Sony Expands 5.25-Inch Magneto Optical Library Line to Include Permanent WORM Configurations.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 20, 1998--

Addition of True Write-Once Recording in 5.25-Inch Format

Provides Greater Flexibility and Solid Data Security

Sony Electronics today announced the expansion of its 5.25-inch, 2.6GB magneto optical (MO) library line to include permanent Write Once Read Many (WORM) configurations that deliver true write once recording in an ISO-standard 5.25-inch format.

For increased flexibility, the expanded line will include MO and WORM libraries with two, four or six drives, and 25-, 60-, 104-, 156-, or 258-disk configurations.

"The inclusion of 5.25-inch permanent WORM drives into our family of libraries provides our customers the true data storage permanence required in many applications that has only been available in 12- or 14-inch formats until now," commented Fred Bedard, general manager of integrated storage products for Sony Electronics' Computer Components and Peripherals Group.

"With its ability to read and write to all three formats: MO, Continuous Composite Write Once (CCW) and permanent WORM, these libraries help protect legacy data investments while providing users easy integration into their current optical storage systems."

Bedard said that ablative WORM -- designed for banking, finance, medical, and government applications such as Computer Output to Laser Disk (COLD), document imaging and the rapidly growing applications for optical storage like Internet and email servers as well as audio and video preservation -- makes it physically impossible to modify the data on the disk.

"Computer Upgrade recently sold and installed a Sony 5.25-inch WORM library with a 670GB capacity to a distribution company. This business needed to permanently archive their corporate data on a storage medium that provided years of reliable storage and retrieval as well as the assurance the data could not be changed once archived," explained Scot Lamb, president of Computer Upgrade Corp., an integrator for UNIX(R) and Windows NT(R) systems.

The backbone of Sony's optical library family is their speedy, rugged robotics, which are used in the disk picking system to provide fast disk exchange time. The drives incorporated into the libraries feature Sony's buffering/caching algorithm (S-Cache), Fast SCSI interface, and disk rotational speed of 3,600 rpm.

The drives' data transfer rate of up to 4.0MB/sec (sustained) and burst transfer rate of 10MB/sec deliver data at near-hard drive speeds. The average seek time when reading MO and CCW media is 25 milliseconds and 150 milliseconds when reading permanent WORM media. The drives are also backward compatible with 1.3GB (read and write) and 650MB (read only) disks.

A stand-alone, external version of the WORM drive, the RMO-S541/W1 is also available.

Pricing and Availability

The suggested list prices for the OSL library line start at $6,995. The stand-alone drive is available for a suggested list price of $2,100. All models have a one-year limited warranty and are currently shipping.

Based in San Jose, the Integrated Storage Products Division of Sony Electronics' Computer Components and Peripherals Group markets MO and WORM drives and jukeboxes through OEM, industrial distribution and reseller channels. For additional information about Sony storage products, call 800/352-7669 or visit Sony's World Wide Web site at http://www.sony.com/storagebysony .

CONTACT: Sony Electronics

Julie Steckmest, 408/955-4469

[e-mail]

or

Technology Solutions Inc.

Liz Weber, 408/280-6000, ext. 217

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