Memble

Japan's Ricoh to buy IKON Office for $1.62 billion

IKON Office Solutions, which sells and leases copiers, printers and other office machines, has agreed to a $1.62 billion buyout offer from one of its suppliers, Ricoh Co. of Japan.

The deal will combine IKON's sales and service capabilities with Ricoh's engineering and manufacturing expertise, IKON said.

The cash offer of $17.25 per share disclosed Wednesday represents a 33 percent premium to IKON's average stock price for the last two months, the companies said.

Flights back to normal after FAA software glitch

The FAA said that most flights around the country were back to normal Wednesday, after a software malfunction delayed hundreds of flights on Tuesday.

The flight delays drew new criticism for the Federal Aviation Administration, which has been scrutinized over air traffic controller staffing levels and inspection standards for its ground-based equipment.

The Northeast was hardest hit by the delays prompted by a glitch at a Hampton, Ga., facility that processes flight plans for the eastern half of the U.S.

A-Z Computer Liquidators Offer corporate liquidation solutions, recycling eWaste partnership

A-Z Computer Liquidators has branched out to recycling ewaste partners nationwide. Headquartered in Anaheim California and serving both northern and southern California has partnered with Electronic Waste Management, Los Angeles, California. A-Z Is now able to better serve its corporate clients needing to recycle and dispose of used and outdated Pac’s & laptops, computer parts & supplies, CRT’s & LCD monitors, all sizes printers, copiers, scanners, used servers and data center network hardware.

In today's ever-changing technology marketplace, companies are feeling the pinch when desperately trying o remove unwanted used IT equipment. Select businesses throughout California choose A-Z Computer Liquidators to provide full service disposal, recycling, and remarketing for their obsolete IT assets.

A-Z Computer Liquidators protects an organizations data on existing IT assets. When upgrading their IT infrastructure, companies need cost-effective and an effective EPA process to dispose of obsolete IT assets. A-Z is able with Electronic Waste Management to serve all the recycling requirements of its corporate America clients.

“With the many recycling, liquidation requirements from our business customers, IT assets such as used computers, used monitors, servers and hard drives sitting idle, clients need an organization that can be trusted to adhere to all e-waste environmental regulations” said Holly Wild, Director of Asset Recovery Services at A-Z Computers. "We offer a range of full services and will continue to seek out effective recycling partners so that we can expand out regions and services nationwide.

ZOTAC Unleashes New Affordable GeForce 9 series

ZOTAC International, a leading manufacturer of NVIDIA-based graphics cards, today unleashes its latest entry-level GeForce 9 series graphics cards for budget gamers on the second day of NVISION 08 – the ZOTAC GeForce 9400GT DDR2 and GeForce 9400GT DDR2 ZONE Edition. The new ZOTAC GeForce 9400GT DDR2 series enables users to bring their PCs to life with NVIDIA PureVideo HD technology and NVIDIA unified architecture for smoother high-definition video playback and realistic gaming capabilities.
NVIDIA PureVideo HD technology empowers the ZOTAC GeForce 9400GT DDR2 series with high-definition playback capabilities that’s low on CPU utilization and low on power consumption, freeing up the system processor for more mundane tasks and reducing your power bill. PureVideo HD technology also enhances standard-definition content with inverse telecine, high-quality scaling, noise reduction and edge enhancement algorithms to produce vivid visuals that rivals high-definition content.
“Video playback capabilities are becoming a vital part of graphics cards as more and more users make their PCs the center of their entertainment center, using their PC to playback high-definition Blu-ray and standard-definition videos. Our ZOTAC GeForce 9400GT DDR2 series with PureVideo HD technology will instantly enhance their video playback capabilities at a fairly low-cost,” said Carsten Berger, marketing director, ZOTAC International.
The ZOTAC GeForce 9400GT DDR2 series features NVIDIA unified architecture with 16 programmable stream processors for high-performance 3D graphics processing. Full support for Microsoft DirectX 10 with Shader Model 4.0 and OpenGL 2.1 standards ensure maximal compatibility with current and next-generation 3D games and applications.
The powerful NVIDIA GeForce 9400GT graphics processor is paired with 512MB of fast DDR2 memory connected via 128-bit wide bus for phenomenal visuals and performance. The fast graphics processor and high-speed memory connects to the rest of the system via a PCI Express 2.0 interface for up to 5GT/s transfers between the system processor and memory to the graphics card.
The ZOTAC GeForce 9400GT DDR2 ZONE Edition replaces the conventional single-slot active cooler on the GeForce 9400GT DDR2 with a silent dual-slot passive cooler. The ZOTAC GeForce 9400GT DDR2 ZONE Edition cooler caters to the noise needs of quiet PC users while delivering the same performance users expect from a ZOTAC GeForce series graphics cards.
“Quiet computing has become quite popular as users find different ways to reduce overall system noise. Our ZOTAC GeForce 9400GT DDR2 ZONE Edition delivers the silence quiet PC users need with no performance compromises,” Mr. Berger said.
It’s time to play with the new affordable ZOTAC GeForce 9400GT DDR2 and silent GeForce 9400GT DDR2 ZONE Edition.

General details

• New ZOTAC GeForce 9400GT DDR2 and GeForce 9400GT DDR2 ZONE
Edition
• Affordable and high performance
• NVIDIA GeForce 9400GT
• 512MB of GDDR2 memory
• 16 stream processors
• Passive cooling (ZONE Edition)
• PCI Express 2.0 interface (Compatible with 1.1)
• DirectX 10 with Shader Model 4.0 compatible
• OpenGL 2.1 compatible
• PureVideo HD technology with hardware decoding of high-definition video
formats
• Dual-link DVI – up to 2560x1600
• DVI to HDMI dongle included
• DVI Audio (HDMI) compatible

Website: http://www.zotac.com/

CHECK POINT SHIPS FIRST SINGLE AGENT FOR ENDPOINT SECURITY

Check Point® Software Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CHKP), the worldwide leader in securing the Internet, today announced it has began shipping a new version of Check Point Endpoint Security™, the first single agent for endpoint security to combine the highest-rated firewall, network access control (NAC), program control, remote access, antivirus, anti-spyware, full disk encryption and media encryption with port protection. The new release, Check Point Endpoint Security R70, features a newly enhanced and streamlined interface as well as additional tools for enterprise deployment.

By creating a single endpoint security agent with a single client interface, deploying and managing endpoint security is dramatically simplified. A single tray icon on the endpoint device makes reviewing security status and settings easier and eliminates interoperability conflicts. Consequently, Check Point Endpoint Security’s single agent and client interface reduces the time and costs associated with endpoint security.

“Rather than having to deploy and manage multiple solutions to mitigate each type of endpoint risk, Check Point Endpoint Security provides customers a single easy-to-manage endpoint security solution,” said Dr. Dorit Dor, vice president of products at Check Point. “By combining endpoint security into one comprehensive solution, Check Point eases the burden placed on security administrators.”

“Security administrators are always dealing with the challenge of having to increase network security levels in more efficient, cost effective ways,” said Joe Luciano, chief executive officer at AccessIT. “Check Point Endpoint Security solves the dilemma, by giving enterprises a solution that combines all the endpoint security they need in one solution that can be managed centrally through one console.”

Check Point Endpoint Security R70 features and benefits include:
· Single agent with combined firewall, NAC, program control, remote access, antivirus, anti-spyware, full disk encryption and media encryption with port protection provides superior security and eliminates the need to deploy and manage multiple agents, reducing total cost of ownership.
· Single client interface for all local endpoint security administration assures compatibility of endpoint security technologies and simplifies end-user experience
· Unique distribution utility lets administrators deploy customized installations quickly and easily
· Windows Vista support allows new Vista-based PCs to seamlessly plug into a customers IT environment

More information on Check Point Endpoint Security can be found at: www.checkpoint.com/products/endpoint_security/index.html.

EnterTo™ Launches Innovative New Version of Email Technology

EnterTo Inc., a provider of free hosted email services announced the release of Version 3 of its spam-free email system. Version 3 is already in use by over 15,000 private users and adds various selectable user browser interfaces as well as POP3 for other email client. In all cases the system eliminates spam without spam filters or junk folders or any ‘lost’ emails.

“It is astounding that only one in every twenty eight emails received are legitimate and the scale of the problem continues to get worse (the quarterly Sophos IT security report says spam sent to businesses reached 96.5% in the June 2008 quarter),” said Jay Fink, COO of EnterTo Inc. ”The existing industry approach of filtering out spam into junk folders is swamped, despite huge investments of human effort trying to keep spam filters up-to-date and working correctly. Users still have to check their ‘junk’ location for any false positives or else ‘lose’ emails. EnterTo has a far better solution – and it’s free to private users – financially supported by ads at the bottom of the email. We invite you to try it for yourself - free.”

EnterTo’s technological approach to eliminating spam allocates, in the background, unique email addresses to every email correspondent. Email from all these addresses ends up in the recipients single inbox and there is no need for a ‘junk’ email box. If a spam email is ever received via one of these email addresses that address is simply eliminated any legitimate user of that address is allocated a new one. Email sent to eliminated addresses simply ‘bounces’ back to the sender as a non-existent address. There are no filters to manage or update and no ‘false positives’ or ‘lost’ emails.

E-mail spam, also known as "bulk e-mail" or "junk e-mail," involves nearly identical messages sent to numerous recipients by e-mail – the key aspects are that the email is unsolicited and is sent in bulk. E-mail spam grew exponentially to over 100 billion emails per day as of April 2008. Laws against spam have been sporadically implemented but haven’t solved the problem which continues to frustrate and annoy e-mail users as it wasted their time. In cost terms lost US productivity reached $71 billion annually in 2007, $712 per employee, according to a study conducted by Nucleus Research Inc. With legal approaches unable to solve the problem the solution has been largely left to technology. Complex techniques have been implemented to filter and refuse spam based on the content of the e-mail, DNS-based blackhole lists, greylisting, spamtraps, enforcing technical requirements of e-mail (SMTP), checksumming systems to detect bulk email, and by putting some sort of cost on the sender via a proof-of-work system or a micropayment. Each method has strengths and weaknesses and each is controversial due to its weaknesses but all end up redirecting suspected spam to a ‘junk’ location. A July 2008 article in the Wall Street Journal reported that for one of their journalists, “some 46% of their ‘junk’ was legitimate messages that had been flagged as spam”. Website: http://www.enterto.com/

Hoover Color Selects DEACOM as Catalyst for Continued Business Growth

Deacom, Inc. announced today that Hoover Color Corporation, a supplier of iron oxide pigments for the paint and coating, building product, and plastic industries, has licensed the DEACOM Integrated Accounting and Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Software System. Hoover Color will implement DEACOM in place of three non-integrated software systems to support the company's accelerated growth.

Hoover Color was founded in 1923 with the purpose of providing its customers with precise pigment colors in a variety of types. Through advances in processing technology and a historic passion for color, the company has experienced steady growth over the years. In order to meet demand, the company recently underwent a major renovation and expansion project at its Hiwassee, VA, plant. Hoover Color's selection of the DEACOM System was prompted to improve upon its business processes.

"Our former software systems weren't integrated, so there was a great deal of manual entry, from our formulation process to the nightly data uploads required by our accounting system," Chief Operating Officer Chuck Hoover says. "Meeting our customers' coloring demands requires us to operate as efficiently as possible, which means we need total business integration."

The DEACOM ERP System was selected to manage all aspects of the company, including formulation and lab management, Quality Control (QC), regulatory reporting, sales order entry, purchasing, Material Requirements Planning (MRP), inventory and lot control, production, and accounting.

Hoover Color will go live on the DEACOM System in January of 2009. With one point of control, data adjustments will be updated across all departments in real-time. This access to current data will eliminate many of Hoover Color's manual processes, including its nightly data uploads.

"Product quality and consistency are just two reasons why our company has been so successful for more than 80 years. Now [with DEACOM] we will have the technology to handle both our current business requirements and those as we evolve," Hoover says.

To learn more about the DEACOM Integrated Accounting and ERP Software System or to schedule an online demonstration, call 610-971-2278 ext. 15 or visit www.deacom.net.

iDTRONIC will present at RFID World in Las Vegas its complete and expanded UHF Range of Products

iDTRONIC will present at RFID World in Las Vegas its complete and expanded UHF Range of Products, including UHF Reader/Writers, UHF Antennas and all kinds of UHF Tags.

iDTRONIC offers several UHF development kits specially configured for developing UHF applications. These are complete hardware solutions, including software tools with drivers, demo applications and source code. The Software Development Kit (SDKs) include everything necessary to easily develop your unique implementation.

The innovative and versatile UHF Long Range Gate Starter Kit consists of the high-performance iDTRONIC UHF Long Range Reader / Writer, four Long Range Antennas UHF “A1”, two stands, all required mounting equipment and cables, as well as a full Software Development Kit on CD-ROM.

iDTRONIC´s new UHF RFID Reader/Writer covers the global UHF frequency range, and is designed as a Multi-tag UHF Reader capable of reading tags that conform to the EPC Generation Two (Gen2) and ISO 18000-6 B/C standards. This multi-protocol, multi-regional UHF RFID Reader supports the very important Dense Reader Mode (DRM) the Listen before talk feature. With its Anti-self Jamming (ASJ) technology, the reader supports a Multi-Reader Environment for several readers simultaneously.

The new UHF-LRA circular polarized UHF antenna covers both European and US RFID bands and reading Distances of up to 10 metres are easily achieved. The antenna is entirely waterproof and is very easy to install. The circular polarization allows tags to be read in multiple 3D orientations.

iDTRONIC is also introducing as a premier at RFID World in Las Vegas its new UHF USB Stick. iDTRONIC´s new UHF USB Stick is the world’s first UHF reader to meet the market’s requirements for this unique form factor. It is an easy to handle RFID Reader to be used with USB equipped Terminals and Laptops. Its light weight and compact design, in combination with the latest technology and a robust ABS housing, make it perfectly suited to a very wide range of identification applications.

The reader includes a multi-color LED indicator to easily monitor the reading status. The linearly polarized built-in antenna allows a maximum reading distance of up to 80cm. The USB V2.0 type A ensures reliable, high-speed data transfer. The reader uses the 5V USB power supply, and the power output is adjustable up to 20dBm. Moreover, the Reader offers a reader sensitivity well over 90 dBm.

Logistics management, track–and-trace, distribution systems, and inventory control environments all benefit from the high performance of this innovative stick reader. Able to operate at temperatures of up to 60°C, it can even be used in very rough environments. iDTRONIC’s USB Stick - UHF is packaged with a full SDK and Demo software for Windows.

The newest member of iDTRONIC´s Compact Flash Reader Family is the CF UHF RFID Reader. It has been designed and developed to allow Pocket PCs, PDA’s, Handheld Terminals and other mobile devices to access to ISO 18000-6 Part B + C (Gen1-Gen2) UHF smart labels, tags and ISO transponders.

Weighing just 30 grams, and measuring just 95mm x 60mm x 12 mm in combination with a robust ABS housing, the new reader fits in anywhere. Efficient power management is ensured by the 3.3 Volt Power supply, with power consumption of just 20 mA in Stand-by mode and 250 mA in Active mode. The reading distance for the CF Reader can be up to 50cm, depending on the type of transponder.

iDTRONIC´s CF device is packaged with a CD ROM containing PDA & PC SDKs for development in Windows environment, or with an optional PCMCIA to CF adaptor.

iDTRONIC´s new UHF Handheld Terminal Ezit II delivers maximum performance and reliability in a lightweight and extremely rugged design. It allows the capture of a comprehensive range of data - from RFID tags and bar codes to images – even in remote areas, where fixed RFID readers can´t reach.

iDTRONIC’s EzIT II is IP54-rated, exceeding military specifications for resistance to drops, dust, vibration and both high and low temperatures. These features give users the ability to work in nearly any environment and dramatically reduces repair and downtime costs. The ease of use and portability of the Ezit II combine to deliver exceptional ergonomics, ensuring reliable performance wherever and whenever you need it.

iDTRONIC´s UHF Adhesive Labels and UHF Hardtag Transponders complete iDTRONIC´s UHF Family. The UHF Adhesive Labels are specially suited for supply chain and logistics application, where long operating distances are required. They have blank matt paper on the top, which protects the chip and the antenna underneath.

The iDTRONIC UHF Hard Tags come in a very robust ABS housing and have been designed for rough environment. The on-metal Tags has a 3M durable adhesive layer with release paper on the backside of the tag. They are available in 3 different dimensions with different UHF chip versions and frequencies of 868 and 915MHz.

For more information about all UHF Readers and UHF Transponders, email us or visit our website. Please visit us also at the RFID World in Las Vegas at our booth # 630.

iDTRONIC Electronic Identification
Andreas Jaeger
Donnersbergweg 1
67059 Ludwigshafen am Rhein
Germany
Phone: +49 621 66 90 09 – 46
Fax: +49 621 66 90 09 – 49

eMail: andreas.jaeger@idtronic.de
Internet: www.idtronic-rfid.com

AmeriVault Launches Accelerated Disaster Recovery Service for iSeries (AS400, System i) Servers

AmeriVault (amerivault.com) – a recognized leader in data protection managed services, including remote online data backup, offsite recovery services, email archiving, and data lifecycle solutions – today announced the availability of an advanced, hardware-free, hosted disaster recovery service for iSeries servers (also known as AS400 or System i) that allows remote access to a virtualized recovery environment following a disaster.

Since iSeries is known for being an extremely stable and reliable system, many organizations use it for mission-critical applications that cannot withstand downtime or reboots. However, despite the importance of the data on iSeries servers, they are often neglected when it comes to data protection – particularly from a disaster recovery standpoint.

Challenges to Fast iSeries Disaster Recovery

A cornerstone of disaster recovery planning is to ensure that backup data is stored securely offsite, geographically separated from the primary systems in case of a regional disaster like a hurricane. Many SMBs, however, simply do not have the time, budget, or personnel to manage offsite data protection or to ensure proper safeguards are in place.

The most common solution for offsite data protection involves an employee transporting backup tapes to an offsite location. In this scenario, data is often unencrypted and subject to loss, theft, or damage. In addition, an employee’s home is almost never far enough away from the primary data to provide adequate data protection in the event of a regional disaster.

The second challenge for iSeries data protection is fast recovery. Even when courier services are employed to transport backup tapes to an offsite datacenter (a process that is still at risk of loss or theft), it may take several days to receive backup tapes if requested after a real disaster.

Another roadblock preventing fast recovery is the process of sourcing, purchasing, and deploying replacement iSeries servers following a disaster or server failure. This process could take a week or more because the administrator must ensure the replacement server is patched and upgraded to precisely duplicate the configuration of the primary server before recovery can begin.

Accelerated iSeries Disaster Recovery – Removing the Roadblocks

But what if all of these roadblocks were removed by a service that also improves security and reliability? AmeriVault’s new Virtual Disaster Recovery service for iSeries servers, RestartIT-VDR iSeries, does just that – while providing an offsite failover site so administrators and end users can remotely access AmeriVault’s managed, virtualized iSeries recovery environment while the primary site and systems are rebuilt.

When a server houses mission-critical data – as is often the case with iSeries servers – three, four, or more days is just too long for most businesses to wait for system availability. RestartIT-VDR for iSeries is an advanced recovery service that allows iSeries server recovery within a day. RestartIT-VDR for iSeries allows clients to remotely access AmeriVault’s virtualized iSeries environment for up to 30 days following the declaration of a disaster – for no additional charge – providing plenty of time for a company to rebuild its primary systems following a disaster.

The foundation of RestartIT-VDR for iSeries consists of online backup and virtualized standby recovery servers hosted at one of AmeriVault's secure, world-class datacenters.

Should a client encounter an outage or suffer a disaster, rapid recovery commences: the backup data is recovered to AmeriVault's standby iSeries server – all achieved remotely for the client. With iSeries' excellent compression and with Gig-E connectivity in AmeriVault’s datacenters, the recovery process to AmeriVault's recovery servers can take just a few hours. End users can then VPN-in to resume operations while the primary systems are rebuilt. Full recovery is typically achieved in 10 hours or less.

Practical & Testable Disaster Recovery for iSeries Servers

Most importantly, RestartIT-VDR for iSeries is a testable disaster recovery service. Many disaster recovery plans lack true testability or are not completely practical when a real disaster occurs.

After helping several clients recover from 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, AmeriVault realized that IT professionals - not just the businesses for which they work - needed a better solution. Protecting data safe distances offsite is the best practice – but when a real disaster strikes, it is just not feasible to ask an administrator to leave his or her family to begin recovery at the remote site. The practicality of their disaster recovery solution, then, goes right out the window.

RestartIT-VDR for iSeries not only provides remote recovery so administrators can stay with their families during a disaster, but it is also a fully testable solution. With annual testing included with the service, RestartIT-VDR for iSeries provides advanced, cost-effective disaster recovery readiness for iSeries servers.

Virtual Disaster Recovery for iSeries: Benefits

» Virtual, Warm Recovery Servers
» Rapid, Economical Recovery
» No Capital Expense for Recovery Servers
» Remote Recovery Initialization Capability
» Avoid Travel to Datacenter for Recovery & Skip a Time-Consuming Step
» Remote User Access to Virtual Recovery Environment following Disaster
» World-Class Datacenters
» Easy Recovery Testing
» Technical Support
» Training Included

Learn More About Virtual Disaster Recovery for iSeries

AmeriVault has partnered with iSeries specialist SafeData to provide Virtual Disaster Recovery services for iSeries. Learn more about iSeries Virtual Disaster Recovery by visiting AmeriVault and SafeData at Disaster Recovery Journal’s “Fall World 2008” tradeshow (Sep. 14 – 16, booth 52).

AXIGEN Releases New Version for Windows Based Platforms

AXIGEN (axigen.com), the professional messaging solution vendor, announces today the commercial release of its new version of the AXIGEN Mail Server for Windows operating systems. Version 6.1 runs on Windows Server 2003 and on Windows XP platforms, bringing all the high-end functionalities of the AXIGEN messaging solution to Windows users.

The inclusion of Windows platforms in the already wide range of popular Linux and BSD distributions comes to support companies of all sizes that can now switch their mail server freely between Windows, Linux and hybrid platforms, while also taking full advantage of AXIGEN’s advanced messaging capabilities.

“In our ongoing efforts to permanently adapt our solutions to current business demands and following customers’ requests and market feedback, the AXIGEN Mail Server is now readily available for Windows users. In addition to value added messaging and collaboration features, our customers and all those evaluating AXIGEN will also benefit from our technical support team’s expertise in both Windows and Linux/UNIX based implementations”, said Oana Bornaz, AXIGEN CEO.

The new Windows version will be available for all AXIGEN product editions - Business, Enterprise, Service Provider and the free Office Edition. The prices for AXIGEN licenses running on the newly introduced platforms will be the same as those for already supported platforms.

Winner of the ServerWatch 2007 Product Excellence Award for the Communications Server category, the AXIGEN Mail Server also runs on several Linux and BSD distributions, on Solaris, on PowerPC and SPARC architectures and is becoming the messaging solution of choice for a growing number of service providers and enterprises worldwide.
www.axigen.com

Fry’s Stores Add 32GB, 64GB and 128GB Ridata Ultra-S Plus MLC SSD

Advanced Media, Inc., is a manufacturer and marketer of the popular Ridata brand of recordable DVD media, electronic storage products, and digital media accessories. The company announced today that its Ridata Ultra-S Plus Series of Solid State Drives (SSD) are now available at Fry’s Electronics. Ultra-S Plus MLC SSD’s feature a Multi-Level Cell (MLC) SATA configuration for fast read and write speeds plus larger storage capacities.

"We are pleased Fry’s is expanding their retail selection of Ridata SSD’s for laptops and other mobile computing devices. The Ridata Ultra-S Plus MLC SSD is an affordable alternative to Hard Disk Drives (HDD). SSD drives offer many benefits for notebooks. Cool and silent running, low battery usage, fast data access, dependable performance and resistance to temperature, shock, vibration and humidity make SSD ideal for mobile computing,” remarked Harvey Liu, Advanced Media President.

Data Integrity
Featuring no moving parts, Ridata SSD’s are resistant to vibration, shock, humidity and temperature extremes. They are very reliable with up to 1,000,000 hours Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF). Data integrity is ensured by static wear leveling and Reed-Solomon ECC (8bit BCH). With SMART features and write endurance cycle (P/E) up to 1,000,000 times (depending on capacity used), the Ridata SSD drive keeps data safe and secure.

Technology
The Ridata 32, 64 GB and 128 GB Ridata Ultra-S Plus MLC stores two bits of data per cell, providing consistent, fast performance and extremely low-power consumption. Its lightweight is ideal for the performance-driven and rugged environments that laptops and other mobile computing devices experience. Laptop compatibility is ensured by a traditional Serial ATA (SATA) connection with 7-pin signal segment and 15-pin power segment.

Performance
User time on a laptop or other mobile computing application is dramatically extended, due to the drive’s low-five-volt power consumption. With no mechanical parts, low battery usage and minimal heat generation the Ridata SSD
Drive is a natural alternative for a greener environment. Meeting bus interface industry standard Serial ATA (SATA) ensures no host compatibility or upgrading issues. The Ridata SSD offers reliable temperature (0 to 70C) resistance, assuring long-lasting data storage.

Availability
All capacities of the Ridata Ultra-S Plus SSD Series MLC are now available at Fry’s. Visit www.ritekusa.com or www.frys.com for more product information and retail availability.

Ford to spend $75M to retool plant for small cars

Demand for Ford Motor Co.'s Focus and other small cars has been superheated ever since gas prices headed toward $4 per gallon in May, and since then, Ford hasn't been able to build the Focus quickly enough.

On Tuesday, though, the automaker took two steps toward further cranking up Focus production, announcing that it would sink $75 million into the body-making part of an SUV factory next door to the Wayne Assembly Plant, where the Focus is built.

If demand stays strong, the SUV plant will quickly start producing Focus bodies, eliminating what is now a bottleneck that is slowing production.

Oil prices rise as Hurricane Gustav nears Gulf

Oil prices swung higher Tuesday as Hurricane Gustav struck Haiti, raising concerns that the storm could slam into major oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico.

However, the price rise was tempered by a stronger dollar and a report from the Energy Department showing even slower fuel demand than many traders thought.

FAA says communication breakdown delaying flights

An electronic communication failure Tuesday at a Federal Aviation Administration facility in Georgia that processes flight plans for the eastern half of the U.S. was causing hundreds of flight delays around the country.

An FAA Web site that tracks airport status showed delays at some three dozen major airports across the country.

FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen in Atlanta said there were no safety issues and officials were still able to speak to pilots on planes on the ground and in the air.

FDIC: 117 troubled banks, highest level since 2003

The number of troubled U.S. banks leaped to the highest level in about five years and bank profits plunged by 86 percent in the second quarter, as slumps in the housing and credit markets continued.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. data released Tuesday show 117 banks and thrifts were considered to be in trouble in the second quarter, up from 90 in the prior quarter and the biggest tally since mid-2003.

The FDIC also said that federally-insured banks and savings institutions earned $5 billion in the April-June period, down from $36.8 billion a year earlier. The roughly 8,500 banks and thrifts also set aside a record $50.2 billion to cover losses from soured mortgages and other loans in the second quarter.