PRODUCT NEWS RELEASE
LaCie Unveils the Ultimate in Storage Convenience with 6GB & 18GB
PocketDrive World’s Smallest Drives are First to Include Both
FireWire and USB Support LaCie brings back popular PocketDrive
Fast, plug and play storage expansion–no rebooting required
Unprecedented flexibilityU&I connects to FireWire and USB-equipped
personal computers
SAN FRANCISCO (January 5, 2000) For content developers, illustrators,
audio/video professionals or just people on the go, the new 6GB and 18GB
PocketDrive hard drives unveiled by LaCie at MACWORLD/Expo San Francisco
today will easily be the most exciting announcement of the show. Measuring
only 3.5″ x 5.75″ and weighing less than a pound, LaCie’s new drives are
not only some of the world’s smallest hard drives, they’re the first
peripherals to offer both Universal Serial Bus (USB) and FireWire (IEEE
1394) support, or “U&I” (LaCie’s acronym and trademark for the dual-support
capability).
With the unique combination of features these versatile drives provide,
users have an easy means of expanding the storage capacity of USB-equipped
computers such as Apple iMac and G3 computers, and FireWire systems such as
the most recent Macintosh G4 workstations, and the new iMacDV systems as
well as and Windows 98SE and 2000 PCs. In addition, users can quickly
share the contents of the entire drive with others. The capacity and
performance of the new LaCie hard drives also make them ideal for full
backups of an internal drive, including a bootable operating system.
LaCie will demonstrate the flexibility of its U&I PocketHD Series during
MACWORLD this week at Booth #548 in the Moscone Center.
To achieve U&I functionality, LaCie incorporates both a FireWire controller
and a USB controller in the new LaCie PocketDrives. The FireWire controller
is a 400 Mbps interface that is based on a 1394 to IDE/ATAPI bridge
chipset. For USB connectivity, the drives are equipped with the new mass
storage-class USB controller and a software driver developed by LaCie. When
the drive is connected to a FireWire interface, performance is more than 11
Mbytes/second and fast enough for capturing video from DV camcorders. When
the USB interface is used, the LaCie hard drives deliver a sustained
performance of up to 750Kbytes/second. Designed with true plug-and-play
capabilities, the FireWire and USB buses make the LaCie drives
hot-pluggable–they can be removed or swapped without having to shutdown or
reboot the system. The drives mount automatically as soon as they are
connected.
For added convenience, the PocketDrive can be powered directly by the bus
power provided by Apple’s G3 and G4 computers. For use with USB
connections, the provided universal AC adapter provides the necessary
power. The adapter is also necessary when using FireWire with PowerBook and
other portable computers equipped with FireWire ports.
“Our new PocketDrive line provides everything users need to meet the
storage requirements of today’s demanding, data-intensive
applications–high capacity, fast access, and reliability in an affordable,
ultra-compact design plus cross-platform interoperability,” said Mike
Mihalik, vice president of engineering at LaCie U.S. “For the first time in
the history of the storage industry, content developers and graphics
professionals will have the capacity and the mobility they need plus the
ability to quickly and easily share large files without having to worry
about whether the computer is equipped with a USB port or a FireWire port.
With our U&I approach, they have the best of both worlds.”
LaCie brings back the PocketDrive with modern USB and FireWire interfaces.
The original award-winning PocketDrive was introduced by LaCie in 1991 with
a SCSI interface.
Availability and Pricing
Available In February through LaCie authorized resellers and mail order
partners, the LaCie PocketDrives have SRPs of $399 for the 6GB hard drive
and $749 for the 18GB drive. In addition to U&I support, the drives include
a small international power supply adapter for worldwide use, and LaCie’s
Silverlining Pro drive utility software for MacOS environments.
Silverlining 98 is included for Windows 98SE (Second Edition) and Windows
2000 environments. Silverlining Pro is the most comprehensive drive
management software on the market and the only driver able to manage USB,
IDE, SCSI and FireWire peripherals at the same time.
For more information on the features and capabilities of the USB and
FireWire technologies, visit www.lacie.com/usb/ and www.lacie.com/firewire/.
About LaCie
Founded in 1987, LaCie is a world leader in the development and manufacture
of cross-platform mass storage, digital video and color-management computer
peripherals for personal, business, industrial and multimedia environments.
In addition to its U.S. development, marketing and manufacturing facilities
in Hillsboro, OR, LaCie has its corporate office in Massy, France, and
sales offices in Canada and 10 European countries. LaCie Group SA is a
French public company listed on the Paris Nouveau March (code 5431). For
more information, contact LaCie, Ltd. at 22985 NW Evergreen Parkway;
Hillsboro, OR 97124 or call (503) 844-4500, Fax (503) 844-4593. Visit
LaCie’s Web site at www.lacie.com