SmartDisk Personal Storage Systems has unveiled a VST FireRAID and a portable CD-R/W drive at this week’s Macworld Expo in San Francisco.
SmartDisk introduced VST FireRAID, a software tool that lets users use two or more of its external hard drives together to create a fast desktop Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) array. It’s expected to appeal to digital video professionals, musicians, and others who use large, data-intensive applications to link multiple external drives together to expand storage capabilities and increase digital data transfer rates by up to three times.
The software provides professionals with a quick and easy, low-cost solution for managing and editing vast amounts of digital video, music and data on SmartDisk external drives instead of on their personal computers’ built-in drives, according to Michael S. Battaglia, president and CEO. And it works with SmartDisk’s complete line of FireWire and USB/FireWire full-height and slim, portable drives that are available in capacities ranging from 4GB to 75GB.
In addition to harnessing the power of multiple drives, VST FireRAID features mirroring (RAID Level 1) to enable users to create identical copies of data on one or more drives in the array. As a result, a single drive failure will not result in loss of important data, said Battaglia.
“VST FireRAID is the only Macintosh software product currently available that supports mirroring,” he said. “It is also the only product that lets users connect more than two FireWire drives together.”
VST FireRAID software is available now through SmartDisk’s Web site (http://www.vsttech.com). It’s priced at US$99.95 when purchased alone. When purchased with the SmartDisk FireWire or USB/FireWire ultra-slim drive, its price is $49.95; with two drives, its price is $24.95. SmartDisk hard drives are also available now and are priced from $199.95 to $899.95.
SmartDisk has also introduced the VST FireWire CD-RW, a portable drive designed for road warriors who need to quickly store digital data on CDs while traveling or when away from the office. The VST FireWire CD-RW is the only portable CD-RW that doesn’t require a battery or AC adapter for power, Battaglia said. The unit derives its power from a computer’s FireWire bus via a standard two-foot FireWire cable.
It measures approximately 5.6 x 7 x 1-inch and packs a front-loading/ejection CD tray. VST FireWire CD-RW comes preloaded with Toast software for Macintosh for transferring digital images, video, data, audio and music files to CDs. It also includes MusicMatch, a digital music program that lets users play, record, and organize music.
The VST FireWire CD-RW is priced at $429.95 MSRP and is available now through SmartDisk’s Web site. It will become available later this month through distributors and retailers.
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