3M begins shipping TR-2 and TR-3 minicartridges taking Travan technology into gigabyte territory.shipping its new TR-2 and TR-3 minicartridges -- the second and third members of a family of new high-capacity tape products that incorporates the company's Travan technology. The TR-2 minicartridge provides users with 800 MB of uncompressed storage capacity (1.6 GB compressed). The TR-3 minicartridge, the third step on the Travan migration path, provides 1.6 GB of capacity (3.2 GB compressed). The suggested list prices for TR-2 and TR-3 minicartridges are $42.15 and $43.75 respectively. The products are now available through 3M's worldwide network of distributors and resellers. 3M's TR-3 minicartridge can be used with Iomega's Ditto 3200 tape drive and Conner Peripherals' TapeStor 3200 tape drive. Tape drives compatible with the TR-2 minicartridge are expected to be available by year end 1995. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a recent report by Dataquest, a market research firm in San Jose San Jose, city, United States San Jose (sănəzā`, săn hōzā`), city (1990 pop. 782,248), seat of Santa Clara co., W central Calif.; founded 1777, inc. 1850. , Calif., "Tape drives based on Travan technology will have a significant impact on the tape market for PCs and workstations and that drives based on this technology will dominate this market segment during the second half of 1995 and over the next several years." Effective Solution to Storage Limitations "The information explosion -- epitomized by the growth in on-line services and multimedia -- has created an insatiable demand for greater storage capacity and performance," said Doug Olson, business operations Business operations are those activities involved in the running of a business for the purpose of producing value for the stakeholders. Compare business processes. The outcome of business operations is the harvesting of value from assets manager, 3M Data Storage Tape Technology Division. "With the introduction of the TR-2 and TR-3 products, users now have access to the next-generation storage platform, to more than keep pace with soaring hard disk capacities," Olson said. In addition to keeping up with hard disk capacities, Travan technology will better support emerging software applications like Hierarchical Storage Management See HSM. (HSM (1) (Hierarchical Storage Management) The automatic movement of files from hard disk to slower, less-expensive storage media. The typical hierarchy is from magnetic disk to optical disc to tape. ) on the desktop and Windows 95 applications, he added. The increasing need for storage capacity was highlighted by a recent 3M survey of on-line usage in small, medium and large enterprises. The survey found that business users on-line are now downloading multimedia and database files at a brisk pace, and that most expect to greatly increase their reliance on the Internet as an information resource in the months ahead. The telephone survey of 300 business computer on-line users found that nearly 70 percent of business users on-line now download files of up to five megabytes on a daily or weekly basis. In addition, 65 percent expect the size of the files they download to increase in the coming months. The survey also found that one of every five business users on-line has at one time exhausted available hard disk space while attempting to download a file -- even with hard disk capacities that now average 760 megabytes. "For business users seeking to become more productive through the Internet, the Internet, the, international computer network linking together thousands of individual networks at military and government agencies, educational institutions, nonprofit organizations, industrial and financial corporations of all sizes, and commercial enterprises good news is that on-line content is both superb and abundant," Olson said. "The proliferation of multimedia files, databases, application programs and even e-mail is, in a real sense, redefining computing. But in doing so, the on-line world is putting tremendous strain on the ability of existing systems to store and manage all of this information." Optimal Storage Capacity The Travan platform features a unique drive/minicartridge interface that is included in a patent application filed by 3M. The Travan platform optimizes available space in a 3.5-inch form factor housing. Minor mechanical changes built into Travan drives allow them to accept current QIC (Quarter Inch Cartridge) A magnetic tape technology introduced in the early 1980s that has been widely used for backup. It was the first popular tape format for PCs. and Travan minicartridges -- a critical need for users, given the installed base of more than 200 million QIC-compatible minicartridges worldwide. The TR-2 and TR-3 minicartridges contain 750 feet of .315-inch high-coercivity 900 oersted Pronounced "erst-ed." The measurement of magnetic energy. The higher the Oe rating in a material, the more current is required to change its magnetic polarity. Named after the Danish scientist, Hans Cristian Oersted (1777-1851), it is used, for example, to measure the coercivity (Oe) gamma ferric oxide (Fe2O3) An oxidation of iron used in the coating of magnetic disks and tapes. See ferrous. media. The TR-2 has a data density of 22,125 flux transitions per inch (ftpi), while TR-3 stands at 44,250 ftpi. The TR-2 and TR-3 minicartridge subsystems use a floppy interface with respective transfer rates of 1 megabits/second for the TR-2 and 2 megabits/second for the TR-3. Like the TR-1 minicartridge, 3M's new TR-2 and TR-3 products require no changes in media formulation, and will use existing drive electronics and head technology. The TR-1 minicartridge was commercialized in May and provides users with 400 MB of uncompressed storage capacity, more than double the capacity of the industry's leading QIC-80 minicartridge. "Travan technology should be welcome news to millions of PC users," said Bill Frank, president of Augur augur: see omen. Visions, a market research firm in Los Altos Los Altos (lôs ăl`tōs, lŏs), residential city (1990 pop. 26,303), Santa Clara co., W Calif.; inc. 1952. There is diversified light manufacturing. , Calif. "The Travan minicartridge provides the next leap forward for 3.5-inch QIC drives, doubling capacities while preserving backward compatibility See backward compatible. (jargon) backward compatibility - Able to share data or commands with older versions of itself, or sometimes other older systems, particularly systems it intends to supplant. ," said Raymond Freeman Jr., president of Freeman Associates Inc., a market research firm in Santa Barbara Santa Barbara (săn'tə bär`brə, –bərə), city (1990 pop. 85,571), seat of Santa Barbara co., S Calif., on the Pacific Ocean; inc. 1850. , Calif. Future Development Efforts Storage industry leaders like 3M, Hewlett Packard's Colorado Memory Systems Division, Conner Peripherals Conner Peripherals was a company that manufactured hard drives for personal computers. Conner Peripherals was founded in 1986 by Seagate Technology co-founder Finis Conner, as a merger between a company of his and another started by MiniScribe founders John Squires and Terry , Exabyte, Iomega, Tandberg Data, AIWA AIWA Asian Immigrant Women Advocates AIWA Armenian International Women's Association , Pertec Memories, TEAC TEAC Tetraethylammonium Chloride TEAC Theological Education for the Anglican Communion TEAC Technology Education Association of California TEAC Turbine Engine Analysis Check TEAC Timber Export Advisory Committee TEAC Training & Education Advisory Committee , Rexon and Sony will continue to support future development of Travan drive and recording formats to assure further expansion of the market for tape-based applications. Most Travan drives offer 2:1 data compression, which doubles native capacity. Each point along the Travan migration path represents about a two-fold increase above all previous Travan capacity points. The Travan platform is fully backward compatible with the installed base of QIC minicartridges. 3M plans to introduce a Travan TR-4 minicartridge with a capacity of 4 GB (uncompressed) at the end of 1995. Data cartridge technology, invented and patented by 3M, is the world's most popular desktop tape backup technology and boasts an installed base of more than 14 million drives, with 3 million drives shipped in 1995 alone, demonstrating the rapid market growth of minicartridge technology. 3M is the world's largest manufacturer and marketer of branded minicartridges. For more information on minicartridge technology, contact 3M at 800/888-1889, Ext. 33. -0- NOTE TO EDITORS: Travan is a trademark of 3M. Windows and Windows 95 are trademarks of Microsoft Corp. CONTACT: 3M Data Storage Products, St. Paul Larry Teien, 612/736-5961 or Fleishman-Hillard Inc., Minneapolis/St. Paul Brent Bauer, 612/222-4885 fhbauer@aol.com or 3M (readers' contact) 800/888-1889, Ext. 33 |
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