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When someone poses the question, who invented USB flash drive, there is no one name that pops up. What we don’t realize about most inventions—the flash drive included—is that it is actually credited to decades of building off one innovation after another. As a result, Premium USB will highlight both direct & indirect players that made the USB flash drive what it is today! - Afzal Khan

On July 19th, the SATA-IO published the latest specification called SATA v3.1. SATA 3.1 includes mSATA specifications for mobile computing devices, Queued Trim Command for solid-state drives (SSDs) with SATA interfaces, & improved Hardware Control Features. SATA 3.1 is included a new feature called Zero-Power Optical Disc Drives. - Afzal Khan

Super Talent, a top manufacturer for flash storage solutions & DRAM memory modules has come up with USB 3.0 Express ST2, a flash drive with same great features as other SuperSpeed products. The price of Super Talent USB 3.0 Express ST2 flash drive is cheap ($20 for 8GB), it is anything but a cheap USB product in quality. - Afzal Khan

Replacing optical drives & discs just got easier for computer users thanks to one unique USB drive called the Isostick. The Isostick is a USB flash drive that also mimics an optical drive as far as your system is concerned. It’s intended to be a bootable device in that it can store multiple CD/DVD images (ISO images) for the purpose of wiping and reinstalling your operating system. - Afzal Khan

The IOGEAR Wireless 4–Port USB Sharing Station has the capacity and compatibility to get any tech lover’s heart racing. The IOGEAR USB hub (GUWIP204) is an awesome concept in that this wireless hub allows up to four USB devices to be used and shared wirelessly by any number of people in a home or small office at once. - Afzal Khan

Millenniata has partnered with Hitachi-LG Storage to create an M-Disc writer drive that will be available for consumer use. The internal 5.25 drive is expected to go on sale this October. The M-Disc format has several advantages over traditional archival DVD-R media. While archival discs like those from MAM-A use a 24k gold reflective layer, M-Discs do not have a reflective layer at all. - Afzal Khan

We told you about Apple’s announcement to offer Mac OS X Lion 10.7 via USB flash drive for users who wanted to bypass the lengthy 4GB download version. Apple just released a recovery disk utility to restore your Mac's in case of an emergency. OS X Lion, this USB application will reinstall the system, repair the disk as well as restore backup and browsing. - Afzal Khan

Sony’s Digital Audio Disc Corporation (DADC for short) handles the manufacturing & distribution of replicated CD, DVD, and Blu-ray discs for all of Sony’s entertainment businesses. Major news services of the world are reporting that one of Sony’s distribution centers in Europe has been destroyed by fire. This warehouse was Sony’s main distribution facility for London and stored packaged movies, video games, blank CD, DVD, & Blu-ray media. - Afzal Khan

Sony’s Digital Audio Disc Corporation (DADC for short) handles the manufacturing & distribution of replicated CD, DVD, and Blu-ray discs for all of Sony’s entertainment businesses. Major news services of the world are reporting that one of Sony’s distribution centers in Europe has been destroyed by fire. This warehouse was Sony’s main distribution facility for London and stored packaged movies, video games, blank CD, DVD, & Blu-ray media. - Afzal Khan

Three weeks ago, we told you about Apple’s announcement to offer Mac OS X Lion 10.7 via USB flash drive for users who wanted to bypass the lengthy 4GB download version. Now, customers can once again turn to the flash drive for their Lion needs. Apple just released a recovery disk utility to restore your Mac’s in case of an emergency. According to Apple’s support page on the topic, should your Recovery HD fail or a replaced hard drive not use OS X Lion, this USB application will reinstall the system, repair the disk as well as restore backup and browsing. - Afzal Khan

It’s important that every USB flash drive user knows that there’s more than one way to protect your digital data. These different layers of protection address multiple security concerns. You should be armed with knowledge of what’s out there to protect custom USB flash drives. What USB flash drive security measures do you employ to protect your data? - Afzal Khan

The latest and greatest operating system from Microsoft – Windows 7 – has been on the market for almost two years now. Since it first went on sale in October of 2009, Windows 7 has broken numerous sales records for Microsoft products and for the software industry as a whole. Now, a new issue has been discovered with Windows 7 that is causing a lot of frustration for users. Like Windows Vista and Windows XP, Microsoft’s Windows 7 comes with a built-in utility for recording optical discs. With XP, users could natively burn files to blank CD-R and DVD-R discs. Windows Vista added the ability to record to blank Blu-ray discs in Service Pack 2. - Afzal Khan

Windows 7 features native support for writing files to BD-R discs, but a problem has recently been acknowledged by Microsoft. According to Knowledge Base article KB2575215, Windows 7 will fail to record Blu-ray discs that are larger than 23GB for single-layer BD-R discs or larger than 46GB for dual-layer BD-R discs. - Afzal Khan

It’s important that every flash drive user knows that there’s more than one way to protect your digital data. These different layers of protection address multiple security concerns. You should be armed with the knowledge of what’s out there to protect you and how custom USB flash drives are versatile in helping your data stay safe. - Afzal Khan

"My take on is Google +1will can bring lot of shift towards customer centric strategies in future. SEO's now don't only have to look at site optimization aspects & metrics but they do need to get into shoes of customer's. What factor's motivate them to share content, I think Google + has all positive for every one, if we online marketer are successful in a effort which makes a reader comfortable sharing stories in their circle's...it can turn out to be a great channel at SERP's too." - Afzal Khan

"My take on is Google +1will can bring lot of shift towards customer centric strategies in future. SEO's now don't only have to look at site optimization aspects & metrics but they do need to get into shoes of customer's. What factor's motivate them to share content, I think Google + has all positive for every one, if we online marketer are successful in a effort which makes a reader comfortable sharing stories in their circle's...it can turn out to be a great channel at SERP's too." - Afzal Khan

Ford Motor Company announced that it will officially start phasing out disc players in their car models in favor of a digital entertainment system complete with a USB interface. The system, called SYNC with MyFord Touch, accomplishes what a CD player never could. - Afzal Khan

A new company using the Columbia House name has recently announced the launch of a membership program for movies on Blu-ray discs. The program is already up and running, with Columbia House targeting both new user registrations and users of its current DVD purchasing club. Members of the new club will be able to purchase replicated Blu-ray movies for just $5.99 each. - Afzal Khan

Premium USB is dedicated to giving you the best flash drive products and services. Part of that commitment means that we keep our fingers on the pulse of the industry. To keep our customers and readers informed on all the latest news and developments, here’s our July 2011 industry roundup. - Afzal Khan

Premium USB is always on the lookout for new styles to help you better customize your needs. As a result, we recently added the Western USB flash drive. Combining technology chic and a rustic vibe, this metal and leather drive provides several surfaces for logo printing. It also comes with free data preloading. For more news and information, “Like” us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @premiumusb - Afzal Khan

The history of audio recordings goes back a long way. From wax cylinders and reel-to-reel tapes to vinyl records and 8-track tapes, each new media format has - Afzal Khan

With regards to portable players, MiniDiscs used a large “read-ahead” buffer memory to prevent skips and interruptions during playback. It took several years for portable CD players to gain this feature, which gave MiniDiscs a huge advantage for playing music on road trips, while bicycling, and during other activities. I hope this article has been useful in illustrating some of the key differences between the MiniDisc format and between Compact Discs. There are many more fine technical differences and details, but those could easily fill another article or two! In the meantime, be sure to check out www.cdrom2go.com for all of your CD duplication, replication, and blank media needs! - Afzal Khan

It’s a unique meeting of the minds that’s crucial to the continued success and future of flash memory—the sixth annual Flash Memory Summit, August 9th - Afzal Khan

According to the Summit’s Chairperson, Tom Coughlin, it’s important to have an open dialogue about how to design tomorrow’s applications and devices with flash. “Upcoming changes to data storage architectures in smart devices, PCs and enterprises could drive the flash memory market past $60 billion by 2015,” Coughlin says. “Engineers, marketers, and executives all face new challenges.” - Afzal Khan

What's the difference between a movie watcher and a movie enthusiast? A movie watcher seeks entertainment in the company of friends and family while the movie - Afzal Khan

Adding the M700 disc vault to your home entertainment system doesn’t come cheap. The system itself is $5,995, and when paired with a 1U server retails for $15,990. This may seem like a lot of money, but the Kaleidescape system also has professional applications outside of the home. The company also sells products for use in marine and aviation industries. For the ultimate in home movie convenience though, it’s hard to beat the M700 Disc Vault from Kaleidescape! - Afzal Khan

It is undeniable that consumers are looking for faster and faster performance, and finally we are seeing some more options that are not outrageously priced in the USB 3.0 flash drive department. Are Patriot’s Supersonic Xpress flash drives are spot on for your budget and performance needs? Weigh in below. - Afzal Khan

We've been keeping a close eye on the optical storage and entertainment industry. Here are some news briefs that you may not have heard about yet in this - Afzal Khan

Patriot Memory to introduce a capless Supersonic Xpress USB 3.0 flash drives. These USB 3.0 flash drives are set to come out sometime next month, and are supposedly more than a little economically priced. A few numbers that are being thrown around are $25 for the 8GB, $38 for the 16GB and $55 for the 32GB, but these prices are not yet set in stone. - Afzal Khan

Premium USB offers School USB Flash Drives, Bulk flash drives customized for every student & preloaded with coursework by Premium USB (be it documents, PDFs, images, video, PowerPoint and more). School Branded USB Flash Drives helps to foster student success in schoolwork and technology. - Afzal Khan