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Creativity Motivation – What is motivation – Corey K Katir
Advertising From http://www.creativitymotivation.com Describes motivation process for creativity with emphasis on intrinsic motivation by Corey K Katir Hitachi G-Technology announces Driven Creativity competition
From dpreview.com
Click here for more information and to enter the competition
Hitachi 6GB Microdrive sells for just $299
From dpreview.com
Hitachi Global Storage Technologies is offering a 6GB Microdrive for $299. The Microdrive 3K6 can hold up to 6000 one megabyte images and is available in CompactFlash Type II and embedded versions. A 4GB Microdrive 3K6 will be offered at $199. Hitachi is planning to develop a ‘baby Microdrive’ later this year, named Mikey. The one-inch hard drive will be 20% smaller and have a capacity of 8 – 10GB.
Press Release: SAN JOSE, Calif., February 23, 2005 – Users of miniature MP3 players and other storage-demanding handheld consumer electronics can rejoice today as Hitachi Global Storage Technologies begins shipping its 6 gigabyte* (GB) one-inch hard drive in high volume. As the leader in one-inch hard drives, Hitachi is raising the stakes by making available the new Microdrive 3K6 with a suggested retail price reduction of up to 60 percent.
With 6 GB, the new Microdrive lets consumers carry even more of what they love –1500-3000 songs, 6,000 pictures (1 MB each) or 8 hours of MPEG-4 video**. Hitachi is making all this possible, now, at a significant price reduction, retailing the 6 GB Microdrive for $299 USD or pennies per megabyte. Hitachi’s new suggested retail pricing represents the best value of capacity, reliability and performance at a price point that’s affordable to virtually all owners of consumer devices . The Microdrive 3K6 is available in removable Compact Flash Type II and embedded versions.
In its fourth generation, the newest Hitachi Microdrive product combines a mature architecture and unmatched reliability with industry-leading storage capacity. The Microdrive’s high standard of quality and breakthrough capacity are what users of consumer electronics products have come to expect. Hitachi is also seeing growing interest from makers of personal digital assistants and mobile phones in using the Microdrive as the preferred technology for miniature, high-capacity storage.
“The entertainment and experiences that consumers carry with them in portable digital devices are priceless; our intent with the higher capacity and lower pricing of the new Microdrive is to let a greater number of users enjoy the benefit of keeping their precious data close at hand,” said Bill Healy, senior vice president, product strategy and marketing, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. “The desire for smaller devices with increasingly larger capacities won’t be easily met in the short term, but we believe the 6 GB Microdrive will satisfy consumers’ immediate needs while we work on developing ever higher capacities in future Microdrive products.”
Hitachi recently announced plans for a 20-percent smaller one-inch hard drive with 8-10 GB of capacity. The new drive — nicknamed “Mikey,” the baby Microdrive — is expected later this year.
Priced to Sell
For the first time since its 1999 introduction, the new-generation Microdrive product is being offered at a suggested retail price of $299, representing a 40-percent reduction of Hitachi’s standard debut price of $499 for the one-inch product. The 4 GB version of the Microdrive 3K6 will be offered at $199, representing a 60-percent decrease.
The change in Hitachi ‘s pricing structure is made possible through a more efficient and developed, high-volume manufacturing process. It was also implemented to enable a greater set of users to enjoy the Microdrive benefits of high capacity, portability and flexibility for use in a host of devices.
“The Microdrive has always been a hot commodity at a great price due to its reliability and unique position in the market,” said Brian Campbell, president, Pexagon Technology. “But now, with lower price points and more capacity, the Microdrive is an even better value for users of handheld devices and digital cameras.”
Pexagon Technology is the North American distributor for Hitachi’s retail Microdrive products. Using a 4 GB Microdrive, Pexagon recently developed a USB-based external storage device under its own label.
A Time Tested Design
Hitachi ‘s latest Microdrive gives consumers more capacity for less. The 3K6 is intended to satisfy the current appetite for more storage on handheld consumer-electronic applications, especially digital music players, personal digital assistants and digital still/video cameras. Hitachi has increased storage capacity on the new Microdrive 3K6 by 50 percent over the previous generation.
The 3K6 continues the Microdrive family’s leadership in technology, offering a 30 percent performance improvement over its predecessor. The drive is available in 4 and 6-GB capacities and comes to the market in very high demand. Hitachi has significantly increased production to several million units per quarter to meet the growing demand for Microdrive products.
Hitachi has already shipped several hundred thousand Microdrive 3K6 products to customers and retail outlets worldwide. Broad-scale retail availability is expected in late February, depending on the region. Microdrive 3K6 Technical Specifications
Hitachi confirm 2 and 4 GB Microdrive
From dpreview.com Hitachi has today confirmed their 2 and 4 GB Microdrive (Compact Flash Type II). IBM Storage Technology and Hitachi Storage merged at the beginning of the year. At that time Hitachi Glboal Storage Technologies (HGST) announced that they would have a 4 GB Microdrive by the end of the year, today they have officially confirmed that they will be producing a 2 and 4 GB Microdrive. These higher capacities are made possible using Hitachi’s patented “Pixie Dust” surface layer technology. Note that the 4 GB card will only work with a digital camera which supports the FAT32 filesystem. The 4 GB card will hit the shelves this November at a price of $499 (just $0.12/MB), a third of the price of Lexar’s 4 GB 40x.
Click here for our previous coverage of the 4 GB Microdrive
Click here for the Hitachi 4 GB Microdrive Datasheet (PDF) * Does not confirm compatibility with the Hitachi Microdrive Press Release: 4GB Microdrive yields 70 percent increase in performance from previous generation
SAN JOSE, Calif., August 25, 2003 – Hitachi Global Storage Technologies today announced that it is now shipping qualification samples of its 4GB Microdrive to consumer product manufacturers worldwide. The one-inch diameter drive features a data transfer rate that represents a 70 percent increase from the previous-generation Microdrive. The new drive will also continue its tradition of offering a significantly lower cost-per-megabyte than competitive solid-state memory solutions.
Hitachi’s 4GB Microdrive is the world’s smallest hard disk drive, weighing just over a half an ounce (16 grams) and equivalent in size to a matchbook. The miniaturized hard drive is designed for users who demand maximum capacity for storing large quantities of high-resolution digital photos and video, MP3 music, electronic games and other large files. The data storage available on the 4GB Microdrive is roughly equivalent to a full-length DVD movie or 75 hours of high-quality digital music.
Consumer product manufacturers that are evaluating the 4GB Microdrive for compatibility with current and future products include Blaupunkt, Kodak, Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, Pentax, Sigma and Sony. Many of these industry-leading companies already support Hitachi’s current-generation Microdrive in their consumer electronic devices.
“As we migrate into a world of mobile computing and communications, we will see significant growth in portable devices that use more data and have greater storage requirements,” said J. Gerry Purdy, Ph.D., principal analyst, MobileTrax. “The new 4GB Hitachi Microdrive provides the capacity necessary to satisfy the skyrocketing need for affordable, high-capacity data storage in portable devices.”
Miniaturization Leadership
The 4GB Microdrive is a major storage capacity breakthrough and the first of many storage miniaturization advancements that are being made by Hitachi’s world-class product design and development team. The new drive will use ultra-miniaturized The 4GB Microdrive is an illustration of Hitachi’s commitment to leadership in the high-growth area of storage miniaturization. “Microdrive has been the crown jewel of our miniaturization efforts for the past five years,” said Tsuyoshi Takahashi, general manager, Emerging Markets Business Unit, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. “There is nothing else available on the market that offers a better combination of storage capacity, compact size, performance and affordability.”
Product Compatibility and Availability
Hitachi’s new 4GB Microdrive, (officially known as the Hitachi Microdrive 3K4 series), is designed to the Compact Flash Type II industry standard and is compatible with a wide variety of devices that accept CF+ Type II media. The 4GB Microdrive is formatted at the factory using the FAT32 file system to remedy the 2GB limitation of the FAT16 file system. Therefore, when used in a digital camera, the camera must support a FAT32 file system. For additional information about the new Microdrive, please visit: http://www.hgst.com.
Hitachi will continue to offer its current 1GB Microdrive to customers throughout the world and is planning to introduce a 2GB version of the Microdrive later this year. The company expects the new 4GB Microdrive to be available on retail shelves in major markets this November at a MSRP of $499.
Hitachi will participate, through its development partners, in major industry events such as IFA Berlin in August to demonstrate the 4GB Microdrive and discuss the underlying technology in greater detail.
Hitachi launch range of high speed MMC cards
From dpreview.com Hitachi as today announced a range of MMC (MultiMediaCard) cards. They range in capacity from 16 to 128 MB. It’s worth noting that this is only the third announcement (Toshiba, SanDisk previously) of 128MB MMC (or SD) cards. The 16 and 32 MB cards have a claimed transfer speed of 1 MB/sec, the 64 and 128 MB cards have a claimed transfer speed of 2 MB/sec. (Though it’s not clear what Hitachi define MB as).
Hitachi DZ-MV100 DVD-RAM camcorder
From dpreview.com Not strictly digital photography news, but more interesting is the technology used and it’s possibilities. Hitachi announced (back in June actually) the DZ-MV100 as a first of a kind DVD-RAM camcorder, features a 1.1 megapixel CCD has a 12x optical zoom lens and records in MPEG-2 format directly onto 8 cm 2.92 GB DVD-RAM discs it’s also capable of 1280 x 960 stills recorded in JPEG format and has USB connectivity. Interesting technology when viewed alongside Sony’s recent announcement of the MVC-CD1000 and interesting potential in a “Wallet” type device.
Looks like we’re going to be seeing more and more portable CD-R, CD-RW and DVD-RAM devices exploiting smaller disc formats, while I’m not sure they have a place inside a digital still camera they are certainly the way forward for digital video and I’d like to see the technology implemented in a device similar to the Digital Wallet we’ve heard so much about recently.
Hitachi announcement:
TOKYO, Japan, June 8, 2000 — Digital Media Group of Hitachi, Ltd. (NYSE: HIT) today announced that on August 25 it will release the world’s first DVD-RAM camcorder in Japan. In addition, a DVD-RAM video recorder will be released on the same day, and volume shipments of 4.7GB DVD-RAM and DVD-ROM drives for PCs will follow after the end of June. The DVD-RAM products are based on the 4.7GB DVD-RAM standard.
In the field of audiovisual (AV) equipment, the pace of the shift to digital video and audio continues to increase at a rapid pace. At the same time, the advent of faster CPUs and the growing capacities of hard-disk drives is driving a migration of AV applications to the PC and other digital appliances. To enable this process of convergence to achieve its full potential, there is a need for a large-capacity media format that is compatible with both AV equipment and PCs. DVD-RAM standard is based on the concept that holds compatibility in both video recorders and storage devices for PCs through DVD-RAM disk media. Setting DVD standards is a mission of the DVD Forum, which is comprised of more than 200 member companies from around the world. Through their efforts, DVD is fast becoming the key storage media for providing a bridge between AV devices and PCs in the DVD world of the 21st century.
In making the announcement, Yoshinori Fujimori, CEO of the Hitachi, Ltd. Digital Media Group said, “Hitachi has been involved in DVD right from the beginning, expanding its presence in this sector of operations by developing DVD-ROM and -RAM drives for PCs. Hitachi has used the technology and expertise thus acquired to develop this latest group of DVD products that take the convergence of AV and PC products a step further. We intend to continue further development of truly innovative DVD based products that satisfy the needs for an increasingly content driven marketplace in the future.”
Another article (EE Times): By Yoshiko Hara TOKYO — Optical disks measuring 8 centimeters in diameter will enter the digital camera scene next month as large-capacity bridge media to PCs.
In the vanguard of DVD-RAM promoters, Hitachi Ltd. will introduce a DVD video camera that uses an 8-cm version of the latest DVD-RAM Version 2.0 disk format, packing 1.4 Gbytes per side for the first time. And using mature, recordable-CD technology, Sony Corp. will introduce an 8-cm version of CD-R with a 156-Mbyte capacity, another first for digital still camera applications.
The disk format makes it possible for cameras to store a mixture of still and video images on one medium, which was not possible for tape-based cameras. Once those disks are recorded by the cameras, they can can be read by ROM drives, which is also seen as a big advantage. However, DVD-RAM disks still have to wait until compatible DVD-ROM drives more widely penetrate the market.
“DVD connects the digital audio-video world and the PC world with one medium,” said Yoshinori Fujimori, chief executive officer of Hitachi Digital Media Group. “Hitachi will promote the DVD world, positioning its DVD-RAM camera as a strategic product.”
Hitachi’s DVD video camera, dubbed DZ-MV100, can capture and store MPEG-2 video and still JPEG images on one disk. The camera is said to achieve video-picture quality of more than 500 TV lines, outdoing the VHS format’s roughly 300 TV lines and the laser disk’s 425 lines. For still images, 1,280 x 960-dot resolution is available, Hitachi said. One disk can store about 60 minutes of MPEG-2 video, recorded at a fixed data rate of 6 Mbits/second, or 1,998 JPEG images per side, the company said.
Hitachi Maxell will start selling the 8-cm DVD-RAM disk in a cartridge late next month, timed with the camera’s introduction. The list price in Japan will be about $29 per disk.
While the 12-cm DVD-RAM disk (4.7-Gbyte) for recorders complies with the Content Protection for Recordable Media scheme, the 8-cm disk has no need for CPRM, since it is dedicated for camera use, to shoot original images. Disks can be taken out of the cartridge to ensure future compatibility with DVD-ROM drives and DVD-Video players, when they are upgraded to DVD-RAM compatibility, Hitachi said.
Hitachi developed the two major components for the camera in-house — an MPEG-2 encoding chip; and a camera signal-processing chip. With partners it developed a 0.25-inch, 1.1 million-pixel CCD sensor and a 12x optical zoom lens for the strategic camera.
The MPEG-2 chip features low power consumption of 350 milliwatts. The DSP-6 signal-processing chip is inherited from the MPEG-1 camera that Hitachi introduced in 1997.
Hitachi 448MB CF Type II
From dpreview.com Interesting announcement hot on the heels of last weeks announcement of 512MB and 1GB Microdrives from IBM, at $1.99/MB Hitachi’s cards are pricing themselves out of contention, that said their power requirements are significantly less than the Microdrive (whilst writing anyway). Here’s my comparison: Todays press release: The 448-MByte CompactFlash(TM) card and 1-GByte PC-ATA Flash card offer high-speed programming and fast data transfers for maximum system performance
SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–June 26, 2000– Hitachi Semiconductor (America) Inc. established new industry capacity records for Flash cards by introducing today a 448-MByte CompactFlash(TM) (CF(TM)) Type-II card, the HB288448E5, and a 1-GByte Type-II Flash PC-ATA card, the HB2881000A5. Both solid-state devices address the growing need for extremely high density, high-performance, rewriteable program and data storage in leading-edge products and systems. Key applications include the network servers that power the Internet and corporate intranets, and the high-resolution digital cameras used by professional photographers and amateur enthusiasts.
Convenient and rugged, the new CF and PC-ATA Flash cards are also ideal nonvolatile storage solutions for many types of consumer electronic products and industrial equipment. In MP3 players, for example, the compact 448-MByte CF card provides up to seven hours of CD-quality recording and playback, while the larger 1-GByte PC-ATA card stores and plays up to 16 hours of content. In remote monitoring systems for factories, environmental research and other applications, the cards deliver expanded storage capacity for increased utility.
To reduce the programming time needed to store large amounts of data, the Flash cards have fast programming speeds: up to 2 MBytes/second. Their fast data transfer rates — as high as 10 MBytes/second — further helps to maximize the performance of the systems in which the cards are used.
The HB288448E5 and HB2881000A5 Flash cards conform to popular industry standards and are interchangeable with other devices that conform to the same standards. Thus, the removable, transportable cards allow easy, plug-in memory capacity upgrades for many systems.
Cards are built with Hitachi’s 256-Mbit Flash chips and DDP packaging:
To obtain the new Flash cards’ record-setting capacities, Hitachi bases the cards on its HN29W25611 256-Mbit AND-type Flash memory chips, which employ Multi-Level Cell (MLC) process technology and are fabricated in volume with a proven 0.25-um process, and on optimized Flash card controller ASIC devices that use a SuperH® RISC engine core uses a proven double-density package (DDP) technology that allows two die to be stacked in the same space as one TSOP-packaged chip.
Expanding a successful product line
The 448-MByte Type-II CF card and 1-GByte Flash PC-ATA card expand Hitachi’s broad product line and reinforce the company’s commitment to this exciting market. Other products in the line include 8-MByte to 192-MByte Type-I (3.3-mm thick) CF cards, 8-MByte to 640-MByte Flash PC-ATA cards, and a 16-MByte Secure MultiMediaCard. These Flash cards serve a broad span of applications, including handheld PCs, PDAs, solid-state recorders, external storage devices, digital cameras, digital camcorders, and much more.
According to Mark D’Arcangelo, product manager, nonvolatile memory, “Hitachi is one of the top five Flash card manufacturers, per the IDC 1999 Flash Card Market Share Report. We take full advantage of our advanced Flash device technology, extensive design and manufacturing expertise, and high-volume production facilities to deliver to customers reliable, high-performance, high-quality Flash cards in quantity. We are continuing to develop our Flash component and controller technology with forward and backward compatibility to ensure customer satisfaction and to meet the changing needs of the Flash memory market.”
Price and availability
The Hitachi HB288448E5 Type-II 448-Mbyte CompactFlash(TM) card is $895 in 1,000 quantity, and the Hitachi HB2881000A5 Type-II 1-Gbyte PC-ATA card is $2,000 in 1,000 quantity. These high-capacity Flash cards will be available in 3Q2000. At that time, new lower-capacity Hitachi CompactFlash cards, the HB288320E5 (320-MByte) and HB288256E5 (256-MByte) Type-II CF cards, will also become available.
Hitachi announce 448MB CF Type II
From dpreview.com Click here for Hitachi Japan press release Note: All these drives are solid state flash RAM drives they aren’t mini harddisks like IBM’s “MicroDrive”.
SimpleTech 640, 850 MB and 1 GB Flash CF
From dpreview.com Press release: Type I Cards Available in Industry-Leading Capacities Of Up To 640MB
SANTA ANA, Calif. – Aug. 16, 2001–SimpleTech, Inc. (Nasdaq:STEC – news), a technology solutions provider offering products based on DRAM, SRAM and flash memory technologies, today announced first-to-market availability of Type I CompactFlash(TM) cards in capacities up to 640MB and Type II cards in industry-leading capacities of 850MB and 1GB.
The cards are designed to meet the expanding needs of commercial and industrial embedded applications professionals looking for the highest possible storage capacity in the most popular standard Types I and II CompactFlash cards.(a)
“This is a prime example of the technical synergy inherent in our recently announced alliance with Hitachi Semiconductor (America),” said SimpleTech’s Chief Technical Officer Mark Moshayedi. “We can take Hitachi’s leading edge flash memory silicon, double its density with SimpleTech’s patented IC Tower(TM) stacking technology, and offer the world’s highest capacity CompactFlash cards.”
According to Mark D’Arcangelo, Hitachi Semiconductor America’s system memory product marketing manager, “These new product offerings from SimpleTech are just the beginning of many future `industry-first’ solutions that will result from our partnership. The combination of both organizations’ strengths will continue to yield superior product for the marketplace.”
The proliferation of digital cameras of 3 megapixels plus, audio players and other consumer electronics — as well as the standardization of high density CompactFlash in industrial embedded applications — is fueling an unprecedented demand for high capacity flash cards. As more digital data is captured and supported across various consumer and computing devices, CompactFlash becomes the portable media of choice for the transparent exchange of information between electronic platforms. A captured image on a digital camera can travel to a PC, notebook or handheld device directly or with the help of an adapter.
“By pushing the storage capacity of our CompactFlash cards, we are enabling the market to look at them not just as portable media storage devices but as viable permanent storage options,” said Jeanclaude Toma, SimpleTech’s vice president, marketing. “With this equivalent of a miniature floppy disk and HDD combo, we can offer ruggedness, high storage capacity, low power consumption and miniaturized size in one package, offering enough flexibility to load and run operating systems and serve as a secure repository for critical data.”
Embedded or commercial applications can also leverage the high capacity cards as a storage cradle for Linux operating systems or embedded Windows-based systems that serve host devices, Toma added.
The high capacity cards are available in limited quantities through September, with production quantities expected to be available in October.
Older press release: Seeking to grow market share in the expanding flash memory arena, Hitachi Semiconductor (America) Inc., a leader in flash technology and products, and SimpleTech, Inc. (Nasdaq:STEC – news), a leading supplier of flash-based data storage and custom and standard memory solutions, today announced a strategic alliance. Under this exclusive agreement, SimpleTech will provide U.S. sales and manufacturing services for Hitachi’s flash memory products and the companies will jointly market the finished flash memory products.
U.S. customers will benefit from Hitachi’s leading-edge flash process technology and existing local marketing and support as well as from SimpleTech’s engineering, manufacturing and marketing strengths. Customers will also experience shorter lead times from SimpleTech’s state-of-the-art U.S. flash card manufacturing center while continuing to enjoy the support of a major semiconductor manufacturer. Additionally, the companies will deliver innovative, first-to-market flash-based memory solutions.
According to Dan Mahoney, president and chief operating officer of Hitachi Semiconductor (America), the agreement is a logical extension of a long-standing and successful relationship with SimpleTech.
“Providing a quick turn-around time for customers is essential to our business,” Mahoney said. “SimpleTech’s state-of-the-art engineering, manufacturing and supply chain logistics will significantly reduce our time-to-market for flash devices. This will ensure that Hitachi flash semiconductors are available in all channels and that we can meet the complex needs of a wide range of customers from large and small OEMs to retailers. We also see this new business model as a logical first step while we explore alternatives to further strengthen the relationship between our companies.”
Manouch Moshayedi, chairman and chief executive officer of SimpleTech, said the agreement creates a global technology presence focused on speeding up the design-to-development process and collaborating in the introduction of innovative new flash-based memory solutions.
“We see this decision to become Hitachi’s primary U.S. channel for end-product distribution, manufacturing and sales in the flash memory arena as a win-win situation,” Moshayedi said. “Hitachi will benefit from SimpleTech’s U.S.-based technical and manufacturing expertise and from our strategy for reaching all sales channels. SimpleTech will work with Hitachi to open exciting new market opportunities. In fact, when we jointly visit customers, we will deliver a three-fold promise: shorter lead times; unsurpassed quality and service in cards, modules and drives; and our joint commitment to deliver timely, next- generation flash-based solutions.”
Flash memory solutions, used extensively in both the commercial and industrial markets, provide solid-state data exchange and data storage capacity for a broad range of consumer electronics products including cell phones, digital cameras, hand-held PCs and digital audio players. They are widely used in telecommunications platforms including routers, switches and network access equipment like DSLAMs (digital subscriber line access multiplexers).
High reliability, ruggedness, compact size and standard form factors are fueling the demand for flash solutions. Flash market revenues shot up 133% worldwide last year to more than $10 billion, according to Web-Feet Research, Inc.
MOFCOM’s “Fusion” Approach to Chinese Merger Control
From feeds.lexblog
By Becky Koblitz
We often hear about how China’s merger review “diverges” from other jurisdictions, most recently in reaction to conditional approvals of the Seagate/Samsung and Western Digital/Hitachi mergers. But China’s MOFCOM is merely doing its homework. Similar to “fusion” cuisine, MOFCOM practices “fusion” merger control as it blends two aspects: its mandate under the Anti-Monopoly Law (“AML”), and the antitrust theories of other jurisdictions.
Unlike other jurisdictions, which are relatively independent of their respective governments, MOFCOM answers to the State Council. Under the AML, MOFCOM’s mission has a political perspective to advance “healthy development of a socialist market” and it has the authority to formulate and implement regulations “suitable for the socialist market economy.” Therefore, MOFCOM’s mission will vary depending on the State Council’s national economic policy: whether to move more to a capitalistic market-driven economy or remain as a socialist controlled economy.
From a purely theoretical perspective, the AML’s standard of review is in line with other mature jurisdictions; however, as in the case of MOFCOM’s mission, the standard of review has the added political element of considering the “socialist market”. The standard of review is whether it is likely that the transaction will result in eliminating or restricting competition. Similar to the US and EU practice, the factors to consider include: market shares and ability to control the market, degree of market concentration, effects on market access and technological progress, and effects on consumers. But for MOFCOM there is also the additional political factor—the effect of concentration on the political development of the national economy.
MOFCOM wants to be seen as being cooperative with other antitrust authorities and is keeping a high profile in this regard. MOFCOM continues to consult other jurisdictions with regard to the AML. The Chinese antitrust authorities signed Memoranda of Understanding (“MOU”) with both the UK Office of Fair Trading (January and March 2011) and with the US Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and US Federal Trade Commission ( “FTC”) (July 2011) with regard to developing competition policy and enforcement. The MOU with the US agencies was followed up in November with guidelines for cooperation between MOFCOM/DOJ/FTC with respect to merger filings. Under the guidelines, information can be shared relating to the timing of their respective investigations, technical aspects such as market definition, evaluation of competitive effects, theories of competitive harm, economic analysis and remedies.
In light of MOFCOM’s mandate under the AML and MOFCOM’s exposure to other jurisdictions’ experiences, this means that even though the market may be global, MOFCOM will focus on the impact on the Chinese market, allowing it to protect industries such as the automobile, agriculture and computer sectors. As such, MOFCOM has set conditions specific to the Chinese market, for example, by requiring an auto parts supplier to continue to supply other customers in the Chinese market (GM/Delphi merger); by requiring Russian potash producers to continue to sell to Chinese customers (Uralkali/Silvinit merger); and more recently, by not allowing the purchaser to exercise control over the target for a period of time (Seagate/Samsung and Western Digital/Hitachi).
In the Seagate/Samsung merger, MOFCOM required Seagate to establish an independent subsidiary to produce, price and market Samsung products and to build a firewall to prevent information from being exchanged between Seagate and the Samsung subsidiary. Seagate could request a waiver of this requirement after one year, depending on the competitive conditions. In the Western Digital/Hitachi merger, MOFCOM required the parties to maintain Hitachi’s subsidiary as an independent competitor that would market and develop the products and to build a firewall to prevent the exchange of information between the two parties. Western Digital could request a waiver of this requirement after two years, depending on the competitive conditions.
MOFCOM imposed these requirements despite the fact that the US and EU authorities had already cleared the Seagate/Samsung merger without conditions and cleared the Western Digital/Hitachi merger with structural remedies. MOFCOM’s concern was that China had the greatest number of consumers who bought computers and it was these end-users who suffered the most from imbedded price increases of the components, which were the products in the merger transactions. The hold-separate requirements which MOFCOM imposed in the Seagate/Samsung and Western Digital/Hitachi offshore mergers are prohibitions in disguise, since the parties must maintain their independent, pre-merger situation for a given period of time and the probability that the competitive landscape would change to justify the waiver of the requirements is low.
These hold-separate requirements are reminiscent of the “carve-out” conditions used in the airline alliance cases. In airline alliance cases the issue is whether a particular alliance can be granted antitrust immunity so that it can conduct its otherwise allegedly collusive, anticompetitive behavior without the risk of being prosecuted by the DOJ. In the event the reviewing agencies (the Department of Transportation grants antitrust immunity, but the DOJ comments during the application process) decide that not all the markets served by the alliance should fall under the antitrust immunity blanket, these markets are “carved out”, meaning that the carriers who are members of the alliance must retain their status quo as competitors in these markets.
The rationale for the hold-separate and carve-out requirements is the same: the nominal competitive state of the market is preserved. In the hold-separate situations, MOFCOM wanted to maintain the five players in the global HDD market (Seagate, Western Digital, Hitachi, Toshiba and Samsung). In the carve-out situations, the DOT/DOJ wanted to preserve a state in which the carriers conducted their business as competitors. Both the hold-separate and carve-out conditions are subject to review after a time period designated by the agencies and the conditions can be removed.
Thus, although MOFCOM’s most recent “hold-separate” conditions diverge from other jurisdictions’ decisions and as such, appear to contradict this image of international cooperation, they show that in fact MOFCOM has been doing its homework and applying the competitive analysis within its parameters under the Anti-Monopoly Law, a highly political creature.
Hitachi 7200 2TB sata internal drive Retail $112 Fry.com
From feedproxy.google Rating: 0 Posted By: whyme1 Hitachi 2tb 7200rpm 6gb sata internal drive retail package $112 Fry.com starts Friday Fry.com Price is coming down for Hitachi drive finally. Hitachi drives are not affected by the Thai flood but the price was up like the rest. The reliability of this drive is about average This is a retail package. The price from site is $159 but the ad showing $112. Perhaps the site may update when stores open Friday morning. Looks like Hitachi and WD merger is in limbo. There is an external 2tb by Hitachi for $99 on this week’s ad. This external drive is USB 3.0 and 5900rpm. The pro version is 7200rpm. The detail topic of the Fry ad was posted earlier. Newegg has the Samsung F4 2Tb green bare drive at $99 this weekend. Hard Drives Deals
Fry’s Anniversary Weekend Sale – Many Great Deals !!
From feedproxy.google Rating: 30 Posted By: rkfwc Fry’s Anniversary Weekend Sale – Many Great Deals !! http://www.frys.com/ads/page1 If URL takes you to frys.com main page click on top right to see ADs. Page 1 50cent Hot Dog + Coke $899 60inch LED HDTV Major Brand Page 2 $397 Dell Core i3 15.6″ Laptop 4gb mem 500GB HDD Page 3 $250 27″ LG LCD Monitor with TV Tuner Page 4 $549 Lenovo 15.6″ Core i7 Laptop 4GB mem 500GB HDD Page 5 $130 OOMA Telo Page 6 $349 40inch LED HDTV Page 10 Page 11 blank Page 12 Page 11 Page 7 $99 Hitachi 2TB Touro Desk DX3 USB 3.0 External HD Page 8 Electronics Deals
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Hitachi has announced a competition for photographers, musicians & filmmakers in the UK, France or Germany, with a chance to win €5,000 cash prize. As a promotion for G-Technology storage device brand, participants can submit one of their creative projects from 2009 or 2010 in any of the three categories with a chance to win either the cash prize or the company’s 4TB G-Raid dual-drive dependable storage system. In addition, all winning entries will be exhibited at the Brick Lane Gallery in London. The competition runs until September 30 2010.
Cartridge coming
Almost a month since we covered Hitachi Japan’s announcement of a 448MB CF Type II and 1GB PCMCIA ATA Type II card, Hitachi USA have today made these products official. Here’s the complete press release. The 448MB CF Type II is priced at $895 per 1000 (to distributors obviously) that’s a price of $1.99/MB compared to IBM’s 1GB CF Type II Microdrive at $499 is just $0.50/MB.
Just when you thought your Microdrive was big. Hitachi Japan announce three CF Type II cards of capacity 448MB, 320MB and 256MB and a 1GB PCMCIA ATA Type II, all of these new devices use 512 or 256 Mbit flash memory and are capable of up to 2MB/second. Prices not yet announced and I’m sure they won’t yet be able to get down to the low $/MB of the Microdrive but for those people with reservations about mini-harddisks this will be encouraging news. (It’s likely these cards will be sold OEM badged)
SimpleTech has today announced the availability of Compact Flash Type I cards up to 640 MB in capacity and Type II of 850 MB and 1 GB. This announcement comes hot on the heels of one made earlier this week about their new partnership with Hitachi Semiconductor. “We can take Hitachi’s leading edge flash memory silicon, double its density with SimpleTech’s patented IC Tower(TM) stacking technology, and offer the world’s highest capacity CompactFlash cards.” said SimpleTech’s Chief Technical Officer Mark Moshayedi.
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