LaCie recently launched its new line of rugged multimedia hard drives. The LaCinema Rugged features a scratch-resistant aluminium shell, internal shock absorbers, and shock-resistant rubber bumper. The drive also offers up to 500GB of storage and ,when connected to a television, it can be used to listen to music, view pictures or play videos at resolutions as high as 1080i.

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LaCie announced today the LaCinema Rugged, the latest generation in multimedia products to provide high quality movie viewing with the compact and acclaimed reliability of LaCie’s trusted mobile enclosure. Bus-powered and durable, the LaCinema Rugged allows users to enjoy their collections on the go or at home.

Designed by Neil Poulton, the Rugged features a unique scratch-resistant aluminum shell, internal anti-shock absorbers, and a shock-resistant rubber bumper to better protect media files against everyday blunders. Similar to previous LaCinema creations, the Rugged edition provides the convenience of a centralized media library with graphic menus and an easy-to-use remote control.

Compatible with both Mac and Windows environments, the USB 2.0 interface connects to the computer for easy multimedia loading. Once the data is transferred to the portable drive it is ready to be viewed on any display, where the user’s media can be accessed through an HDMI connection or legacy composite video connection. Optimized viewing through HDMI 1080i upscaling will allow you to play back videos on your HDTV or enjoy photos in clear HD resolution.

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Netflix announced today that it has partnered with Samsung to offer consumers the ability to instantly stream movies and TV shows from Netflix via Samsung's new BD-P2500 and BD-P2550 Blu-ray disc players. The two companies are also working together to integrate instant streaming into a range of home entertainment products.

Netflix, Inc. (Nasdaq: NFLX), the world's largest online movie rental service, and Samsung Electronics America, a market leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, today announced a broad partnership to offer consumers the ability to instantly stream movies and TV episodes from the Netflix Web site directly to their living rooms via Samsung's BD-P2500 and BD-P2550 Blu-ray disc players. The companies also said they are collaborating to enable Samsung to integrate instant streaming from Netflix into a range of home entertainment products.

The BD-P2550 and BD-P2500 are currently available at $399.99. Consumers who already own one of these Samsung players can upgrade their device at no additional cost to enable instant streaming from a growing library of more than 12,000 movies and television episodes from Netflix. The upgrade is available at http://www.samsung.com/bluraysupport.

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Samsung has reportedly dropped its $5.9 billion bid for SanDisk. According to Reuters, Samsung CEO Lee Yoon-woo wrote a letter to SanDisk management, informing them that due to their third quarter loss and recent renegotiation with Toshiba, Samsung is no longer interested in acquiring SanDisk at $26 per share.

"Your surprise announcements of a quarter billion dollar operating loss, a hurried renegotiation of your relationship with Toshiba and major job losses across your organization all point to a considerable increase in your risk profile and a material deterioration in value, both on a stand-alone basis as well as to Samsung," Samsung CEO Lee Yoon-woo wrote to SanDisk management in a letter disclosed on Wednesday.

"As a result of these developments, we are no longer interested in acquiring SanDisk at $26 a share."

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ASRock P45R2000-WiFi Motherboard @ BCCHardware
ASUS EN9800GT Matrix @ Hardware Zone
ASUS U6V Laptop @ Rbmods
Cooler Master RC590 Case @ TweakPC
Eagle Technology L-Series 2.5-inch HDD Enclosure @ OCModShop
Logitech Wave Pro Desktop @ ASE Labs
Logitech Z Cinema Advanced Surround Sound System @ I4U
Microsoft Sidewinder X5 Gaming Mouse ARB-00001 @ Benchmark Reviews
Norco Technologies DS-1000 Storage System @ Virtual-Hideout
Nova Raider 6000dpi Mouse Pad @ OCModShop
SilverStone Raven Gaming Mouse @ ThinkComputers.org
Tuniq TX-2 vs Gelid GC1 Thermal Paste Showdown @ BCCHardware
ZOTAC nForce 610i Mini-ITX Motherboard @ TweakTown

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Good news for Linux users. Primera has released Linux drivers for its Bravo II, BravoPro, Bravo XR and Bravo XRP Disc Publishers. These drivers can be downloaded for free from Primera's website and can be integrated with both open-source and commercial disc burning engines.

Primera Technology, Inc., the world’s leading developer and manufacturer of CD, DVD, and Blu-ray Disc™ duplication and printing equipment, today announced its support of Linux printing on its Bravo II, BravoPro, Bravo XR and Bravo XRP Disc Publishers (DP-II, DP-PRO, DP-XR and DP-XRP in Europe and Scandinavia).

Addressing the needs of the fast-growing Linux developer and user communities, Primera’s fully-featured Linux printer drivers can be easily integrated with open-source or commercially-available disc burning engines. Together, these components provide a complete, automated disc production solution.

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Super Talent recently announced the launch of its new Luxio family of USB flash drives. Available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB capacities, the Luxio features AES-256 hardware encryption and comes in three colors: black, silver and wood grain. The drives will begin shipping this week with the 64GB version retailing for about $149.

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Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of Flash storage solutions and DRAM memory modules, today launched a new family of high performance, feature rich Luxio USB drives in capacities up to 64GB.

A 64GB Luxio drive can store as many as 20,000 six megapixel photos or 16,000 MP3 songs. Luxio drives are housed in a sleek 21 x 76 x 10 mm UV coated ABS/PC case with chrome plated zinc trim. All models include advanced AES-256 hardware encryption as a standard feature for fast, convenient data security. Offered in three colors, black, silver and wood grain, Luxio drives are packaged in an elegant gift box and also include a custom made black leather carrying case.

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SanDisk announced today that it has added anti-malware protection from McAfee to its line of Cruzer Enterprise USB flash drives. This "always on" safeguard blocks malware, even when the device is used outside of the firewall. Its automatic anti-malware scan also prohibits file transfers to secure USB drives from infected PCs.

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SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ: SNDK) and McAfee, Inc. (NYSE: MFE) today announced SanDisk Cruzer Enterprise with anti-malware protection from McAfee. In addition to protecting corporate USB flash drive users from data leaks, the solution includes the McAfee® Scan Engine, which offers advanced heuristic analysis for comprehensive detection of both known and unknown threats. Expected to be available before year’s end, this “always on” safeguard blocks malware from entering the secure USB flash drive even when the device is used outside of the firewall.

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Broadcom announced today that LG has chosen the Broadcom BCM7440 for its new BD300 Blu-ray Disc player. This system-on-a-chip (SoC) solution is capable of playing back BD-Live enabled Blu-ray titles as well as movies and TV shows streamed directly from Netflix.

Broadcom Corporation, a global leader in semiconductors for wired and wireless communications, today announced that its highly integrated BCM7440 Blu-ray Disc® system-on-a-chip (SoC) solution has been selected by LG Electronics to power the world's first Blu-ray Disc player featuring Netflix® instant streaming. Leveraging the Broadcom® high performance Blu-ray SOC, LG's new BD300 player allows Netflix subscribers to instantly stream content over the Internet from a growing library of over 12,000 choices of movies and TV episodes directly to their TVs, at no additional charge.

Broadcom's BCM7440 SoC has become the prevalent technology for Blu-ray Disc playback, exemplifying the company's technical abilities and commitment to this market. The new SoC offers high definition video playback at 1080p resolution, picture-in-a-picture video support, high definition multi-channel audio, and world class BD-Java performance for full support of BD-Live functionality. Integrated security and streaming features have enabled manufacturers to leverage the BCM7440 built-in Ethernet port to deploy a new class of Blu-ray players that feature Internet-based streaming media playback capabilities.

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SanDisk announced today that it has entered into an agreement with Toshiba to sell about 30% of its stake in the companies two flash memory joint ventures. Once the deal is complete, Toshiba will be the sole owner of 30% of the total production capacity, with the remaining 70% split equally between the two companies. While financial details have not been announced, SanDisk expects to receive cash and cut equipment lease obligations by about $1 billion.

SanDisk® (NASDAQ:SNDK) announced today that it has entered into a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Toshiba Corporation to sell approximately 30 percent of the current manufacturing capacity of the parties joint ventures to Toshiba. The move will significantly reduce SanDisks capital spending, further strengthen its balance sheet and reduce NAND flash memory production commitments. SanDisk expects to receive cash and reduce equipment lease obligations by approximately $1 billion through this transaction.

SanDisk and Toshiba will continue to be equal partners for the approximately 70 percent capacity of the Fabs that remain in the joint ventures. SanDisk will have the option to purchase a part of the transferred capacity from Toshiba on a foundry basis and will continue to invest up to 50% in future Fab 4 expansions and technology transitions in Fabs 3 and 4. The parties will continue their existing joint technology development in advanced NAND and 3D read/write memory. SanDisk expects the transaction to be completed in the first quarter of 2009.

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DTS, Inc. launches a variation of it’s increasingly popular surround sound technology DTS-HD Master Audio, which delivers high definition audio that is bit for bit identical to the studio master. DTS-HD Master Audio Essential provides the same quality high-end sound that consumers have come to expect from DTS-HD Master Audio. DTS-HD Master Audio Essential will be a full Master Audio feature set for Blu-ray Disc, with the exception of DTS ES Matrix and NEO 6.

Although DTS-HD Master Audio Essential does not currently support DTS | 96 /24, DTS ES, ES Matrix, and DTS NEO 6, for standard DVD discs, DTS backwards compatibility makes it possible for you to automatically enjoy your DVD entertainment experience in high quality DTS Digital Surround.

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