Press Release
For Immediate Release
September 24, 2001
MCE Ships FireBay – FireWire Expansion Bay Docking Station
Irvine, CA – MCE Technologies, LLC (MCE PowerBook Products, an Apple
Developer) today announced that the FireBay, a FireWire Expansion Bay
Docking Station, has begun shipping. When plugged into the MCE FireBay,
PowerBook expansion bay devices such as hard disks, CD/DVD-ROM’s, CD-RW’s,
etc. become high speed, portable, FireWire devices usable on any Mac,
PowerBook or PC with a FireWire port. Compatiible expansion bay devices
include those designed for the Apple PowerBook (FireWire) and the Apple
PowerBook G3 Series – 1999 (Bronze/Lombard).
“PowerBook expansion bay devices, previously usable only in the expansion
bay slot of PowerBooks, are very capable devices on the cutting edge of
miniaturization and technology,” said Arnold Ramirez, President, MCE
Technologies, LLC. “Our latest product, the FireBay, allows them to be used
as high-speed, portable FireWire devices that can connect to any Mac or PC
with FireWire ports.”
The MCE FireBay is a small, FireWire expansion bay into which a PowerBook
expansion bay device is inserted. The FireBay gives PowerBook users the
ability to use their expansion bay devices as an external FireWire device,
and connect it to any machine, PowerBook, Mac, or PC, with a FireWire port.
In addition, expansion bay devices can, for the first time, be used
simultaneously instead of just one at a time and only in the PowerBook’s
single expansion bay. With the MCE FireBay one now has the ability to
easily install software to an expansion bay hard drive from CD-ROM, as well
as the ability to make CD to CD copies on the PowerBook using CD-RW and
CD/DVD-ROM expansion bay devices simultaneously. Depending on the
particular expansion bay device in use, the FireBay can be either
bus-powered, or powered by an optional AC adapter.
Supported expansion bay devices include: Hard drives, CD-ROM/DVD drives,
CD-RW drives, CD-RW/DVD Combo drives, and SuperDisk/Floppy drives.
Of particular interest to multimedia authors is the ability now to capture
digital video on location using their PowerBook and expansion bay hard
drive, and then later simply inserting the expansion bay hard drive into
the MCE FireBay connected to their PowerMac G4 desktop machine for final
editing and rendering.
The MCE FireBay can be used as a single, stand-alone unit or multiple
FireBays can be stacked on top of each other. In addition to a standard
FireWire port on the rear, each MCE FireBay has a topside FireWire port
which connects to a port underneath each unit when stacked, thereby
eliminating the need for extra cables.
The MCE FireBay FireWire Expansion Bay carries a retail price of $169 and
ships with FireWire driver software, FireWire cable, and owner’s manual.
MCE Technologies, LLC designs and markets a wide range of Apple
PowerBook-related products and solutions to distributors, dealers, and
end-users domestically and internationally. For additional information
please contact MCE Technologies, LLC, 30 Hughes, Suite. 203, Irvine, CA,
92618; telephone (949) 458-0800, fax (949) 458-1803, or on the World Wide
Web at http://www.mcetech.com.