Here is a great solution for people who want to turn to the world of digital storage. As we all know, backups and storage devices today have become increasingly advanced and while we have the usual optical storage devices, here is one contraption that houses all of them and eliminate the need to be wary of safekeeping of data and files.

This software-hardware integrated solution virtualizes physical discs and stores them in manageable virtual CD towers. This solution suits the needs of libraries, schools and small businesses as it aids in the management and organization of music, DVDs, videos and applications.

TreasureStone VirtualDrive DVD Server can hold up to 1,000,000 digital photos, or 1,000 DVDs to be shared across a network among unlimited clients. With flexible management capabilities, the administrator can customize security access privileges at the high speed of 1000 MBPS. This virtualizing technology relieves the hassle of CD scratching, and conveniently helps organize physical discs.

Features and Benefits:

• Virtual Cabinet–Allows the administrator to create 1000 virtual cabinets, set the privileges and share different virtual CDs for different clients.
• No Need for CD Drive–Converts physical discs to virtual CDs and eliminates the need for a CD-ROM!
• Virtualize/Clone CD and DVDs–Copy your CD/DVD and create an identical backup.
• Convenient and Economical–Unlimited licenses with initial purchase! Removes the hassle of physical discs and CD scratching.
• Web Interface–Access virtual discs under any system through a user-friendly WEB interface that supports Windows, Mac, Linux, and UNIX systems.
• Main-Sub Server Design–Easy switch to sub server in case of Main Server failure with no loss of files or changes in settings
• Administrating Console–Flexible management capability; set security access levels within your network.
• High Speed–200X faster than physical discs!
• High Capacity–TreasureStone storage units available in 2TB and 4TB. Store up to 6,000 CDs, 1,000 DVDs, 1,000,000 photos, and more!
• File Archiving–Compiles important files, music, photos as a virtual CD/DVDs for easy management and sharing.

(Source) Press

Mobile storage solutions are coming out like crazy and here is another one from Samsung. In a move that is obviously aimed to give Western Digital’s My Book a run for their money, the Story hard drive is something that serves as a great back up device.

The brushed aluminum slab with “passionate red lines” plays host to your choice of 500GB, 1TB, or 1.5TB 3.5-inch disks. The Story Station can backup your data in “real-time” or be setup to backup on a set schedule of your choosing. Data is secured via password with an optional SecretZone virtual drive setup for encrypting all your swine-flu conspiracy data. This device is single-port, USB 2.0 only so you’ll have to take your dreams of network attached storage, eSATA, or FireWire 800 elsewhere.

Use it either for audio, video or pictures, the Story Station will surely come in handy for people who want to make sure that all their data and files are safe and secure. With an easy plug n play interface via the USB, expect this mobile hard drive to be a hit for people who value their backup and storage needs.

Available in Europe first sometime in May for an undisclosed price.

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If you are agog over the USB drives, here is a new one from Kingston which is also compatible with the MAC OS. Normally, there are a select number of USB flash drives that can be read by MACs and now Kingston has put all those conflicts to rest with the DataTraveler Vault USB Flash Drive.

“Our DataTraveler Vault – Privacy Edition has been popular with enterprise and government customers who use Windows-based systems and are looking for a safe and secure way to transport portable data,” said Mark Akoubian, Flash memory business manager, Kingston. “We are happy to add Mac support to this 100-percent secured drive so the Apple community can be assured they have an on-the-go storage solution that is the best on the market at safeguarding data.”

Data onboard the DTVP is secured by hardware-based, on-the-fly, 256-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). The drive has fast data transfer rates and is protected from brute-force attacks by locking down after 10 unsuccessful login attempts. After lockdown, a reformat is necessary to make the Flash drive operable again.

(Source) Press

Western Digital continues the developmental prowess by announcing the availability of a new large storage device that has been added to its My Book family of external hard drives. The new addition is the 2 TB External Single Drive System, the largest available capacity for a single-drive system today. With its wide variety of models, WD offers a solution for every type of user, whether they’re a creative power user on a Mac or a home user on a PC. The new 2 TB My Book family includes: My Book Studio Edition, My Book Mac Edition, My Book Home Edition and My Book Essential Edition models.

The entire family of My Book external hard drives features:

The My Book Studio Edition, My Book Home Edition and My Book Essential Edition 2 TB external hard drives are available now at select retail stores and online retailers. My Book Mac Edition 2 TB external drives will be available next month. Estimated pricing ranges from $329.99 USD to $379.99 USD, depending on drive model and capacity.

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Freecom has announced the release of a rugged external drive, the “Tough Drive Sport”. The new external hard drive is a durable, shock-resistant, 2.5″ external hard drive designed to endure even the toughest conditions. This latest addition to the ToughDrive family is perfect for heavy duty users that want to carry their data on the move, from backpacking around the world to cycling up mountains.

The ToughDrive Sport features a handy loop in one corner enabling easy attachment to bags or belts - allowing people to carry their data hands-free. The drive can also withstand falls of up to two meters and is fully protected against adverse weather conditions associated with outdoor pursuits.

The ToughDrive Sport has an outdoor sports design and an integrated USB cable designed to look and feel like a climbing rope - this makes the drive extremely portable as no external power adapter is required for charging. Ideal for mobile use given its size and robustness, the internal anti-shock mechanism insulates the hard drive against unforeseen shocks that could cause damage and result in the loss of masses of data.

The ToughDrive Sport holds up to 500GB of information and the Turbo USB 2.0 connection offers transfer speeds of up to 30 percent faster than competing solutions for downloading or uploading data. The drive also features secure password protection whereby the user’s password is encrypted and stored on a 256bit hardware chip. This added security feature gives users peace of mind even where the most sensitive information is concerned as, if the drive is lost or stolen, no-one will be able to access the data it contains without the password. In these instances, the drive would be reformatted, automatically erasing all of its contents and ensuring information doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.

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Modern day laptops today are coming out with higher specs not just for business and mobile professionals. They have now become the new device that gamers use, thus needing to increase areas like video cards and processor capacity. While the standard desktop is still there, it just remains that many users today want to access or play their favorite games regardless of where they are.

Laptops come in all shapes and sizes and normally, specs are important over the outer features. Apparently the HP Pavilion DV6T is a makeover from the previous DV7T laptop that was released last month. And the new offering is certainly enticing considering its specifications.

That includes your choice of 512MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4530 or 1GB HD 4650 graphics, which have edged out the previous NVIDIA options, although the rest of the specs seem to have remained largely untouched, including the usual range of Core 2 Duo processors, up to 8GB of RAM, a max 500GB hard drive, and an unfortunately lackluster 1366 x 768 resolution on that 16-inch display.

You can also now get the laptop in your choice of Espresso Black or Moonlight White color schemes, although there seems to be a $25 premium over the $679.99 base price for the latter option

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