The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which was established in the permafrost in the mountains of Svalbard, Norway, is designed to store duplicates of seeds from more than 1,400 gene banks spread over the entire planet. This vital measure is to safeguard the world’s agriculture against any negative consequences of war, pollution, climate change, natural disasters, or simply a lack of resources.

The temperature inside the Seed Vault is kept around minus 18 Celsius. The roof and parts of the frontage of the visible entrance section are filled with triangles of refractive elements like dichroic mirror glass, prisms and acid resistant steel of various sizes. These shapes and elements are intended to cast the light & surrounding environment back in all directions. These lights represent a volume complementary to the dark which has been hollowed out of the permafrost within and will signal the seed vault’s position at all times.

Photo: Mari Tefre/Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Much as the seed vault is intended to secure our food supply, it’s important to have a method of preserving our history and documentation for future generations to study and learn from. Whether it’s a global effort or a family interested in protecting the video of their child’s first birthday, Blu-ray discs can keep your data stored and protected for years. SONY Blu-ray’s stable and reliable writing mode allows all sorts of written data to be able to withstand any kind of environmental temperatures with the ability to last as long as 30 years.

Blu-ray was developed to enable recording, rewriting and playback of high-definition video (HD), as well as storing large amounts of data. It offers more than five times the storage capacity of traditional DVDs and can hold up to 25GB on a single-layer disc and 50GB on a dual-layer disc. Through advancing technology it can be pushed up to 10 layers and capacity as high as 200GB. This extra capacity combined with the use of advanced video and audio codecs will offer consumers an unprecedented HD experience.

If you choose to store your family photos, business data, audio and video presentations, etc. think about using the BD-RE DL storage media. This is a far more “Green” method of storing these items since you can compile so much more data onto a single disc. It’s good for you and good for the environment!

Photo: Sony BD disc

Computex Taipei 2008, the second largest ICT exhibition in the world, ended June 7, 2008. It was the first time that Computex Taipei was expanded to 4 exhibition halls. Fortunately, we were located in the brand new Nangang Exhibition Hall, which provided twice the space of TWTC Hall 1. With the spacious exhibition floor, every vendor put extra effort in decorating their booths.

With the intention to increase Vinpower Digital’s visibility on the world stage, we arranged to have two booths at Computex. To best attract customers to our booths in a growing competitive environment, we contacted professional trade show decorating companies for advice. At the trade show, we wanted to present our company image of technology, modernity, and creativity. In order to convey these attributes and decorate our booths well, the sales team had gone through with the chosen decorating company thousands of times on how to display a whole variety of Vinpower products. The intent was to show their best performance and how to better project our poster design, making our booth both vivid and alive! The most difficult times were the back and forth discussions, while decorating the booth because everyone wanted to present the company in the best manner possible. Together with every department, we finally concluded our decoration version one week before Computex reaching a consensus by majority vote. With everyone’s help and passion, we were finally ready to attend this big IT industry event.

This year, we released many new products such as a line of SATA controllers, the mini autoloader- the CUBE, a new model of duplicator-Daisy Chain and LightScribe capable duplicators, and a new autoloader. Whenever people passed by our booth, our new products always attracted their attention, especially the new autoloader and the daisy chain duplicators. With non-stop camera clicks and flashes, it was easy to tell how popular our booths were.

In addition the new Vinpower Daisy Chain Towers picture has been uploaded to Computex’s official website for news releases.

Computex Taipei is not only a trade exhibition, but is also one of the most important information and technology exchange platforms of the global ICT industry. We would like to thank all of our customers who visited our booths. Due to your support, we have faith to make it even better. We look forward to seeing all of you next year.

In the time that I’ve worked at Vinpower Digital, I’ve learn a lot about the optical disc duplication market, met a lot of business contacts and friends, traveled to a number of new destinations (foreign and domestic), and moved quite a few duplication products.

Now I am proud to have a new title and job function, FATHER. My wife gave birth to a beautiful healthy boy on May 31, 2008 and there has been no greater joy in my life. For that I’m happy to introduce young Asa to my friends and fellow blog readers.

Sometimes, we are too busy to remember some of important holiday for our country, and how they originated. In Taiwan, the 3 major holidays are Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat Festival and the Mid-Autumn Festival. The Dragon Boat Festival will be coming soon. It is celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. It is actually on Sunday June 8th this year. In Chinese, the holiday is called Duan Wu Jie.

There are many legends about the origin of the Festival. The famous one is to commemorate the patriotic poet Qu Yuan. The legend says that Qu Yuan 屈原 was disappointed with the emperor and his country, so he drowned himself in the Miluo River. The people loved him and tried to save him so they used long boats to go looking for him. They beat drums to scare away the fish. They also threw Zhong zi (rice dumplings) in to the river to feed the fish, because they were afraid the fish might eat Qu Yuan’s 屈原 body.

The traditional food eaten during Dragon Boat Festival is rice dumplings (Zhong zi). The normal dumplings are usually wrapped in bamboo leaves and filled with egg yolk, meat, peanut, chestnuts, mushrooms, etc. But there are many different flavors of Zhong zi that you can choose from.

Dragon boat racing is obviously the most important activity of the Festival. The races are held in the rivers or on lakes with colorful boats, beating drums and cheering crowds get people excited. Each boat usually has 22 people, including 20 paddlers, a drummer and a flag-catcher. The first team to reach the flag wins the race. It is very interesting, and many people go to watch the race although it is very hot. I prefer to stay home and watch it on TV with my family.

Standing an egg is also a popular activity. If you can successfully stand an egg on its end exactly 12:00 noon, then the upcoming year will be a lucky one for you.
I have tried it before, but I have never succeeded. I hope I can do it then I will be the lucky one. ^__^…..

Another reason we enjoy the holiday, is a day off of work. This year, the holiday is on Sunday, so we will not receive a day off of work like usually. There’s always next year

I feel very fortunate to be a member of the Vinpower Digital team since 2006. It’s not just because I think Vinpower is a great company, but I also have the opportunity to work with some of my closest friends as part of IBM. What does “IBM” stand for? A worldwide famous computer company? International Big Mouth? Although these could be true, the reality is that it stands for Irene, Betty, & Mandy who are the trio that came to Vinpower together at the same time.

Mandy/Betty/Irene at the Beach in Taiwan.

Coming to Vinpower Digital allowed me not only work with people I enjoy but also have many great experiences in many different countries. Most of this traveling was courtesy of various trade shows that I was fortunate to work at and attend. I was so excited to have the opportunity to attend 3 of the largest consumer electronic trade shows in the world:

Trade Show Month Show Takes Place Location Year I Attended
CeBIT March Hanover, Germany 2007
Computex June Taipei, Taiwn 2007
CES January Las Vegas, NV USA 2008

Mandy and Ryan at 2007 Cebit

Mandy being a tourist guide for an European customer at 2007 Computex Taiwan.

Mandy at Blu ray booth at 2008 CES.

I was also able to attend the 2007 DSE Show which took place in Japan. I was very nervous to go the DSE show in Japan because; it was my first time being the only Vinpower representative at a show. I was solely responsible for conducting meetings with both our distributor in Japan and our ODM customer who is a major drive manufacture, Plextor Corporation. Fortunately all went very well and I gained a lot of confidence from the experience.

Mandy at “kaminarimon”,a famous scenic spot in Japan, at the 2007 DSE show

Plus I was so fortunate to attend the 2007 Gitex in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. While there, I was able to do some touristy activities, visiting some of the famous landmarks in Dubai. I can’t believe that I was really inside the Burj Al Arab, one of the world best hotels, eating dinner. I never thought I would go to a Middle East country in my lifetime and here I was meeting great people, making valuable contacts and having a great time.

Mandy in front of Burj Al Arab

On top of my travels for trade shows, I had an opportunity to go to our head office in Los Angeles for 2 months. My time at the corporate office was for training, but I was able to have fun and experience a different lifestyle in USA from what I’m in Taiwan.

Mandy and Irene Su at Big Bear in USA.

The fact that I enjoy my job and the people I work with is an added bonus, but the most important thing is that the Vinpower family gets stronger both in the USA and Taiwan. Our mission is to do our best to satisfy our customer through quality products and friendly and knowledgeable staff.

The members of Vinpower in Taiwan and USA.

We’ve posted a number of blogs about various trades shows that we’ve attended and it’s obvious from those entries that our staff remains busy with attendees from start to finish. That is true for the 2008 Spring Hong Kong Electronics Fair as well. Instead of boring you with the same ole details about the success of the show and the valuable contacts we made, I’d rather fill you in on a more interesting topic, the Hong Kong nightlife!

If you travel to Hong Kong for work or pleasure, a “MUST” visit destination for nightlife activities is LAN KWAI FONG. When you venture down to Lan Kwai Fong, you’ll find yourself in the centre of the city’s hottest, trendiest, and most exciting night spots. When we arrived at Lan Kwai Fong, we were surprised by the heavy stream of people. It was full of people on every uphill road walking from one hot spot to another. I even questioned if I was still in Hong Kong because more than half of the people there were foreigners. In fact it was more like a street scene from London, England than a Chinese city. England’s influence from their 100 year occupation is still very evident, yet the friendly and entertaining Chinese culture shines through as well. In any case, Lan Kwai Fong has a very international flair to it from the melting pot of cultures that inhabit the area.

For starters when in Lan Kwai Fong, you should satisfy your appetite before hitting the bars and/or clubs. Personally, I would recommend the famous, YUNG KEE RESTAURANT, for the perfect dining experience. You can start with flavorful hot tea blending in as the local Hong Kong people do. For your main course, I recommend dining on their most popular dish, Roasted Goose! How delicious is the Roasted Goose? I think “perfect” doesn’t do the dish justice, but is the only adjective I can think of that sums up this course. After dinner it’s off to party or mellow out at a club or bar and you don’t have to look far to find a suitable place.

Whatever you’re interested in, I bet you can find it by simply starting off with a casual stroll around the street. Mingle with celebrities and local trend setters at sleek and sexy clubs. Dance till dawn as international DJ’s spin hip and funky music on the turntables late into the early morning. Hang out with friends in traditional watering holes offering an intense selection of beers and ales. Spice it up at tropical bars as bartenders serve up colorful and exotic cocktail mixes. Scream for your team at your favorite sports bar. Plus the waiters know your name making you feel as if you’re amongst friends and family rather than just frequenting another bar or club.

With great food and an exciting atmosphere, Lan Kwai Fong is definitely Hong Kong’s top night-life sightseeing excursion.

Recently we exhibited at the China Import and Export Fair, also called the Canton Fair, which is held twice a year, spring and autumn. This fair has taken place in Canton since its inauguration in the spring of 1957. It is China’s largest fair of the highest level, offering the most complete merchandise and the largest attendance and business turnover for its kind. Preserving its traditions, the Fair is a comprehensive and multi-functional event of international importance.

It’s our second time to attending this show; however, it is very different from the electronic trade shows we have exhibited at before. How different? You might see a customer who visits another booth and asks how to be a distributor of bathtubs. Immediately afterwards, he will come to our booth and asks the same question about duplicators. To me, it shows that these customers might not be an established distributor of electronic products, but they have the ambition to work with a product they feel will be both popular and profitable globally. The increasing rate of exposure is the main advantage to attending the Canton Fair.

To further illustrate the changes in the world we live in today, the Canton Fair added many new security rules primarily due to the 2008 Olympics being held in Beijing. In order to keep the Fair safe, every exhibitor was required to register their entrance identification months in advance coupled with numerous references to prove your countries citizenship. Every product shipped to the fair required far more detailed descriptions listed on the paperwork than the previous time we exhibited at Canton Fair. According to the local newspaper, the 103rd Canton Fair was the strictest one on record. The security examination to enter the Fair was almost the same as the airport security check. Although it was not easy to enter the Fair, it was obvious to see that a lot of people endured the added security to attend this show (as shown in the below picture). If you planned to join this year’s spring Canton Fair, you would need to be ready to fight the hustle and bustle from the crowded visitors.

The Fair was very successful for us and we received many inquiries from the visitors we spoke with, so it was very encouraging that we are providing the right product. To keep our competitive edge, we will continue to persist in our philosophy of “quality, service, innovation, share/win”, while providing our customers with new products and the best service…

To conclude, I would like to share a funny occurrence with our dear readers of this blog, regarding our small booth at the Canton Fair. During most of the time at the Fair, we had a lot of international distributors interested in our automated equipment. Although we were very happy with the great interest, but since we got just a small booth, to gauge the benefits to our company, it became very crowded quickly. Try to imagine me swarmed by so many customers, answering questions and servicing everyone almost at the same time contained in such a small size booth. Two of my colleagues had to stand outside the booth like busy bees trying to rescue their queen bee. It was quite a spectacle to see.

When looking at a duplicator, it’s easy to concentrate on the obvious important components such as the controller and casing. However there are two other very important components that are just as critical to the quality of the duplicated discs; the drives and the media. For the purpose of this posting we’ll focus on the media aspect which is largely ignored for its importance in the duplication process.

It’s obvious that there are lots of blank CD & DVD discs in the market today, and another fact that may have been overlooked is that many of them have a different color on the recording surface. Why the differences? Do the manufacturers just want to make the discs more colorful to make them more attractive or differentiate them on the market? The reality is that the color of the recording surface has a lot to do with the capability and quality of the “burn” or duplication. Below we will detail more about the purpose of these different visible colors on various blank media:

Water blue – uses the latest technology of Data Lost Prevention and could decrease the occurrence of buffer under run. Therefore it’s more stable for one to one or one to multi target burning mode. The best recording format is DATA.

Omega black – due to the pure black material, it should provide a stronger defense against light which could damage the organic dyes in the disc. As well as extend the life of CD-R media and preserve the data longer. The best recording formats are GAMES, DATA, and MP3.

Purple – similar to the black discs, it should provide a stronger defense against light which could damage the organic dyes in the disc. As well as extend the life of CD-R media and preserve the data longer. The best recording formats are GAMES and DATA.

Apple green – with the lighter organic dyes of the disc, it is more sensitive to allow for the player to pick up a weaker signal. That feature allows for better pick-up of recorded music. It could be said that this specific color is designed for digital music storage. The best recording formats are DIGITAL AUDIO, AUDIO CD and DATA.

Metal red and Copper mine – these colors will let the laser pass through the disc completely so that the signal from CD-R media can be read better. The best recording formats are MUSIC, CD and DATA.

Orange – same concept as the above colors, will let the laser pass through the disc completely so that the signal from CD-R media can be read better. The best recording formats are MUSIC, CD and DATA.

Diamond – this color matches with the replicated VCD format so the crosstalk-frequency is very low. Therefore it should decrease the marks and blacked out data that appears on the screen (often referred to as Mosaic errors) when playing the disc. The best burning formats are VCD, MPEG and FILE.

The better understanding you have about the recordable dye on the disc and its optimal compatibility, the better prepared you’ll be to choose the correct blank media for your particular format. Next time you purchase media, don’t just ask about the price and the brand, but ask about the color of the recordable side of the disc and you’ll be sure to that at least your media is the right choice for your needs.

Having exhibited at NAB 2008 in Las Vegas, NV, the main message that I took away from the show is “can you copy Blu-ray”? It seems as though every other question was about Blu-ray duplication. Once we answered, “yes, we have Blu-ray duplicators”, it was then followed by, “what’s the cost”? Even though the price is a bit higher than a DVD duplicator, they were still enthralled with the anticipation of transferring from DVD to Blu-ray.

Even though the Blu-ray duplication market is significantly smaller than the DVD duplication market, but the DVD market paled in comparison to CD at one point as well. So it’s only logical to think that the Blu-ray market will blossom as the costs become more manageable and there are more people creating Blu-ray content.

In the meantime, while the consumers are waiting for the Blu-ray duplication equipment to reach a price that meets their needs, the visitors that came by our booth were captivated by the new SharkCopier LS and Xerox Duplicators which each feature a unique and distinctive advantage over existing standalone duplication towers.

The SharkCopier LS with LightScribe capability is the first manual tower standalone LightScribe publishing system allowing users to copy and label discs through the same device in the same drive. The savings and convenience were a big hit as they marveled at the improved labeling quality. Seeing a manual tower pop out 15 fully printed discs in a single run simultaneously really struck a cord with our visitors.

The Xerox Duplicator series also really caught their attention as they learned how they could load their image files directly from a PC onto the duplicator’s internal hard drive. Not only does this process save time, especially if you have multiple files to duplicate, but they were also impressed with how easy the program was to operate and manage. Plus with the expected release of Blu-ray capable Xerox Duplicators, it was a logical fit to use the “Drag and Drop” operation to load the masters onto the duplicator rather than wait the 45 minutes it could take to produce a single BD master disc. The soon to be released Xerox Blu-ray duplicator will take just a fraction of the time to load the master image file onto the duplicator’s HDD so that the duplication process will be much quicker and convenient.

So it’s encouraging that Blu-ray has created such a demand and that the market is building for this product and we are excited to make all forms of optical disc duplication available for this growing market.

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.