Just as OS X is starting to gain "speed," Olympus and Verbatim have announced a new Magneto-Optical (MO) drive with Linux compatibility. The Olympus TURBO MO 640S III offers out-of-the-box Linux support, as well as support for both Macintosh and Windows. The 640MB MO cartridges offer ease of use and high capacity reliability. According to Verbatim:
Verbatim Corporation, the leader in 3.5" MO media technology, announced today the availability of the new Olympus TURBO MO 640S III., a high-speed 3.5" 640MB Magneto-Optical (MO) drive with Linux compatibility. Certified by Linuxcare Labs, the TURBO MO 640S III.sets new performance standards for MO, expanding the ultra-reliable technologyis market from medical and financial applications to graphics, desktop publishing, and multimedia applications as well as backup.
Linuxcare, Inc., a leader in providing comprehensive professional services and solutions for Linux and open-source technologies, also announced today the Linuxcare Labs Certified designation for the drive. Linuxcare Labs is the first independent vendor-neutral testing authority to provide a comprehensive program for testing and certifying hardware for use with Linux.
The Olympus TURBO MO 640S III.has a disk rotation speed of 4,643 rpm, a 23ms seek time and a sustained data transfer rate of up to 5.1 MB/sec, making it the fastest optical technology on the market. The driveis high performance is further enhanced by a 2MB buffer and caching capabilities that are based on the algorithm generally employed in storage systems for large-scale computer systems.
These features combine with the inherent reliability of MO to provide users with a removable, storage solution that delivers the familiar rewrite capabilities as a hard drive but at a substantially lower storage cost.
Recognized worldwide for its expertise in optical storage, Verbatim has been producing dependable 3.5" MO products for more than a decade. Disks incorporating the user-proven technology are resistant to X-rays, shock, vibration, moisture, dust or stray magnetic fields. In addition, data stored on MO media can be safely archived for more than 40 years. MO media also provides more than a million write/rewrite cycles.
The TURBO MO 640S III.incorporates a unique, high-precision Super-Fine Positioning (SFP) pickup optical head with a single-loop servo system that eliminates the need for lens-actuated tracking control. With the SFP pickup, the drives have fewer parts, reduced power consumption and produce less heat-factors that translate to increased reliability. The driveis low power consumption eliminates the need for a cooling fan. The absence of a fan prevents air and dust penetration and ensures super-quiet operation. In addition, there is no need for an air filter or lens cleaner, so the drive is virtually maintenance free.
Fully compliant with ISO specifications, the TURBO MO 640S III.drive can accept 540MB media, and earlier generation 230MB and 128MB cartridges from Verbatim and other manufacturers. Verbatimis 640MB MO media is readable and rewriteable in all ISO standard drives rated 5X or higher. Certified 100% error-free, Verbatim 3.5" rewriteable optical disks have the lowest byte error rate in the industry and the lowest carrier to noise ratio in the industry.
The TURBO MO 640S III is available for US$349. You can find more information at the Verbatim web site.