e.Digital Corporation (fka EDIG)

[cksla]

What is the IFS?
The IFS (Installable File System) is the software component that enables Windows Explorer to copy files to and from your DataPlay device.
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1Vision History

The four founding partners of Colorado Software Architects incoroporated in January 1996, to form 1Vision Software, Inc. The company's original focus was specialized software consulting services to major corporations that included Philips Electronics, Cheyenne Software, and Microsoft®.

The original partners have worked together for 16 years, beginning at Colorado Memory Systems, a PC backup solutions provider. They have continued their working relationship through the years at Hewlett-Packard, CSA, and 1Vision--all located in Loveland, Colorado. They have been involved as developers and managers for a wide variety of products.

1Vision team members have contributed to the development and release of:
The backup applicaton shipped with Windows 95
Tape drivers for Windows NT OS
Backup applications for CMS (once owned 60% of the PC backup market)
Floppy and tape drivers for Windows 2000
File systems for all Microsoft platforms, 95 through XP
1Disk and 1Safe products (300,000+ units shipped under OnStream, Iomega, and Maxtor OEM agreements)
1Disk.com product (management software for online data storage)
vNAS (File-system aggregation software for Network Attached Storage)
DataPlay (Installable File System)
Persistent File System (PFS)
PFS is breakthrough file-system technology that simplifies access to mass-storage devices. A patent for PFS was filed by 1Vision in 1997. Extensions were added in 2000 for the application of PFS to networks and the Internet. The patent was granted in 2001.

From PC utilities to mass-storage file-system aggregation, PFS has been the core of all 1Vision products. The flagship product utilizing PFS was 1Disk, a PC file-tracking utility for removable media (1996). It was followed by 1Safe, which added backup to 1Disk's file-tracking functionality (1997). PFS was adapated to the Internet in 1Disk.com, software to manage online data storage (2001).

1Vision continues to broaden the use of the already versatile PFS, changing the company's focus in mid-2001 to file-system aggregation for distributed data storage. Early 2002 will see the release of vNAS, aggregation software for Network Attached Storage.

1Vision's long-range plans are for further development of aggregation and file-system management tools for the mass-storage market.
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DataPlay Products (Finally) Near Release

Postage stamp-size drive holds 500MB, draws interest of digital music player vendors.

Eric Dahl and Richard Baguley, PCWorld.com


LAS VEGAS -- A year after its debut, the postage stamp-size but high-capacity DataPlay drive is finally near availability, in a handful of music players shown at the Consumer Electronics Show here this week.

DataPlay has begun volume production of the micro-optical drives that form the heart of these players, representatives say. Among those on display is the MTV DataPlay Enabled Music Player, announced by Evolution Technologies this week in conjunction with the music channel.


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"We have placed a multimillion dollar order for parts with DataPlay and will be launching the product as soon as the partners are ready," says Jeff Degraci, vice president of sales and marketing at Digisette, another DataPlay partner eager for the technology's release. The first products are slated for launch in April, he says.

Eagerly Awaited

The DataPlay drives were greeted with enthusiasm at their debut at last year's CES. There, DataPlay demonstrated a number of prototype devices that use the tiny disks, which store up to 250MB of data on each side and can contain up to 11 hours of compressed digital music. A year later, we're still waiting for products using the DataPlay drive to ship. So what's the holdup?

"We had delays in transferring the micro-optical storage engine to high-volume production in our Far East facility," says DataPlay founder Steve Volk. "This rippled to the manufacturers and resulted in a delay." DataPlay discs slipped from their scheduled release in late 2001 to the anticipated spring 2002 introduction, he adds. "Our facility in China is now in volume production," Volk says.

With players nearing completion, new details are becoming available about how DataPlay discs will store music and data. When connected to your PC, DataPlay devices will use an Installable File System that makes them appear like any other removable storage drive. You'll be able to simply drag and drop files onto the discs.

However, when it comes to digital music files, the situation isn't quite that simple. If you copy a clean MP3 file to a DataPlay disc using Windows Explorer, you won't be able to play that file when the player is detached from your PC. However, if you copy the file through DataPlay's music manager application, it gets converted into an encrypted music file that the player will play.

New Partners

The DataPlay boosters keep lining up, both partners and potential customers. Imation has committed to selling the blank discs at between $10 and $15 each.

DataPlay is also working with record companies to release prerecorded music on DataPlay discs, Volk says. By May, Universal Music Group, EMI Recorded Music, and BMG Entertainment are expected to begin offering albums on DataPlay discs. The discs hold the digital music in encrypted form, and customers receive access after paying a fee to obtain a key to unlock it.

"We are in discussions with the other two majors, and we've also started discussions with several independent labels," Volk says. "We also have the option of putting multiple albums on a DataPlay disc: You buy one album and you can sample other albums." Those samples would be offered for sale at a discount over the standard CD price, he says. Also, activation by key will be available via the Internet. Customers will be able to make a limited number of copies of the prerecorded music, he says.

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http://emiglobal.com/dataplay/dp200.html.