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Technology Stocks : WDC/Sandisk Corporation -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: limtex who wrote (1943)	12/4/1997 2:50:00 PM
From: J. Patrick Coffey	Respond to of 60323

Hear, hear Ian. When I was looking for a good company to invest in I wanted a company that provided solid state storage for data. Its only natural to to eventually design out the only moving part in the PC. While we're still a long way from that day, that Sandisk made digital film was only an added bonus to an already great technology. Why all the focus on digital cameras? Beats me. Secondly, Sandisk has a comfortable lead on the standard. I would never spring big bucks for a flash card that tied me to the camera I was using it for. If I lost interest in the camera, or the camera for that matter, I would still want to be able to use the expensive flash card for my laptop or whatever else it was compatible with. Thats the beauty of CompactFlash. Frankly, I'm not worried about the outside competition - its the inside competition that worried me. Sandisk's competitive paradigm is more like IBM in the computer business than Microsoft's. Since it's an open standard, anybody can make CompactFlash - just like anybody can make an IBM compatible PC. It's not like Microsoft's because Microsoft doesn't have to share it OS with anybody. They were in the right place at the right time with their decidedly proprietary software. Hence, Compaq and Dell are both larger suppliers of PCs than IBM. IBM is getting it's ass kicked in a market it created. Such could be the same for Sandisk. It could evolve with a minority market share of CompactFlash and get written off as a has been innovator. On that note I will close with the following article I snagged from BusinessWire. Enjoy. J. Patrick Coffey TheZonian@aol.com ( BW)(LEXAR-MEDIA) Lexar Media Introduces High-Performance CompactFlash; CompactFlash Memory Card Technology Optimized for Digital Cameras ÿÿÿÿBusiness Editors/High-Tech Writers ÿÿÿÿFREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 1, 1997--Lexar Media, Inc. announced today a new generation of high-performance CompactFlash(TM) (CF) memory cards optimized to meet the needs of digital cameras. ÿÿÿÿEnabled with new controller technology developed by Lexar Media, the new CF cards provide sustained write times up to 600% faster than other CF cards, faster than any other CF solution today. ÿÿÿÿMost flash memory technology was developed before the advent of today's digital cameras where large files need to be processed quickly before another photograph can be taken. As camera resolutions and file sizes grow, the ability to process large files quickly has become a critical performance issue. Lexar Media's CompactFlash features patented Space Manager Technology, an innovative indirect memory mapping technique to significantly reduce the time a file can be written to memory. ÿÿÿÿ"This is the first CompactFlash solution developed specifically for high-performance applications like digital photography," said John Reimer, president and CEO of Lexar Media. "The high performance controller technology is able to operate with NAND flash memory from all major suppliers, guaranteeing long-term price competitiveness of Lexar Media products." ÿÿÿÿAvailable in capacities of 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, and 32 megabytes (MB), Lexar Media's CompactFlash achieves sustained write speeds up to 750 KB per second, over 600% faster than other CompactFlash alternatives. The high performance controller technology also enables 32MB capacities, the largest currently available in the CF form factor. The products operate at both 3.3 and 5.0 volts and have been certified by the CompactFlash Association, ensuring their compatibility with a wide variety of products. ÿÿÿÿThe new CF products are also the first CompactFlash products to offer software programmability, allowing future enhancements and upgrades to be accomplished easily through software downloads. In addition to allowing easy firmware updates and custom CIS structures, the programmability feature also offers camera manufacturers the ability to optimize the memory's performance for a specific camera or provide additional feature enhancements geared to unique imaging applications. ÿÿÿÿLexar Media's CompactFlash also features an intelligent power management scheme to reduce power consumption up to 100% under read/write conditions, as well as reduced stand-by current requirements. Sleep current requires less than 0.05mA. Power save read and write current requires only 20 mA on 3.3V systems. ÿÿÿÿLexar Media Corporation is a privately held company that was a division of Cirrus Logic until September, 1996. Under Cirrus Logic, the world's largest independent supplier of disk-drive ATA controllers, the company developed its Flash controller expertise that provides the core of the company's performance and competitive advantage in the CF marketplace. Today the company employs 35 people in engineering, sales and marketing with offices in Fremont, Calif. and Tokyo, Japan. ÿÿÿÿNote to Editors: Lexar Media Inc. is an authorized licensee of the CompactFlash(TM) trademark. ÿÿÿÿFor further information contact Tom Morrow at 510/413-1220, tmorrow@lexarmedia.com ÿÿÿÿSend written inquiries to: Lexar Media 47421 Bayside Parkway Fremont, CA 97921 ÿÿÿÿ35mm slides are available upon request. --30--nc/sf* CONTACT: Lexar Media Inc., Fremont Tom Morrow, 510/413-1220 KEYWORD: CALIFORNIA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: COMPUTERS/ELECTRONICS COMED INTERACTIVE/MULTIMEDIA/INTERNET PRODUCT

To: limtex who wrote (1943)	12/4/1997 9:36:00 PM
From: Craig Freeman	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 60323

Ian, most people don't realize it but ordinary 35mm film can resolve about 100 lines per mm or about 3,750 x 2,500. The film Ansel Adams used was 100 times larger than 35mm and far finer. Specialty films used by the Feds can resolve items the size of a dime from satellite altitudes. Your idea of download devices at hotels is a good one. Several hotels are presently being wired with ADSL (640Kbs+ upload speed). In the future it may be a simple matter to email an entire day's pictures (4MB) to yourself in less than a minute. So much for huge flash cards. Craig