Lexar New USB Card Form Factor amp; FlashCard

Lexar Media today announced a new USB card form factor designed for universaland superior interoperability to bring next generation storage, connectivity andutility products to a broad variety of computing, consumer electronics andmobile electronics devices.

The new USB card form factor is based on the USB Type A connector as outlined inthe Universal Serial Bus Specification. A mere 12 millimeters wide, 4.5millimeters high and 31.75 millimeters long the card is no longer than thediameter of a penny. At half the width and a little more than twice the height,it is volumetrically similar to an SD card. The rugged, sturdy metal housing isintended to make the USB card suitable for use in a range of environments.

Lexar’s USB FlashCard will be the first product based on the new form factor.The USB FlashCard will offer universal plug and play connectivity with allmodern operating systems leveraging the ubiquity of the USB interface. Lexarplans to introduce Full-Speed USB versions in 16MB, 32MB and 64MB capacities aswell as Hi-Speed USB versions in 64MB, 128MB, 256MB, 512MB and 1GB capacitieswith a high performance 60MB/s interface speed in 2005.

“Lexar’s USB FlashCard will offer unparalleled ease of use by leveraging thepervasive USB interface”, said Petro Estakhri, Chief Technology Officer, Lexar.“Moving forward, our intent is to leverage the open standard to createtechnology that is feature rich in terms of security, provides an easy interfaceand is built on an environmental design that meets general standards for almostall of today's computing, consumer and mobile electronics devices usingnon-volatile storage."

The USB FlashCard is designed to fit into any industry standard USB Type Asocket. Lexar is working with connector manufacturers to offer an extended USBType A socket to be used in consumer electronics devices and mobile applicationssuch as digital still cameras and handheld computers. The USB FlashCard socketswould accommodate the USB FlashCard inside of a camera similar in use to otherforms of flash memory cards.

“USB flash drives have seen a tremendous success as external flash based storagedevices and are now the preferred medium of choice for a wide range ofprofessional and consumer users for transferring data, “said Steffen Hellmold,General Manager of OEM Products, Lexar. “This new form factor enables the use ofUSB flash drives beyond computing applications, realizing the dream ofconnecting the worlds of computing, consumer and mobile applications through auniversal USB FlashCard.”

Invisible QR codes developed to combat counterfeit money and goods

Researchers have created invisible Quick Response (QR) codes that could help fight a growing battle with counterfeit money and goods.

The University of South Dakota and South Dakota School of Mines and Technology found that the codes, which have become popular as a means to download apps or access product information, could be utilised to help fight counterfeiters, with the complexity of the codes making them difficult to fake.They can be printed on paper, glass and a wide range of other materials in a mixture of nanoparticles and blue and green fluorescent ink, which makes it invisible to the naked eye, but can be seen under an infrared light.QR codes are becoming the standard in the industry, thanks to the fact that they can hold up to 100 times more information than normal barcodes. They have particularly become synonymous with smartphones, where they are widely used, but they could be as much a tool of security as marketing.The technique could be extended to be even more secure, with the potential for a microscopic message or symbol to be hidden in the QR code, potentially in different colours, which means even the infrared light wont show it without the use of a microscope.One setback to the idea is the fact that the initial process takes around 90 minutes, which is a long time to design and print a single code. However, once the original code is made it can be mass printed in just 15 minutes.Source: BBC

Leica Camera Asia Pacific offers new rental program for Leica S2

The Leica S2 features a 37.5-megapixel sensor and coupled with Leica’s lenses that claims to deliver great detail rendition with high-speed and accurate autofocus in a compact form factor. Its weather-sealed body also lets photographers shoot even in extreme conditions. Leica Camera Asia Pacific has announced its new rental program for the professional system, the Leica S2 and its accompanying lenses, which are available for rent at Camera Rental Centre from today. Photographers who want to try or loan the Leica S2 can use the camera and two lenses at S$588 at the Camera Rental Centre. The available lenses are the Elmarit-S 30mm f/2.8, Summarit-S 35mm f/2.5, Summarit-S 70mm f/2.5 and the APO-Macro Summarit-S f/2.5. Upon request, Leica lens adapters for the Mamiya 645, Pentax 67 and Hasselblad V system are available too. The Leica Camera Rental Centre offers the rental of Leica S2 on a first-come-first-served basis. For more information on the rental rates,you can email your queries to info@camerarental.biz or call +65 9650 4158.

AMD Turion 64 Strategy

With the introduction of its 64-bit enabled Turion 64 processor, AMD is looking to push its market share in the notebook-CPU segment to 12-15% in 2005, compared to the 5-8% share it had previously. AMD, together with a number of leading vendors, including HP, Acer, ASUS and PC distributors, will wage a promotional campaign worldwide on April 18 to promote the Turion 64-based notebooks. Vendors participating in the campaign will unveil new notebooks built using AMD Turion 64 2800+ and 3000+ CPUs, with power consumption averaging 25W or 35W, depending on models. Although AMD has set the prices of its Turion 64 CPUs about 13% cheaper, on average, than Intel’s Pentium M processors, some vendors have suggested that AMD needs to aggressively lower Turion 64 CPU prices to around 25% lower than P4 M CPUs, in order to gain market share from Intel. HP might raise the proportion of AMD-based notebooks to 50% of its total sales in 2005, from about 20-30% in 2004. Asustek plans to launch five or six AMD-based notebooks this year, compared to just one or two models launched a year previously.