Johannesburg, 30 Nov 1998
Imagine inserting a stiffy disk into the A-drive of your PC or laptop, and being able to download up to 128MB of text, graphics or other files onto it. Ridiculous thought, isn`t it? Anyone knows that a 3.5-inch stiffy disk can only store up to 1.4 MB, right?
As a matter of fact, that is perfectly right. A normal stiffy can only store 1.4 MB of data of any kind. But it sure would be nice if it could store up to 128 MB.
Enter FlashPath
FlashPath takes a quantum leap into an entirely new storage medium that breaks all previous boundaries for compact, portable storage. FlashPath is an electronic device that looks, at a casual glance, no different from any ordinary stiffy disk. However, that is where the similarity ends.
It is actually a highly sophisticated electronic device, shaped exactly like a 3.5-inch stiffy disk that slots into and works from a PCs 3.5-inch floppy disk drive. It has a slot on one side that accepts the new tiny Solid State Floppy Disk Card (SSFDC) "SmartMedia" flash memory card from Toshiba and Samsung, created as a storage medium for digital cameras.
"This is probably going to open up a whole new market for digital cameras," says Steve Crutchley, General Manager of AST Security Management, SA distributors of FlashPath. "The SSFDC flash memory cards are available from us right now with 8MB or 16 MB of memory. By early next year, they will be available with 32 MB, 64MB and 128MB giving up to 91 times more storage from your stiffy drive.
" Nothing could be more compact or convenient. To transfer digital images from a camera to a PC, all you do is remove the flash memory card from your camera, insert it in the slot of the FlashPath reader, insert that into the A-drive of your PC and off you go. You can then work with it like a normal stiffy, only much faster and with up to twenty-two times more data on the disk. No cumbersome cables or bulky power supplies."
"However," Crutchley continues, "that is only the beginning. By inserting the flash memory card into the FlashPath reader, you can use it to store any data that you could store on a stiffy or for that matter on your hard-drive. It is an entirely new, powerful storage medium for your PC. And the beauty of it is that you only need one FlashPath reader, even if you have fifty flash memory cards. The cards simply slot in and out."
Here are some major advantages of FlashPath. It is:
- Ready to use immediately with any 3.5-inch floppy disk drive, without bulky power supplies or cables
- Easy to use and interchangeable between desktops and laptops
- More than 15 times faster than a serial port
- Low cost, yet reliable and effective
- A breakthrough for desktops. FlashPath is the only method on the market to transfer digital images without using a PCMCIA slot or monopolising a serial port
- Easy to install with simple set-up software
- Compact and easy to carry. FlashPath fits comfortably into a shirt pocket.
Future uses for FlashPath and Toshiba`s SmartMedia include:
- Transferring sound bytes from voice recorders and smart cellular phones
- Transferring files from Personal Digital Assistants to PCs
- Recording solid state music
- Applications in the financial, insurance and health care industries, as well as many others
-
Share