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In the age of advanced software,computer
graphics and digital video,the venerable floppy
disc has definitely had its day.Did you ever try to
download a website to a floppy disk?
Now Philips presents EasyWrite,the new standard
for writing to CD-RW discs. CD-RW and
DVD+RW drives with EasyWrite ‘on board’
combine the simplicity of a floppy disk,large
storage capacity of CD, and robustness needed for
frequent data interchange and distribution.This
ultimate floppy replacement offers considerable
added value in business and home PCs.
The ‘Floppy’ Replacement
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350 times the capacity, same ease-of-use
Have you ever made a business presentation only to find that
the file size is so large that you have to split the file to send it
to your customers? Have you spent hours working on your
laptop in a hotel room only to find you can’t backup that work?
These are typical problems encountered with the average
business PC and they highlight the limitations of the floppy disk.
Even when we added a CD-RW drive to our computer to
benefit from larger storage capacity,we trade convenience for
capacity. CD writing proves to be less than user friendly.Just
formatting a CD-RW disc could take more than half-an-hour,
and that’s if you were lucky enough to have the required
software running properly and that scratches on the CD didn’t
stop you from finishing the job.CD-RW usage for normal
"drag-and-drop" storage is too complex.EasyWrite solves this
problem by enabling the drag-and-drop functionality of the
floppy disk without special software,further reducing the billof-materials for business PCs.With falling prices of drives and
media,EasyWrite is already an attractive 3-in-1 replacement
that frees up a drive bay for additional peripherals and simplifies
the manufacture of new PCs.
Major benefits for end-users,
IT professionals and purchasers
EasyWrite is the affordable floppy replacement and results from
new standards arising from an initiative called Mount Rainier.
The promoters are Philips,Compaq, Microsoft and Sony.Over
40 industry leaders worldwide now endorse the standard.
Philips has been a leader in the development of this initiative
and is one of the first to bring the functionality to the market
(www.mt-rainier.org).
By tackling the issues that concerned users and IT departments,
EasyWrite offers immediate benefits for the IT community:
THE WAY TO STORE, MOVE AND
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Simple
EasyWrite is simple. The PC’s operating system will recognize
and handle the EasyWrite disc drive in the computer –or one
attached as a separate external drive- as a regular drive,just
like its hard disk.And even better: EasyWrite operates like a
regular drive and requires regular discs. This means that the
user can instantly drag and drop files to a disc and back to the
hard disk.
EasyWrite is transparent to end users.The functionality looks
and feels just like it was in the operating system.It is woven
seamlessly into the operating system,and later through native
OS support.
Fast
EasyWrite is fast. Take a new CD-RW disc out of the box,
insert it to the drive, and within seconds you can start dragging
and dropping data.The drive handles formatting in the
background so you’re not disturbed by it.Even if you eject the
disc before background formatting is completed,the disc is still
readable in all MultiRead CD-ROM and DVD-ROM drives.
Current CD-RW applications can take more than half-an-hour
to format the disc before you can start writing data.
Robust
EasyWrite embodies a dramatically improved defect
management system. This makes it far more robust towards
dirt and scratches than current packet-writing applications.
Store, Move and Share
EasyWrite provides the easiest way now available to store,
move and share large quantities of information.The disc is
compatible and can be read by virtually all CD-ROM, CD-R
CD-RW DVD-ROM and DVD writers.Sharing an EasyWrite
disc with older systems is done simply by installing an
EasyWrite driver,which is freely available on the web.
SHARE YOUR DATA, AUDIO, IMAGES AND FILES
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By standardizing the way of working, eliminating the need for
proprietary solutions and ensuring backward compatibility,
EasyWrite offers a unique, removable, mass storage standard
for you to interchange data in the global business environment.
This set of benefits,together with supported functionality like
booting and disaster recovery, makes EasyWrite an ideal
replacement for the floppy.
Operating System Support
Currently,CD-RW drives are rather difficult to support
because of some of the specifics of optical storage. The
EasyWrite solution is based on putting all the "complex stuff"
into the drive and creating a standard way of working.This way,
the operating system can address the drive just as any standard
storage device (hard disk,floppy, MO, etc .) without an
application program.(For a detailed explanation,see the White
Paper on the www
.mt-rainier.org website).
EasyWrite will be supported in future versions of popular
operating systems,including Windows and Linux.Apple is also
expected to join.In the meantime, file system drivers that
seamlessly integrate this functionality into current operating
systems,will be available.These will be generic drivers that
create a standardized disc format and are therefore different to
current proprietary applications.Within a couple of years, this
will all be part of the operating system, making EasyWrite a
future-proof solution.
So now, both end users and PC manufacturers can get rid
of the floppy drive and overcome the current complexities
of writing to CD. Just turn to EasyWrite.
For more information:easywrite@philips.com
© Royal Philips Electronics N.V.
Printed in The Netherlands
November 2001.
12NC number 3104 145 50610
Philips
Philips has taken a leading role in
the Mount Rainier initiative,and
listened to PC users,purchasers
and IT professionals to deliver
the solution that the market so
explicitly asked for.Starting early
2002,EasyWrite will be built into
all new Philips CD-RW and
Combi drives.
This underlines the role of
Philips as the leading storage
solutions provider with proven
track record in industry
standards.The company
provides efficient,
compatible, affordable,
seamless and future
proof storage
solutions.
All rights are reserved.Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without the prior written consent of the copyright owner.The information
presented in this document does not form part of any quotation or contract,is believed to be accurate and reliable and may be changed without
notice. No liability will be accepted by the publisher for any consequence of its use.Publication thereof does not convey nor imply any license under
patent- or other industrial or intellectual property rights.
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