memorial

An older Intel flash memory factory in New Mexico will be shut down later this year, and up to 1,000 people could be looking for work as a result.

The plant, one of two factories Intel operates in Rio Rancho, N.M., makes flash memory chips based on 135-nanometer manufacturing technology. Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy told InfoWorld that the company wants to make its flash memory division profitable, and cutting older technology from the ranks is one way to make that happen. Intel and Micron announced last week that they are sampling flash memory chips built using 50-nanometer manufacturing … Read more

And then there were four: quadruplet Sony HD camcorders, that is. When they ship on June 27, the $1,200 Memory Stick Duo-based Handycam HDR-CX7 and $1,400 hard-disk-based HDR-SR7 will join the tape-based HDR-HC7 and DVD-based HDR-UX7 to provide consumers with an almost bewildering array of HD options.

They differ primarily by storage media. All use the same 1/2.9-inch, 3.2-megapixel ClearVid CMOS sensor, recording video at 2.3-megapixel (HD) or 1.7-megapixel (SD) resolution before downsampling and encoding to 1080i HD (1,920x540) or SD (720x480), respectively. They also shoot photos at native 2.3-megapixel (16:… Read more

Toshiba announced today that it has created a 16GB flash memory chip intended for consumer products such as cell phones and MP3 players. This is the highest capacity NAND flash memory chip to date, doubling the existing ceiling of 8GB. The 16GB chip is set to ship in the fall, just in time to make Apple's flash memory-based 8GB iPhone seem cramped.

The chip is designed around eight 2GB elements and boasts a copy speed of 6MB per second, with a 15MB per second read speed. Expect a wave of tiny 16GB flash MP3 players for the holidays.

Via … Read more

Most computer peripherals are already available in tons of wacky incarnations: speakers, mice, keyboards, and of course USB storage drives. But memory card readers have, at least until this point, remained pretty boring. Cue Brando's USB Piggy Card Reader, which really does look just like a piggy bank. It can handle, according to ProductDose, SD, CF, XD, MS, Mini SD, and T-flash/Micro SD cards. And it connects to your computer via a USB 2.0 "tail." Sure, it might be taking the definition of "memory hog" (oink, oink) a little too literally, but it'… Read more

Want an iPod Nano, but stuck with a fourth-generation player? One DIYer has figured out a way to remove his iPod's hard drive and replace it with with an adapter that can accommodate plug-in flash memory cards.

Make Magazine spotted the most recent efforts of Mark Hoekestra, who posted his tips on Geektechnique.org. He took two iPods, a 40GB photo model and a 20GB regular model, and replaced the hard drives with a homemade adapter. After getting well-acquainted with his soldering iron, he produced a working iPod capable of storing songs on flash memory.

Flash memory is more expensive … Read more

Once again, the R&D people at Japan's Elecom may be unwittingly indicating that they have too much time on their hands. Witness their latest creation: a luxury memory card reader. Granted, it looks beautiful in the company handouts--available in silver, black and white a la Apple style, according to Akihabara News--and might even be quite fetching on the end of a white gold chain around your neck, sort of like an updated retro medallion circa 1974. But if you ask us (and no one ever does, of course), the peripheral-as-jewelry craze won't exactly have Tiffany longevity.… Read more

Flash memory isn't just for cell phones anymore. Flash drives are moving up into PCs and servers, and Intel wants to get in on the action with a new drive.

The company formally launched the Intel Z-U130 Value Solid-State Drive (just rolls right off the tongue) on Monday, promising to deliver the drives to PC and server companies as either replacement hard drives or performance enhancers. These drives aren't going to be replacing your hard drive in most situations--at least for now--but could provide a more reliable low-cost way of storing infomation in PCs for emerging markets, said … Read more

It's no secret that we're not terribly fond of uber-combo devices, particularly when mice are involved. But the "Mini-Memory Mouse" may be an example of one worth having.

This little guy includes flash drive storage for up to 1GB of data as well as functioning as an optical mouse with a retractable USB cable, according to Red Ferret. It can't point lasers or do yoga, but depending on the price (which wasn't provided), it could be a good two-fer deal.

It's almost too bad: If my IT department buys hybrid hard drives, I won't have time every morning to get a cup of coffee and disparage the beloved New York Knicks of News.com's Charlie Cooper while my PC boots.

Samsung is shipping three MH80 hybrid hard drives--a combination of a traditional hard drive and flash memory--to PC makers, it announced Wednesday. The drives, in 80GB, 100GB, and 120GB sizes, will help PCs boot in half the time it usually takes, according to Samsung.

Because the drives use either 128MB or 256MB of flash memory, they also … Read more