In an informal analysis of the worldwide optical drive market, the market share between compatible drives, as shown below, mark trends in the industry:

1) ROM versus RW – Most of us have noticed that the COMBO-RW already occupies 90% of the drive market share compared to the ROM market. Hardly anyone will purchase a ROM unless they intend to use it as a pure-reader. This is traditionally found only in the duplication industry.

2) COMBO (CD/DVD) versus BD (Blu-ray) – “DVD burners will remain the bread-and-butter business for ODD vendors. Despite Blu-ray’s win over HDD in the format war, BD drive adoption will be limited in 2008,” said Wolfgang Schlichting, research director, Removable Storage, at IDC.

3) Half-Height (HH) versus Slim – In Japan the slim drive for the notebook series shares a bigger market because of its space-saving concept. However, half-height drives are stilling leading the market share due to its lower price offer.

4) PATA/IDE versus SATA – In 2008, we see a dramatic change in the demand and supply of PATA versus SATA drives. Understandably many consumers are confused by which format to choose. In the meantime, PATA is fine and SATA is fine. The consumer should focus their choice based on the subsystem, not the drive interface. If the drives are sold inside the SharkCopier and the SharkCopier is performing well at the right affordable price with PATA, then the drive choice no longer becomes a factor.

When an electronic company contemplates; where in Taiwan is a good place to launch, promote, and/or conduct a satisfaction survey for new products? There is always one answer that is obvious, that place is the Guanghua Market, a storehouse of information. The Guanghua Market is one of the most popular tourists destinations in Taiwan, and has been around since 1971. At first, it was occupied by second hand book stores and antique sellers. Eventually the Guanghua Market morphed into a pioneer for stereo and electronic equipment. With the growth of the personal computer as a consumer product, Guanghua Market again evolved into what it is now, the prime marketplace for communications equipment, electronic games, computers, and consumer electronic goods.

When you enter the Guanghua Market, you will see many famous brands of computer showing the range of products being offered. In fact, more and more big name companies value Guanghua Market as a retail channel. Why? Because it attracts tons of customers from nearly every income bracket and social level to shop in one place. Therefore bigger corporate companies are willing to assist the retail stores inside Guahghua Market with marketing funds for product placement, promotional signs and interior design space.

Guanghua Market is a very competitive market as well. Therefore only good, high quality, popular items can survive amongst the selective nature of the many customers that frequent this shopping mecca regularly. So of course Vinpower Digital’s products are not only sold in Guanghua Market, but in demand. The full line of Vinpower Digital’s duplication products are available within this competitive market. The reason is because all of Vinpower Digital’s products have a strong reputation for being high quality, reliable and the most popular. Next time you come to Taipei, Taiwan, don’t forget to visit the Guanghua Market and see Vinpower Digital’s products.

Old Guanghua Market – located under Guanghua Bridge between Bade Road and Civic Boulevard in Taipei.

Temporary Guanghua Market—located in No.77, Jinshan N. Rd., Jhongjheng District, Taipei City

Future Guanghua Market—located at the Intersection of Jinshan N. Rd. and Citizen’s Blvd

Arctic sea ice reflects about 80% of the sun’s heat, stabilizing the colder temperature of the ocean. In a press release from the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), the Arctic Sea ice shatters all previous record lows. NASA climate scientist, Jay Zwally – predicts that nearly all the ice could be gone from the Artic Ocean by the end of summer 2012.

 Arctic sea ice during the 2007 melt season plummeted to the lowest levels since satellite measurements began in 1979.
 If ship and aircraft records from before the satellite era are taken into account, sea ice may have fallen by as much as 50% from the 1950s
“We have passed tipping points. We have not passed a point of no return. We can still roll things back, but it is going to require quick turn in direction” – NASA’s top scientist James Hansen.
The aim to stop global warming is to emit less CO2 into the atmosphere. Mother Nature has already allowed green plants and trees its role to live up with us. However, the role of humans in the deforestation of the world’s forests has already caused considerable and extensive damage, plus an increasing impact rate on global warming. Globally, about 42% of industrial wood harvests are devoted to paper production.

Deforestation is a major issue affecting our ecology and the damaging affects of global warming. More specific, fresh paper, made from tree pulp and even recycled paper can have a devastating affect on our planet and the environment. That is why digital media such as optical discs and the internet, can help stem the tide in this global crisis.

On the other hand, we are still blessed with another writing media option from hi-end technology. Cited from an abstract listed in iacis.org, Volume VIII, No. 2, 2007 86 Issues in Information Systems, a survey taken shows the following:

The study exhibit that CD/DVD/Blu-Ray based writing media already has its real and meaningful contribution, not only in storage, entertainment, advertisement etc., but also in contributing its part to combat global warming. Vinpower Digital has contributed our portion to save our planet to make it a better place to live in. How about you?

There is a lot of discussion about being “Green” these days and protecting the environment. With various countries, states, cities, and even companies enacting eco friendly regulations for CE products, it looks as though we’ve turned a corner in environmental protection. These changes are showing up everywhere from bans on using unhealthy substances in the manufacturer of products to companies sending holiday eCards as apposed to paper cards to save trees. This is a wonderful change to the days of excess and pollution from days gone by.

My question is, how much are we really saving the environment when the lifespan of many CE products like computers, televisions, and gaming consoles are getting shorter and shorter. Maybe the products are more eco friendly, but when it’s cheaper for consumers to purchase a new TV then fix an older model, we are finding that older equipment (many of which are not that old) are ending up in our landfills rather than in living rooms. Today’s society is hungry for the latest and greatest and we don’t want to pay very much for it. So retailers need lower pricing and force the manufacturers to find cheaper sources of parts and labor to accommodate thereby reducing the number of blue collar jobs in the developed Western Nations, reducing the size and disposable income of the middle class. With less money to spend on discretionary purchases, they demand lower prices and the cycle repeats itself.

In the duplicator industry I see this a lot with optical disc drives. Early on, the drives were very expensive but they would last longer. Not only would the physical drive last longer, but each particular model would have a longer lifespan. Now we’re lucky if a particular drive model lasts more than 6 months. Innovation is not a bad thing, but when production of a specific model is shorter than the warranty period for that item, it causes plenty of headache and complications. Plus the fact that the drives have become so inexpensive, consumers would rather throw them away and buy new ones than try to fix them.

So my point is, even though the CE products are more eco friendly in their construction and design, how environmentally friendly are they when they are filling up our landfills? Although, more and more companies are participating in a recycling program, I just hope the consumers are willing to cooperate.

What is the state of the music industry and are the record labels following the path of the dinosaur to extinction or merely evolving into a Darwinian metamorphosis into a new business model?  Everyone’s quick to point out the amount of money the record labels are loosing as a result of music file sharing sites and the illegal pirate trade.  The landmark legal win for the RIAA on behalf of the labels against Jammie Thomas, of Minnesota, by ordering her to pay $220,000 in restitution for sharing copyrighted material without permission, is a major victory.  However, will this change the tide of illegal music sharing or just drive it further underground.  I estimate it will most likely not cause much of a ripple in the overall damage to the industry’s financial woes, but instead make headlines for a short time until the next Britney Spears fiasco captivates the masses.

 

So why do I bring this up when the blog is largely devoted to duplication of optical discs (CD’s, DVD’s, etc) and not to digital file sharing?  The reason is, just like the music industry, the “industry” has been writing the obituary of the CD-R for years only to see the sales of CD-R discs and CD duplicators continue to stay alive and thrive.  Why is it that the CD refuses to go the way of the Dodo bird? 

 

I personally think it’s because a lot of people still like having a physical representation of their music like a CD that they can see and touch.  In addition, the price to duplicate a CD is so cheap these days, why get rid of it.  When you can find CD-R’s for less than $0.10 each and multi-drive duplicators for under $400, then the cost of entry becomes next to nothing.  Anyone with a small Casio keyboard with a 4 track recorder can put out their own record and become their own mini label out of the garage. 

 

As long as there is a drive that will accept CD’s, the CD-R and the CD duplicator will have a place in the market.  The iPod and other MP3 players may be the future, but they haven’t killed off the CD, and it doesn’t look likely anytime soon.

Containing CD and DVD piracy is a major priority for content producers of DVD films and music CD’s.  You can go to most any city all over the world and find someone with “bootleg” music and movies for sale, often before it’s even available legally.  The entertainment industry is constantly searching for a way to plug up the damn of loss revenue due to these illegal copies and the ever expanding “pirate” market.

Who can they turn to in these times of crisis, Superman, Batman, Jason Bourne?  Apparently they are all busy trying to right far more important wrongs in society.  So where else can we find a hero who would be loyal to the cause and not be tempted by the sway of bribes or a fast buck?  Who else but man’s best friend, our four legged friend that will never let us down, a DVD/CD sniffing dog!

In Malaysia, a 6 month test run has recently concluded with very positive results and accolades for two black Labradors named Lucky and Flo who helped discover over 1.6 million illegal DVD’s.  The dogs were trained to smell the chemicals used to make optical discs like DVD’s.  We’ve all heard of dogs used to detect drugs or bombs, but to find illegal copies of Spiderman 3?  Lucky and Flo have been far more successful than originally hoped for and even though they are the only members of this elite dog fraternity, watch for more countries and cities to adopt this new piracy prevention method.

Picture of Lucky (right) and Flo as they receive medals for their work in sniffing our DVD piracy in Malaysia.  Photo taken from ABC news (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)