Wednesday, March 31, 2010

TDK Life on Record - New LTO Ultrium 5 Tape Media

While this isn't one of our "sexiest posts", it's important to get the new stuff out to the people...

TDK Life on Record (a.k.a. Imation) announced yesterday it’s shipping it’s newest generation of LTO Tape Media, LTO Ultrium 5. This version has 1.5 terabytes of native capacity (3.0 terabytes compressed), a near doubling of capacity over the previous generation, and data transfer rates of up to 280 MB per second compressed.

LTO Ultrium 5 offers drive level hardware-based encryption, WORM (Write-Once, Read-Many) functionality and it's read-and-write backwards compatible with the Ultrium format generation 4 cartridges, and backward read capable with generation 3.

Now, I guess you could wrap yourself in LTO tape and it would make this info "sexy".

The previous four generations of Imation Linear Tape Open (LTO) tape cartridge are listed below:
Imation LTO-5, IMN-27733
Imation LTO-4, IMN-26592
Imation LTO-3, IMN-17532
Imation LTO-2, IMN-16598
Imation LTO-1, IMN-41089

See the other equivalent brands that make a LTO-5 tape cartridge in the data storage cross reference.

We also have a copy of the recent Maxell LTO-5, Maxell Part 229323, tape cartridge spec sheet.
Hewlett Packard (HP)  LTO-5 Data Cartridge
Sony LTO-5 Data Cartridge

Another Lexmark Ink Monster - Inkosaurus

For those of you who read our previous post about the Lexmark Moolha Sucker, here's the newest Lexmark Ink Monster - Inkosaurus, it's a short 15 second commercial.  Lexmark has found an advertising niche for their supplies.



So let's think a bit longer about the cost-per-page for printing. Lexmark is advertising the $4.99 black cartridge price which makes the cost-per-page about $0.01. But this is a color machine. So I guess Lexmark is banking on the fact that people will be enticed to get the printer with a black ink cartridge that's so cheap....and then do a lot of color printing cuz those color cartridges ain't $4.99 are they?!?!?!

Thursday, March 25, 2010

SDXC Memory Cards

SDXC Memory Cards are coming to the market and boy, are they making an impact on what we can do with our cameras, our cell phones and more.

These little cards offer 2 terabytes of storage space. The traditional memory cards hold gigabytes. But this is a terabyte! Translated that means 1,000 GB or 1,000,000 MB! Now multiply that x2 for the new SDXC cards.

This means the average Joe can now store weeks of HD video, years of photos of his lovely family and months of his favorite music. And as consumer electronic manufacturers catch up we’ll soon be able to use the little cards in our phones, camcorders, HD televisions, Blu-ray players, car navigation systems and more. This little black memory card will be turning mobile phones into media centers and allow cameras to shoot pictures at the speed of light.

Oh, the possibilities! But do those possibilities bring a big price tag? See who the manufacturers are of SDXC Cards and the latest market prices. What would you do with 2 Terabytes?

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Hewlett Packard P1560 Series Laser Printers, Plus a Few More

New Hewlett Packard P1560 Series Laser Printers Spec Sheet

Ideal for business professionals in small and medium-sized companies who need a fast, desktop laser printer that's easy to use and helps them save energy and resources.

Standard one year limited warranty

LASERJET PRO P1100 SERIES
LASERJET PRO P1102-(CE651A)
LASERJET PRO P1102 W (CE657A)
LASERJET PRO M1210 MFP
LASERJET PRO M1130
LASERJET PRO M1212 NF (CE841A)
LASERJET PRO M1213 NF
Hewlett Packard Black Toner Cartridge CE285A, 1,600 Page Yield

LASERJET PRO P1560 SERIES
LASERJET PRO P1566 (CE663A)
LASERJET PRO P1606 DN (CE749A)
LASERJET PRO P1600 SERIES
LASERJET PRO M1536 DNF
Hewlett Packard Black Toner Cartridge CE278A, 2,100 Page yield

See what other models take these cartridges in the imaging supplies cross reference.  So what does the NF stand for in the Model name, you can read about what all those funny letter mean after the HP Model numbers?

Also came across Hewlett Packard (HP) C7975A, LTO-5 Data Back-Up Tape Cartridge

Sharp AQUOS Quattron, Yellow Pixel Added to RGB

Have you seen the recent commercial for Sharp’s new Aquos  Quattron TV? It features George Takei (and the TV). Do you remember Sulu from Star Trek? The original Star Trek!? This commercial cracked me up people. Not because of the TV but because George Takei screams like a little girl when he sees the brilliant yellow Sharp has added to its color regime. And then he says “OOOH MY!” in a way that makes it pretty darn clear…well, watch the commercial and you’ll get my point.



But seriously, Sharp will release their new Aquos Quattron line this spring. They’ve introduced a new color that changes the color paradigm on the LED TV by adding yellow to the regular RGB (red, green, blue) format. I’ve not seen it in person, but the reaction George Takei has when he sees a big yellow fish makes me believe it’s pretty darn awesome. Read more on the TV. But first watch the commercial, over and over and over. You’ll bust a gut with this one. Trust me!


Sharp’s new range of Quattron Flat Panel Televisions will be the LC-LE811E, LC-LE821E, LC-LE921E, and LC-LE920 will come in 40 inch, 46 inch and 60 inch with a range of new techincal options to boost the price even higher and with the yellow pixel technology.

We found the selling price for the 52 inch Sharp Quattron television for almost $2,300.00
Post your review of the Sharp Aquos Quattron Quad Pixel Technology

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Lexmark’s “The Moolah Sucker” – 14N0822

Have you seen Lexmark’s recently launched ink monster commercial called “The Moolah Sucker”?



It’s some of the best advertising they’ve done lately! It features this little ink monster running around leaving black ink footprints everywhere he goes. The little guy is actually cute!  It’s like watching the Tasmanian Devil run around, leaving a mess everywhere he goes.

Lexmark’s attempt to catch the attention of everyone from the typical office worker to a stay at home mom might just work with this one commercial. Not just because the The Moolah Sucker is so cute, but because the price of the cartridge this little guy is trying to sell is just $4.99!  What?!?  $4.99?  Did I see that right? Again, $4.99 flashes on the screen during the commercial. Yep, I saw that right. Wow. $4.99 for a 500 page yield of black inkjet toner printing. My wife actually commented on the commercial; suspect of the cartridge price and page yield actually being true. (Dare you ask if she ever pays attention to a commercial about printers?) After a little investigation is seems Lexmark introduced this cartridge last year. And yes, it actually yields 500 pages for just $4.99. So why did Lexmark decide to re-introduce this inkjet cartridge with the release of another new inkjet printer, scanner, all-in-one machine? Who knows. But the commercial is cute and it’s catching the attention of all kinds of people. Back to the price - is this the beginning of a shift in the industry? Will most new inkjet printers come with inkjet cartridges at such a low price point? Let’s hope so! Check out the commercial on youtube!  Or see what other machines take this $4.99 Lexmark Cartridge in our cross reference.

Lexmark to fight the ink monster? Watch the Lexmark ink monster on Youtube?  For the folks at Lexmark, voice your opinion of this campaign.  We know you visit us incognito from your office...We look at Analytics...Don't be shy, post a comments about the Lexmark "500 page" "5 dollar cartridge".

Monday, March 15, 2010

Who Makes the Toner for Earthwise?

We have been getting alot of requests asking who is making the toner for Imation Earthwise Compatible Toner cartridges.  The answer is?:
  • Mitsubishi Kagaku Imaging Corporation
  • Royal Precision Technology Co., LTD
  • Future Graphics
  • Static Control Component
We do know that Static Control and Future Graphics outsource the manufacturing of bulk toner.  So, who is assembling the cartridge, we don't know, maybe Bob will give us a hint?

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Canon REALiS SX7

From Ubergizmo

Canon has a brand new projector in town - the REALiS SX7 Mark II which was just announced, targeting business applications with its 4,000 ANSI lumens brightness, a 1,000:1 contrast ratio and SXGA+ (1,400 x 1,050) resolution. Thanks to its added brightness, it enables the projector to see action in brightly lit rooms without having to drop the blinds or turn off the lights. What makes the REALiS SX7 Mark II stand out would be its new Photo Image Mode that enables users to make changes on-the-fly where projected content is concerned. Out later next month, expect to fork out no more than $7,000 for the Canon REALiS SX7 Mark II.  See Canon's Press Release

Replacement Lamp (RS-LP04)


The RS-LP04 is a 275W NSH (AC) high-pressured mercury lamp. Lamp life is 3000 hours in Quiet Mode and 2000 hours in Normal mode.  See what other Models take this projector lamp in the largest compatible projector lamp cross reference database.

Office Depot FAQ's About Contract Pricing Issues

Office Depot has published a FAQ document which addresses the following:

  • Government contracts
  • Pricing issues
  • Who David Sherwin is and why we was terminated.
  • Which States are investigating Office Depot pricing practice.
  • Debunking a Bloggers comments about Office Depot - Could this be the Blog that is not mentioned in the FAQ's? 

Monday, March 8, 2010

Hewlett Packard Lawsuit - Mipo Compatible Cartridge

Hijacking a truck with reels of raw printheads. Is this the Chinese version of the "Italian Job"?  If you can't make a fraudulent cartridge, just steal one. Could Microjet/Mipo just accidentally overproduced some raw printheads and accidentally ship to another customer when HP cut production?

See the actual HP Legal Documents - Interesting read for us inkjet geeks.  Hello Amazon, these fraudulent inkjet cartridges are still on your site.

Chinese Rivals Hijacked Trucks to Steal Technology, HP Says
By MARIA DINZEO
 
SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - Hewlett Packard claims Chinese and Taiwanese competitors stole patented printer cartridge components from HP's factory in Singapore and copied them to sell made-to-order counterfeit HP inkjet cartridges on Amazon.com. "Trucks carrying HP parts were hijacked while en route from the manufacturing facility in Singapore to the assembly plant in Malaysia ... in direct response to the heightened security measures that had been implemented in HP production facilities," HP says.



After ripping off the technology, Hewlett Packard says, Microjet Technology (of Taiwan) Mipo Technology (of Hong Kong and mainland China), and their U.S. affiliates, including SinoTime Technologies (of Florida) sold more than 300,000 of the inkjet cartridges in the United States. The defendants have the capability to make nearly 10 million counterfeit cartridges a year in Asia, Hewlett Packard says.


The 28-page federal filing is the latest in a long line of complaints that China is making up its technology gap with the United States through industrial espionage, theft, and wholesale patent infringement.


MicroJet "sells generic and/or made-to-order infringing ink cartridges to other companies, including defendants Mipo and PTC [PTC Holdings Ltd., of Hong Kong]," and sells them itself as well, Hewlett Packard says. HP claims the defendants violated six patents after stealing the HP components.


Hewlett Packard says it discovered the scheme after seeing color ink cartridges for sale on Amazon.com and Craigslist, advertised as "HP compatible."


HP bought some of the cartridges from Amazon.com, then used HP's internal tracking database to cross-reference ID numbers on components, and found that the cartridges had "a genuine HP printhead and a non-HP cartridge body that closely resembled a genuine HP cartridge body."


And it found that the printheads came from HP lots from Malaysia that had never been assembled by HP - "i.e., were identified as production gaps." All of these stolen items "were packaged in a 'Mipo' labeled box and were individually wrapped in a clear plastic interior packaging that is clearly consistent with the standard packaging for products manufactured by defendant Microjet," according to the complaint.


HP demands an injunction and damages for patent infringement, unfair competition and conversion.
 
Other sources of information:
Businessweek
CNBC
ITC Law Blog
Nukote, Clover Lawsuit Case Number: CV 10 0965

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Nu-Kote Update - Now Clover Technologies

While at the Itex 2010 Show we had an interesting elevator ride. While listening to elevator music on the way up to our room we picked up another passenger. During idle conversation we found out we were riding in the same elevator with someone from closely related to Nukote. Uh Oh! (see "Who Fired Who?" article April 20th, 2009 and "The Battle Continues") Suddenly our elevator ride turned from monotonous to interesting. Our new passenger knew who we were and knew about our article. He might have been as excited to be in the elevator with us as we were with him!  Though I must admit I was a tad more nervous at first because we didn't want him to know or ask about our inside sources about the how the relationship between Office Depot and Nukote was dissolving.

The passenger from Nukote was excited to tell the story of what the company had been through and even more excited about their new direction. Here is what we learned in our three to four minute elevator ride:

  • Nukote has DIP (debtor in possession) financing in place.
  • Nukote came out of bankruptcy at the end of February and business is moving forward.
  • Nukote is confident that they will win the lawsuit against Office Depot.
  • Nukote just filed a $100 million dollar lawsuit against Clover Technologies Group. We don't know the details of why this suite has been filed.
I might have to take this passenger up on his offer for lunch sometime this week....I prefer Mexican food?