 160GB models compared to original launch prices, which is strictly speaking correct. Thing is, neither of the drives have sold for anything near their initial prices for some time now, so although the new versions, priced at around $225 for the 80GB and $440 for the 160GB, will be more affordable than their predecessors, they won't be budget drives by any means.

It's been a year, so a capacity hike would've been nice. Without that, this feels like a transitional product—a necessary manifestation of solid-state storage's slow crawl toward affordability, if not something many people will be ready to buy. Accordingly, I expect the second generation of 34nm drives to be awesome, so please, be awesome. [Intel]

Register Hardwaresays that The Hard Rectangular Drive (HRD), developed by DataSlide, is roughly 4x faster than current HDDs, and uses the same process to manufacture CPUs for the data heads. Piezoelectric actuators are used to scan the data heads and access specific parts of the magnetically-encoded platter. At any one time, 64 data heads are able to simultaneously transfer data. It also only uses 4W of power, which makes it half as power thirsty as a SSD.

The current technology consists of a single platter in a 3.5-inch drive, though it will be possible to stack platters in the future. [Register Hardwarevia Fast Company]

The price isn't super-low, but these drives, which start at $85 for the 250GB model and top out with the 500GB, $135 dollar model, are decidedly accessible. They're all (in most cases) powered from a single USB port, and come with a decent suite of EMC backup software.

They're available in four colors (red, silver, blue and black) starting today. Press release below.

SAN DIEGO, May 18, 2009 – Iomega, an EMC company (NYSE: EMC) and a global leader in data protection, today announced the worldwide availability of a new generation of the exciting Iomega® eGo™ Portable Hard Drive, featuring new look USB 2.0-powered models with superior ruggedness and the broadest suite of bundled data protection software in the industry, and all backed with a three-year limited warranty. Available in four different colors and up to 500GB* in capacity, the new Iomega eGo Portable Hard Drive is the ultimate embodiment of style and function in portable drives today.

"The new Iomega eGo Portable Hard Drives are the perfect companions for home users and professionals that want to take their files anywhere with the assurance of a superior rugged portable drive that has style to spare and a compact form with flair," said Jonathan Huberman, President of Iomega and the Consumer and Small Business Products Division of EMC. "After two very successful years with the previous model, the new eGo drive sports a compact, sleek new aluminum enclosure in eye-catching colors and comes complete with a suite of backup and anti-virus software to protect your data and your laptop, netbook or personal computer. Top it all off with the best drop spec in the industry and the new eGo drive is the portable hard drive this summer for dads and grads and everyone else."

A key element of the Iomega Protection Suite is McAfee® VirusScan Plus, the market-leading anti-virus, anti-spyware software.

"In today's world of increasing attacks on consumers' data by the bad guys, it's as important to protect your external hard drive data as it is to protect your PC's local data," said Todd Gebhart, President, Consumer Products, McAfee, Inc. "Iomega is the first to recognize this fact and we're pleased to be partnering with them in this fight."

Cool Hardware with Superior Functionality

The new USB 2.0-powered eGo Portable Hard Drive comes in variety of colors and capacities: the bright Ruby Red model is available in 250GB, 320GB and 500GB capacities; the sparkling Silver model comes in 320GB; and the deep Midnight Blue model is available in 320GB. (Color and capacity combinations vary in international markets.)

Inside an anodized aluminum shell little more than a half-inch thick (16 mm) and weighing less than 7 ounces (200 grams) is a state-of-the-art 2.5-inch portable hard drive. Iomega's Drop Guard™ feature protects data on the new eGo drive from drops of up to 51 inches, or 40% above the industry average! The new 500GB Iomega® eGo™ BlackBelt Portable Hard Drive USB 2.0, available in June, comes complete with a black eGo Power Grip Belt and Iomega's Drop Guard™ Xtreme, which provides unparalleled protection for the drive from drops of up to 7 feet (2.1 mm) – over twice the industry average!

All of the new USB 2.0 eGo Portable Hard Drives receive power from a laptop or computer's USB port so there's no power supply to carry around. And unlike other portable hard drives, the new USB 2.0 eGo Portable Hard Drives ship with a "Y" cable which gives users the flexibility to use two USB ports to power the drive, if needed. And with up to 500GB of capacity, the new eGo drive can store up to 2,000,000 photos, over 9,250 hours of music or 750 hours of video**.

Most Powerful Software Package Bundle with a Portable Hard Drive Today

Bundled free of charge with the new USB-powered eGo Portable Hard Drives is the new Iomega Protection Suite, a one-stop portfolio of backup and anti-virus software giving users added protection for their photos, videos, music and other files.

The Iomega Protection Suite includes:

* McAfee® VirusScan Plus: a free six-month subscription to this market-leading software that protects your PC with anti-virus, anti-spyware, 2-way firewall, and web security protection (PC only).
* Iomega QuikProtect: backup software for simple scheduled file-level backup of data to hard drives and network-attached storage devices (for Windows and Macintosh desktops and notebooks).
* EMC® Retrospect® Express or Express HD: backup all of your data plus applications and settings (for Windows and Macintosh desktops and notebooks).
* MozyHome™ Online Backup: Convenient online backup service with 2GB of online capacity for free (unlimited online storage for $4.95/month). MozyHome Online service allows you to restore your most important data from any computer with internet access, at any location in the world.

All of the software elements in the Iomega Protection Suite are accessible via easy download to new eGo Portable Hard Drive owners.

Compatibility

The new Iomega® eGo Portable Hard Drive USB 2.0 models are compatible with Microsoft® Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP, and Windows Vista™, and Mac OS X 10.4 or above. MozyHome software is available for Windows XP and Windows Vista, along with Mac OS X 10.4 and above. EMC Retrospect software is available for both Windows and Mac OS X operating systems.

New eGo Portable Hard Drive Accessories

Available for purchase at www.iomega.com are two new accessories for the new USB-powered eGo Portable Hard Drive: a durable black carry case, and the Iomega Power Grip Belt (like the one on the eGo BlackBelt Drive), available in black and translucent colors.

Pricing, Availability and Warranty

The Iomega® eGo™ Portable Hard Drive USB 2.0 family of drives are available today, except for the new Iomega® BlackBelt Portable Hard Drive 500GB USB 2.0, which will be available in June. The 250GB Ruby Red eGo model is priced at $84.99; the 320GB Ruby Red, Midnight Blue and Silver eGo models are $94.99; the 500GB Ruby Red is $134.99; and the 500GB BlackBelt eGo model is $139.99. (All pricing is U.S. suggested retail.) All of the new USB-powered eGo models include a 3-year limited warranty, and are available from online retailers, VARs, resellers and select retailers, as well as at www.iomega.com.

In June, Iomega will announce additional new eGo Portable Hard Drive models with multiple interface combinations.

The new 8TB model is available as of this week for $1,700, which is a lot of money for a networked storage device until you do the math: 12 cents per GB. That ain't too shabby.

The ShareSpace is DLNA Certified for media streaming to devices like the Xbox 360 and PS3, and features improved read/write speeds of up to 30% for large media files. Current ShareSpace owners can download a firmware patch to get these improvements for themselves.

It's pricey, yes, but if you get this thing configured as a RAID array and load it up with all of your music and video, it'd be the ultimate centralized streaming storage box for your home. I want one. [Western Digital]

[LiveLeak via The Daily What]

Yup, that glowing mess was once a hard drive.

Thermite's a blend of iron oxide and aluminum, and when it goes off it's pretty crazy, reaching iron-melting temperatures in seconds, and spitting gobbets of metal everywhere. So don't try this at home. Really. 'Cause it might not stop reacting at the bottom of your PC case, and molten metal dropping through your floor is just bloody dangerous. [Hackaday]

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif. — September 15, 2008 — Seagate (NYSE: STX), the world leader in storage solutions, today announced the Fall 2008 lineup of the company’s award-winning FreeAgent™ external hard drives. This new generation of the Seagate® FreeAgent™ family includes attractive desktop and mobile options, for both Mac® and Windows® operated PCs that make it a breeze to back up, share and protect valuable digital content like photos, videos and music.

Seagate’s flagship offering, the FreeAgent Go portable storage solution, is the slimmest external drive available today. At a height of only 12.5mm, the new FreeAgent Go easily fits in a pocket while still including all the advanced shock and vibration protection people have come to expect from Seagate. Another industry first, the new FreeAgent Go is the first external hard drive to offer a docking option, providing a practical way to move from the desk to the road, while leaving the hassle of fumbling with cables and locating USB ports to the history books. With up to 500GB of capacity, the FreeAgent Go bridges the gap between standard portable solutions and desktop solutions with enough storage to carry entire libraries of movies, pictures and music. No longer does one need to sacrifice capacity for portability, Seagate FreeAgent Go provides the benefits and convenience of both in a truly seamless on-the-go package.

“With the amount of content being created and consumed today, the average broadband household will soon need close to a terabyte of storage to account for their personal media collections on PCs, portable devices, and DVRs,” said Jane Shields, research analyst, Parks Associates. “With Seagate’s coupling of high-capacity, reliable and easy-to-use solutions with attractive designs, the company is helping more people enjoy the benefits that come with backup and sharing of their digital media collections.”

“The growth of the 2.5-inch form factor external hard disk drive market has been very strong – almost doubling in 2Q08 compared with 2Q07,” said Wolfgang Schlichting, research director, Removable Storage at IDC. “This growth is much higher than the overall market and driven by the products’ convenient size and connectivity, as well as their large storage capacity and affordability.”

The FreeAgent Go desktop docking station is sold separately and comes paired with a black leatherette carrying case to add style while protecting the drive from the bumps and scratches encountered while traveling in hand bags and during other on-the-road adventures. The FreeAgent Go is now available in a variety of popular colors, including silver, black, red, and blue. The drive also ships with a flexible, thin USB 2.0 travel cable.

The FreeAgent Desk drive and FreeAgent XTreme™ drive are the family’s two 3.5-inch high-capacity desktop offerings, and provide up to 1.5 Terabytes of storage. The sleek and modern design of these drives provides the flexibility to sit horizontally or stand vertically to maximize your workspace. The FreeAgent Desk drive is a brushed aluminum high-capacity solution with a USB 2.0 interface. The FreeAgent XTreme drive is a black, brushed aluminum high-capacity storage solution with a triple interface of eSATA, USB 2.0 and FireWire 400.

“The first FreeAgent storage solution offering introduced in 2007 unquestionably made a mark for Seagate in the consumer space, demonstrating that hard drives can be designed to provide a stylish complement to a computing environment,” said Pat King, senior vice president of Seagate’s Consumer Solutions Division. This second-generation of FreeAgent storage solutions takes the extra step of providing easy-to-use technology in a consumer-friendly package.”

Seagate FreeAgent drives are compatible with Windows® Vista® and Windows® XP® Operating Systems and come equipped with Seagate Manager™ software, an enhanced application that provides scheduled automated back-ups and multi-computer synchronization. The FreeAgent drives for Windows also offer security in the form of software-based AES-256bit encryption and Seagate DrivePass™ password protection for drive access to help keep your information safe and private. The environmentally smart utilities help save energy by putting the drive in sleep mode once it has been idle for 15 minutes. Seagate FreeAgent hard drives include Energy Star 5 rated AC adapters and are now packaged in 100% recyclable materials. And with Seagate’s industry-leading five-year limited warranty, the FreeAgent storage solutions provide the confidence that your digitally-captured memories and life’s work is on a hard drive you can trust.

As part of this product introduction, Seagate will also unveil external storage solutions designed specifically for the Mac community. The Mac community has spoken and Seagate is listening. The FreeAgent Go for Mac and FreeAgent Desk for Mac are both formatted for use with Mac OS X out of the box and are Time Machine ready with FireWire800/400 or USB 2.0 connectivity. Seagate understands that Mac customers have specific needs and performance requirements and these demands are being met with the FreeAgent external hard drive for Mac offering.

FreeAgent™ | Go Drive for Mac
With a FireWire 800/400 interface, docking station and carrying case the Seagate FreeAgent Go drive for Mac is equipped to move seamlessly between the desktop and road. Formatted for use with Mac OS X and Time Machine ready, the FreeAgent Go for Mac is the perfect back up companion for any Apple® computer. Seagate FreeAgent Go for Mac is available this month for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $159.99 USD for 250GB and $189.99 USD for 320GB.

FreeAgent™ | Desk Drive for Mac
The high-capacity FreeAgent Desk drive for Mac features a brushed aluminum arctic silver finish that is a perfect match for the current iMac Desktop. With a FireWire 800/400 connection and tuned to be Time Machine ready, the FreeAgent Desk for Mac is available this month for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $169.99 USD for 500GB, $269.99 USD for 1TB and $349.99 USD for 1.5TB (available in October).

FreeAgent™ | Go Drive
A pocket-sized storage drive that packs a punch, the Seagate FreeAgent Go drive is slim, compact and shipping in four color options available as of this month in the US, Europe and Asia Pacific for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $119.99 USD for 250GB, $149.99 USD for 320GB and $239.99 for 500GB.

FreeAgent™ | Dock and Case
Protection for those on the go and a docking station for convenient and quick access to your files, these accessories for the FreeAgent Go drive are sold separately. The dock and case will be available in the US, Europe and Asia Pacific for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $29.99 USD.

FreeAgent™ | Desk Drive
This convenient desktop storage solution, Seagate FreeAgent Desk drive, is the perfect desktop companion for basic back up and security for all your digital files. This high-capacity USB 2.0 interfaced drive provides enough room to hold libraries of images, music and video. The FreeAgent Desk drive is available as of this month in the US, Europe and Asia Pacific, for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $129.99 USD for 500GB, $149.99 USD for 640GB, $229.99 USD for 1TB and $279.99 USD for 1.5TB (available in October).

FreeAgent™ | XTreme™ Drive
Designed for performance, especially for those who work with high-definition video and graphic files, the Seagate FreeAgent XTreme drive is the perfect fit. The FreeAgent XTreme delivers a 3GB per second transfer rate with the eSATA connection. This drive also includes FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 connection options. The FreeAgent XTreme is available worldwide for a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $159.99 USD for 500GB, $179.99 USD for 640GB, $259.99 USD for 1TB and $299.99 USD for 1.5TB (available in October).

[Seagate]

Jul 15, 2008 21:57

Toshiba Launches 400GB 2.5-Inch HDD Introduces New Line-up Of 7,200rpm Drives

-400GB Drive Cuts Acoustic Noise During Data Seek By 2dB(1) For near Silent Operation-
TOKYO —(Business Wire)— Jul. 15, 2008 Toshiba Corporation (TOKYO:6502) today announced a new line-up of high performance 2.5-inch HDDs, including a low-noise flagship model that boosts areal density to 477Mbit/mm2 (308Gbpsi) to achieve a capacity of 400GB on just two platters, plus five drives that bring new levels of performance and 7,200rpm rotational speeds to the company's full range of storage capacities.

Mass production of the 400GB MK4058GSX will start from September, targeting notebook PC and consumer electronic applications. Mass production of the 7,200rpm drives will start in August. The line-up includes the 320GB MK3254GSY and models with 80, 120, 160 and 250GB capacities.

Toshiba will feature the new drives at DISKCON JAPAN 2008, organized by The International Disk Drive Equipment and Materials Association (IDEMA), which will be held in Tokyo, Japan, from July 22 to 23, and at IFA 2008, one of the world's largest consumer electronics trade fairs, which will be held in Berlin, Germany, from August 29 to September 3.

The MK4058GSX uses an improved read-write head and enhanced magnetic layer to boost areal density to 477Mbit/mm2 and achieve a capacity of 400GB on only two platters, the highest data density of any of Toshiba's 2.5-inch HDD. A further plus is that acoustic noise during data seek has been reduced by 2 decibels (dB), compared to the company's current top-of-the-line 320GB MK3252GSX, making operation almost inaudible. As a result, the new 400GB drive is ideally suited for noise-free playback of movies and music on notebook PCs and digital products. These advances are complemented by an improved energy consumption efficiency(2) that makes the MK4058GSX approximately 20% more efficient than Toshiba's current top-of-the-line MK3252GSX.

The five other drives that Toshiba has added to its line-up take full advantage of a 7,200rpm rotation speed to boost performance. Compared to the current 200GB model (MK2049GSY), the 320GB MK3254GSY improves maximum internal data transfers rate by approximately 14% to support high-speed processing of high volume data, meeting demand for notebook and desktop PCs offering faster performance. The 320GB drives is also 37% more efficient than the MK2049GSY in terms of energy consumption efficiency(2). All of the drives, available in a line-up of 80, 120, 160, 250 and 320GB capacities, support an optional Free Fall Sensor function, that detects a falling HDD and parks the head before impact.

All the new drives comply with the European Union's RoHS directive(3) for eliminating use of six hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment, and the MK4058GSX is Toshiba's first halogen-free(4) 2.5-inch HDD.

Toshiba Group, a Corporate Citizen of the Planet Earth, is committed to realizing a better environment. Guided by "Toshiba Group Environmental Vision 2050" the Group is implementing measures to boost environmental efficiency by 10 times in FY2050, against the benchmark of FY2000. The core target is to reduce projected CO2 emissions by a total equivalent to 117.7 million tons a year by FY2025, through the development and sales of highly efficient power supply equipment and systems, and the manufacture of environmentally conscious home appliances and office equipment. By working to mitigate global warming, make efficient use of resources and control management of chemicals, Toshiba Group creates value for people and promotes lifestyles in harmony with the Earth.

Background

2.5-inch hard disk drives are now found in many and diverse applications, from desktop and mobile PCs to other digital consumer products. The market has a voracious appetite for larger data capacities, as more powerful networks and applications bring audio-visual capabilities to more products. Toshiba will sustain the industry's ability to meet customer needs by providing cutting-edge technologies that add to areal density, operating speed and overall drive performance.

Key Features of New Products

MK4058GSX

1. Achieving areal density of 477Mbit/mm2 (308Gbspi).

MK4058GSX achieves an areal density of 477Mbit/mm2, by the result of improving the read-write head and of an enhanced magnetic layer. With the same two platter design as Toshiba's current 320GB design, the new model offers a 400GB capacity, the largest yet achieved, while retaining the 9.5mm thickness of its predecessor.

2. 2dB acoustic noise reduction in data seek.

Toshiba has directed its latest advances in HDD technology to reduce noise by 2dB, suppressing it to a level where users can playback movies and music without any noise distraction during data seek.

3. Improved energy consumption efficiency.

Compared to the 320GB MK3252GSX, the new MK4058GSX improves energy consumption efficiency, as defined under the Japanese legal standard, to 0.0015W/GB, a 20% improvement.

4. Environmentally conscious products

(1) Halogen Free Product

The MK4058GSX is Toshiba's first 2.5-inch HDD that achieve chlorine and bromine concentrations below the standard required for recognition as a Toshiba environmentally conscious products, an ECP (below 900ppm for each, and an overall total below 1,500ppm).

(2) Lower CO2 emissions during the product lifecycle

During their lifecycle, the new drives will lower CO2 emissions by approximately 95g a year(5).

(3) RoHS compatible

The new drive complies with the European Union's RoHS directive for eliminating use of six hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.

(4) MK4058GSX meets standards for certification as a standout Toshiba ECP

Toshiba is promoting an "Excellent ECP" program to stimulate creation of high value products offering exceptional environmental friendliness. For more information, visit http://www.toshiba.co.jp/env/en/products/index.htm

MK3254GSY and other 7,200rpm drives

1. Expanding the 7,200rpm line-up to a storage capacity of 320GB.

An improved read-write head and enhanced magnetic layer combine with a rotation speed of 7,200rpm to realize a maximum storage capacity of 320GB. Toshiba's 7,200rpm HDD offer a wide line-up of capacities: 80, 120, 160, 250 and 320GB.

2. Improved energy consumption efficiency

Compared to the 200GB MK2049GSY, the new MK3254GSY improves energy consumption efficiency, as defined under the Japanese legal standard, to 0.0028W/GB, a 37% improvement.

3. Free Fall Sensor function integrated (option).

The new 7,200rpm drive support an optional Free Fall Sensor function, which detects a falling HDD and parks the head before it crashes.

4. Environmentally conscious products

(1) RoHS compatible

The new drives comply with the European Union's RoHS directive for eliminating use of six hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.

(2) The new 7,200rpm drives meet standards for certification as a standout Toshiba ECPs

Toshiba is promoting an "Excellent ECP" program to stimulate creation of high value products offering exceptional environmental friendliness. For more information, visit http://www.toshiba.co.jp/env/en/products/index.htm

*1 Comparison based on Toshiba's current 2.5-inch HDD (MK3252GSX).

*2 Energy consumption efficiency is calculated based power consumption divided by formatted capacity, as defined by Japanese law.

*3 The RoHS Directive, which came into effect in July 2006, is a European Union directive that eliminates the use of six hazardous substances in electrical and electronic equipment.

*4 Chlorine and bromine reductions are targeted, and concentrations are controlled to a level below the standard required for recognition as a Toshiba environmentally conscious products, an ECP (below 900ppm for each, with an overall total below 1,500ppm).

*5 Comparison based on MK6015MAP (Year 2000 model). Based on Toshiba's evaluation method of LCA (Life Cycle Assesment).

The Price: $200

The Verdict: This thing kinda sucks. I was hoping the ScreenPlay would be able to replace my current setup of streaming media over an Xbox 360. The 360 works most of the time, but sometimes it gets hung up buffering large files, and I don't have an external HDD the size of the ScreenPlay to plug into it. If this one could play all the codecs of the Xbox while looking halfway decent and not lagging, I'd convert in a heartbeat.

The first problem came when I tried to load files from my Mac. The drive is formatted in NTFS, rendering it incompatible with OS X. Worried I'd lose the ScreenPlay's UI if I formatted the drive, I got some files from my roommate's PC first. (Later, I formatted the drive to FAT, and everything loaded fine from both computers.) The AVIs transferred quickly, and I hooked it up to the TV via HDMI.

The UI is just a basic file manager, nothing special or sexy about it. One thing I found particularly annoying is that the button in the center of the D-Pad is "Play" and not "OK," so pressing play on a folder went straight to the first file. It took me about five times of hitting it to figure it out. However, I did like that the ScreenPlay accepted multiple levels of folders, something I haven't been able to figure out for my Mac files on the Xbox.

Picture quality on the ScreenPlay wasn't very good. It claims to upscale content, but my low-qual Flight of the Conchords videos looked like junk, and higher-res BSG episodes looked the same as they do on Xbox. When I tried to play a 720p ep of Planet Earth, I got a "resolution not supported" error—this never happens on Xbox. The MP4 videos that I use to encode all my Handbrake rips didn't show up in the menu, since they are not supported. Music and photo playback were decent, but the interface wasn't nearly as robust as the Xbox.

The ScreenPlay HD didn't meet my expectations at all. Sure, it can play some videos and other multimedia, and it's nice to not worry about buffering, but the playback limitations outweigh the benefits. On top of that, $200 is steep for a 500GB HD, especially considering Iomega sells others for under $100. There's no chance that this would replace my Xbox for watching computer media on TV, but it could make a nice, if expensive, addition to plug into the 360's USB port. [Iomega]

THE CABLE SHOW '08, New Orleans — May 19, 2008 — At NCTA's Cable Show, Seagate Technology (NYSE:STX) announced it will introduce its Seagate® Showcase™ storage solution, a new series of products that extends the storage capacity of your Digital Video Recorder (DVR), so you never have to say goodbye to your favorite movies and television shows. Seagate also announced that the Showcase family of products will be designed to be compatible with Motorola's market leading e-SATA capable high-definition (HD) digital video recorder (DVR) set-top portfolio.

The new Showcase™ products will provide television and movie fans with the ability to store even more shows, movies and sporting events. With initial capacities up to 1TB, consumers will be able to keep up to 200 hours of additional HD movies or 1,000 hours of additional standard definition television. You'll never have to choose between your kids' favorite shows or the big game. Plug-and-play capability, via standard USB 2.0 or eSATA connection, makes setup easy while the stylish design fits seamlessly into entertainment centers and complements the look of existing A/V equipment.

"Today's consumers are constantly demanding more storage for high-definition video and high-fidelity audio - and they want it as part of their home entertainment system," said Patrick King, senior vice president of Seagate's Consumer Solutions Division. "We believe that the Seagate Showcase product line will take its place alongside the receiver, speaker system and television as a must-have component for the entertainment center. We are pleased to be working with Motorola to enable an enjoyable consumer experience."

"As consumer video consumption continues to increase at exponential rates, Motorola strives to provide flexible and cost-effective solutions" commented Larry Robinson, vice president, Set Top Product Management at Motorola. "By demonstrating interoperability with the Seagate Showcase storage solution we are offering consumers additional compelling storage options for their entertainment content."

The new Showcase family will feature Seagate's recently announced Pipeline HD™ Series of hard drives purpose-built for DVRs. Seagate Pipeline HD™ Series hard drives are the gold standard in high definition performance and capacity with bedroom-quiet acoustics, low power operation and the ability to support up to 12 simultaneous HD streams. The drives are Windows Vista Certified, making them an ideal solution for Home Media Centers.

Seagate is working with Motorola, the leader in digital set-tops with over 73 million shipped, to deliver external storage solutions for DVRs. By connecting a Seagate Showcase product with its included eSATA cable, the capacity of these DVRs can instantly be increased - eliminating the need to delete your favorite movies or shows. The 1TB Seagate Showcase drive can be seen exclusively in the Motorola booth # 1405 during The Cable Show '08 at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

Availability

Seagate Showcase™ products are scheduled to be available for purchase on the Seagate website beginning in the third calendar quarter of 2008.

• Little Big Disk Quadra ($475.) Designed with video editing in mind, fast speeds, large content handling and portability is the deal with this drive. Available in 7200 RPM (400GB) and 5400 RPM (500GB) versions.

• LaCinema Premier ($229). Functions as a multimedia hard drive, with a USB 2.0 connection port. PC and Mac compatible, it is available in 500GB, 750GB and 1TB versions. There's no word on what files are supported beyond, "a wide range of video, audio and photo formats," so we guess that has you covered.

• LaCie Big Disk Extreme+ ($360). Which has eSATA and USB2.0 connection ports, will be available in 1TB, 1.5TB and 2TB capacities. Mac and PC compatible, it contains a self backup software suite and has super fast 3Gbits eSATA connectivity.

• LaCie 324 LCD Display. This is a 24-inch monitor with professionals in mind. Various technologies in place (Gamma Correction,) ensure minimal on screen banding. It has a 16:10 wide-screen format and will retail for $1050 when it hits in January.

Check the press release below:

LaCie Announces Five New Solutions
At CES 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada

PORTLAND, OR (January 2008) - LaCie is bringing in the New Year by
announcing five new solutions at this year's Consumer Electronic Show (CES)
in Las Vegas, Nevada, January 7-10. To help customers easily manage their
digital lives, from professionals to everyday users, these new LaCie
products pair innovative design with powerful technology to create ultimate
Solutions by Design.

These new products are based on LaCie's philosophy of bringing to market
simple-to-use, yet sophisticated solutions designed to perform flawlessly
under pressure. For a hands-on look, please visit us at the Sands Expo and
Convention Center, booth number 73743.

New products include:

LaCie d2 Quadra is newly redesigned yet still offers the same quadruple
interface (USB/FW400/FW800/eSATA) usability the drive became famous for.
With 60 percent more surface area than a standard design, it offers more
efficient heat dissipation without the need of a noisy fan. Available in
capacities of 320GB to 1TB, the easy-to-use d2 Quadra is a professional
solution for multiple high performance storage applications. The d2 Quadra
is available today starting at $189.

LaCie Little Big Disk Quadra is an amazingly fast mobile disk designed for
speed-intensive and capacity demanding applications such as digital content
creation, high-volume data exchange, and video editing - all while on the
road. As fast as the thoroughbred LaCie Big Disk Extreme+ desktop drive,
the Little Big Disk has been designed by Neil Poulton to offer quiet
operation and superior heat dissipation with an integrated fanless cooling
system. Ensuring superior reliability thanks to its aluminum heat-sink
design, the Little Big Disk Quadra will be available in 400GB and 500GB
versions with either 7200 or 5400 RPM drives, respectively. The Little Big
Disk Quadra is available today starting at $475.

LaCie LaCinema Premier is a USB 2.0, multimedia hard drive that easily
creates a home entertainment center for enjoying movies, photos and music.
Connect the device to a PC or Mac to transfer digital files, when done,
simply plug the device directly into a television for instant playback.
Available in capacities of 500GB, 750GB, and 1TB, the LaCinema Premier
supports a wide range of video, audio and photo formats, while an optical
output enables surround sound enjoyment. Designed for ease of use, playback
can be navigated using an on-screen menu and the included remote control.
The LaCinema Premier is available today starting at $229.

LaCie Big Disk Extreme+ eSATA and USB 2.0 will be available in 1TB, 1.5TB,
and 2TB capacities and comes with professional EMC® Retrospect® for advanced
backup management and data restoration for Windows and Mac users. This
versatile storage solution is equipped with blazing fast eSATA 3Gbits
connectivity, and can reach impressive burst transfers rates of up to
125MB/s thanks to built-in RAID 0 capabilities. The LaCie Big Disk
Extreme+ is very easy to use and features the quintessential Neil Poulton d2
design
maximum protection and heat dissipation. The LaCie Big Disk Extreme+ eSATA
and USB 2.0 version will be available February '08 starting at $360.

LaCie 324 LCD Display is a new 24-inch monitor targeting the needs of
creative professionals. Equipped with an industry-leading S-PVA panel,
which offers superb colors thanks to its wide 92 percent NTSC gamut, the new
LaCie 324 also embeds a 10-bit Gamma Correction mechanism that minimizes
banding and ensures color gradients are smoothly rendered. With its 16:10
wide-screen format, this monitor can showcase two letter-size (A4) pages
side by side with additional room for palettes and toolbars. The LaCie 324
will be available end of January starting at $1050.

About LaCie

Located in the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, Europe, Singapore and Hong
Kong, LaCie is the leading manufacturer of computer peripherals for PC,
Apple and Linux users. LaCie creates external storage solutions and color
monitors that help professionals and everyday people easily manage their
digital lives. LaCie has differentiated its products through original
designs and leading-edge technology. Established in France in 1989, LaCie is
listed on Euronext under FR0000054314 (LAC). For more information, visit
www.lacie.com .