CompactFlash Association Announces Availability of Version 2.0 of the CF+ & CompactFlash Specification.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers PALO ALTO Palo Alto, city, California Palo Alto (păl`ō ăl`tō), city (1990 pop. 55,900), Santa Clara co., W Calif.; inc. 1894. Although primarily residential, Palo Alto has aerospace, electronics, and advanced research industries. , Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 16, 2003 Version 2.0 Increases CF(TM) Data Storage Card Interface Data Transfer Rate to 16MB/sec. The CompactFlash Association (CompactFlash Association, Palo Alto, CA, www.compactflash.org) A membership organization founded in 1995 by SanDisk, Canon, Motorola, HP and others. Its goal is to promote CompactFlash as the premier open standard for storage for digital appliances and handheld devices. See CompactFlash. (CFA (Computer Fraud and Abuse Act of 1986) Signed into law in 1986, the CFA was a significant step forward in criminalizing unauthorized access to computer systems and networks. The Act applies to "federal interest computers" that include any system used by the U.S. ) announced that the CF+(TM) & CompactFlash(R) Specification Version 2.0 has been published and is available to download free from the CFA web site at www.compactflash.org. Version 2.0 increases the CompactFlash interface data transfer rate from 8MB/sec to 16MB/sec, while maintaining complete forward and 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. with old and new host systems. Older host systems will continue to operate with the 8MB/sec interface mode, while new systems can be designed to use CF cards with the 16MB/sec interface. Older 8MB/sec interface cards will operate at the 8MB/sec interface data rate in older and newer systems. Flash chip technology advances have allowed flash chips to achieve sustained data transfer rates of 5-7MB/sec. The development of the 16MB/sec interface means that the CompactFlash interface will not restrict the sustained data transfer rate of CompactFlash cards in the near future. Additional technical proposals underway in the CFA include adding DMA (1) (Digital Media Adapter) See digital media hub. (2) (Document Management Alliance) A specification that provides a common interface for accessing and searching document databases. interface mode by the end of 2003 and Ultra DMA Same as Ultra ATA. Ultra DMA - ATA-4 33 during 2004. DMA interface mode reduces the host processor power required to manage the CompactFlash data transfers. Ultra DMA 33 interface mode will increase the CompactFlash interface data transfer rate to 33MB/sec. Both of these DMA interface modes are well defined and tested by their usage on IDE hard disk drives. The original and current CompactFlash Specification allows for addressing 137GB cards. However, there is another issue that limits the usable size of CompactFlash cards. Currently the FAT16 file system is used for cards up to 2.2GB. To use the full capacity of cards over 2.2GB capacity, the FAT32 file system is necessary. The CFA is currently recommending that systems be designed to be compatible with FAT12, FAT16 and FAT32 file systems in order to be able to use the full capacity range of CompactFlash cards currently being offered. Some of the newest digital cameras now support FAT12, FAT16 and FAT32. CompactFlash card slots A socket for inserting a printed circuit board or a PC Card (CardBus card). See PC Card. are in MORE (over 265) digital cameras, MORE (over 115) handheld/palm-size PCs and MORE (over 275) other electronic platforms including heart monitors, defibrillators, printers, MP3 players A digital music player that supports the MP3 format, which was the audio format that started a revolution in online music downloads and distribution. All portable music players, the iPod being the most popular, support MP3 along with one or more other audio formats. , voice recorders A digital, handheld device that is used to record short reminders. Very lightweight and typically using AAA batteries, such devices use flash memory to hold up to 100 messages and more. Messages can be retrieved sequentially or by direct access by message number. See microcassette. , embedded Inserted into. See embedded system. computers, etc. than any other small form factor card. Shipping CompactFlash card capacities have reached 3GB. 4GB and 5GB CompactFlash cards have been announced for shipment later this year. CF I/O cards provide MORE communications capability. VGA (Video Graphics Array) The display standard for the PC. All PC display adapters support VGA, and Windows machines boot up in "VGA mode" before switching to higher resolutions. , Ethernet, modem, serial, parallel, digital phone, GSM, Bluetooth and Ethernet wireless cards are all available. CF cards do MORE. Wand & laser barcode scanners and GPS cards are also available. The CF+ and CompactFlash Standard ensures that today's and tomorrow's digital cameras will be compatible with even higher capacity CF cards, as they become available. The CFA has a certification program that ensures the compliance of all CompactFlash cards with the CompactFlash Specification. Data storage cards that have passed the certification program carry the CF(TM) logo. Compatibility and interchangeability of all CompactFlash products have been major advantages for CompactFlash. CompactFlash is the only small form factor data storage card that provides product compatibility certification ensuring users that the CompactFlash cards they buy today and in the future are all interchangeable and compatible. The CompactFlash Association is a non-profit, mutual-benefit corporation that promotes adoption of CompactFlash as a worldwide, ultra-small, removable data storage and I/O card interface standard for capturing and transporting digital data, audio and images and providing connectivity to a wide variety of I/O (Input/Output) The transfer of data between the CPU and a peripheral device. Every transfer is an output from one device and an input to another. See PC input/output. I/O - Input/Output peripherals. The CFA, which makes the CompactFlash, CFA logo and CF logo trademarks available royalty-free to member companies, is headquartered in Palo Alto, CA. The CF Specification is available to download free from the CFA web site at www.compactflash.org The CFA logo, CF logo and CF+ are trademarks of the CFA and are licensed royalty free to its members. The CFA is a licensee of the CompactFlash(R) trademark and in turn will license it royalty-free to its members. |
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