I usually just read this stuff - but thought I might spend my freebe to give you something I found -- may be nothing but it looks like competition around the corner. Maby one of you can tell if this is the problem
Hopefully IOM will have a better drive to respond with.
I have a few shares and am a little long - so I hope this is nothing
[hope i did this right - it's on the yahoo company-profile-co news
biz.yahoo.com
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Tuesday October 7 6:02 AM EDT
Company Press Release
Industry Leading Suppliers Deliver Slim-line a:drive -- 120MB
Floppy Disk Drive Meets Stringent OEM Specifications for Mobile
Computing
CAMPBELL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 7, 1997--OR Technology Inc. and its key suppliers, VLSI
Technology Inc., Silicon Systems Inc. and Siemens Components, have collaborated to develop the slim-line LS-120
a:drive.
This achievement represents a significant commitment by industry leading suppliers to migrate floppy drive technology
forward by enhancing capacity and performance while maintaining compatibility with legacy media.
The a:drive is a 120MB LS-120 floppy disk drive that reads and writes 1.44MB and 720KB floppy diskettes. Using
SuperDisk LS-120 media, the a:drive operates at speeds up to five times faster than conventional floppy disk drives.
The slim-line a:drive measures 12.7x96x124mm -- a perfect fit for the existing floppy disk drive bay in portable and
low-profile ultraportable notebook computers.
The integration efforts dramatically reduced chip count, enhanced drive performance, enabled the drive to meet the
industry standard 12.7mm floppy form factor, reduced power requirements and significantly lowered product costs.
VLSI
Using its cell-based Functional System Block (FSB) design methodology, VLSI provided the key building blocks to
accomplish complete integration of all digital functions. Now a single 0.35 micron CMOS digital IC combines a 32-bit
RISC processor, Servo (DSP), buffer manager, memory and advanced ATAPI and disk controllers.
The device uses a uniprocessor architecture to execute firmware on the Thumb, a well-known ARM processor
(ARM7TDMI). This highly integrated IC replaced chip functions previously controlled by five devices for increased
reliability and lower cost.
''VLSI is excited to participate in the development of the slim-line a:drive. Our collaboration with OR Technology
demonstrates VLSI's ability to help customers achieve faster time-to-market with lower system costs in emerging,
high-volume markets,'' said Kevin Mankin, vice president, Enterprise Products Division at VLSI. ''Our years of
experience with microprocessor cores enabled us to achieve the integration and performance necessary for OR
Technology's exciting new floppy disk drive replacement solution for portable computing.''
Silicon Systems
To meet OR Technology's analog design requirements, Silicon Systems developed the SSI 3300, a single chip
combining sensorless spindle and voice coil motor controllers with onboard FETs, and an optical servo processor with
an A/D converter. With SSI's design, 15 separate components were replaced, providing greater performance in a
smaller space at a lower cost.
''We are pleased to have played a significant role co-developing the electronics subsystem for the new a:drive,'' said
Paul Bibeau, manager of removable storage product marketing at Silicon Systems. ''To meet the needs of this
challenging application, Silicon Systems relied on our years of data storage systems knowledge and enabling
mixed-signal IC technology.''
Siemens
The a:drive operates in two densities, UHD (ultra-high density 120MB mode) and HD (high-density 1.44MB and
720KB mode). Siemens developed two optical sensors to enable a:drive operation in both modes which is key to
backward compatibility and the future success of LS-120 technology.
''This is an ideal application for our micro-mechanic manufacturing technology,'' said Dr. Albert Comparini, new
business development manager at Siemens. ''With over 20 years of experience producing state of the art optical
products, brings tremendous manufacturing potential to the a:drive team.''
OR Technology
The FD-2120A is designed to operate in temperatures of 5 degrees to 55 degrees Celsius, the low-profile a:drive
performs reliably in even the most demanding environments. At the same time, advanced power management reduces
stand-by requirements to less than 20 milliwatts and average power draw to a low 1.0 watt during operation. The
compact a:drive tips the scales at 180g making it the best choice for lightweight portable solutions.
LS-120 laser servo technology was developed jointly by OR Technology, Compaq Computer Corp., Imation and
Matsushita-Kotobuki Electronics Industries Ltd. (MKE)(6783 JP). In addition to these key companies, OR
Technology's manufacturing partners include Kaifa Group (0021 CH), Mitsubishi Electric Corp. (6503 JP) and Hitachi
Maxell.
Evaluation samples of the slim-line a:drive are available now to OEMs. The product will be available by the end of the
year from OR Technology's worldwide network of authorized distributors, including Ingram Micro (IM), and major
retail outlets such as CompUSA and Best Buy. The slim-line a:drive will also be integrated into all future modular
notebook product families offered by NEC Computer Systems Division of Packard Bell NEC Inc., beginning with
select models of NEC's Versa 6000 and 6200 series.
VLSI Technology Inc. designs and manufactures System-Level Silicon integrated circuits based on its FSB (functional
system blocks) library. Targeting its offerings toward the communications, consumer digital entertainment and computing
markets, the company offers its customers advanced system-level integration capabilities. The company is based in San
Jose, Calif., with 1996 revenues of $717 million and approximately 3,000 employees worldwide. Visit VLSI's home
page at vlsi.com .
As the mass storage subsidiary of Texas Instruments, Silicon Systems Inc. provides advanced semiconductors for high
performance desktop, mobile and removable drives. Its innovative read channels, servo/spindle controllers, interface
controllers, preamps, DSP and ASIC solutions are designed and manufactured for hard disk drives, tape drives, high
density floppy disk drives, optical disk drives and DVD. Additional company information is available through the Silicon
Systems home page: ssi1.com .
Siemens Components Inc. (SCI), with its headquarters in Cupertino, Calif., is a leading supplier of electronic
components for automotive, communications, consumer electronics, data processing, smart cards and memory
applications. SCI offers a broad portfolio of electronic components ranging from communications integrated circuits to
lithium niobate crystals. The company is a leader in communications products, small power products, embedded
DRAM technology and custom optoelectronics. SCI, a member of the Siemens group of companies with
semiconductor responsibility, is affiliated with Siemens AG's Semiconductor Group in Munich, Germany which had
sales of approximately $3.2 billion worldwide in fiscal year 1995/96 as well as Siemens Passive Components Group
which had sales of $1.3 billion during the same period. Additional information on the company is available at Siemens
Web site at sci.siemens.com .
OR Technology, with headquarters in Campbell, Calif., sells, designs and manufactures data storage products using
laser servo technology for which it holds significant patents. OR Technology markets the a:drive, a product compatible
with current floppy diskettes that stores up to 120MB of data on a single SuperDisk diskette.
For additional information on OR Technology and its products, contact OR Technology, 42 W. Campbell Ave.,
Campbell, Calif. 95008; toll-free fax back service 888/286-6422; phone 408/866-3000; fax 408/ 866-3008; URL:
www.ortechnology.com .
NOTE: a:drive is a trademark of OR Technology Inc. All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective owners. |
