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LaCie Shipping 6GB, 18GB & 32GB PocketDrive … the Ultimate in Storage Convenience

Business Wire, July 18, 2000

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

MACWORLD Expo NY 2000

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 18, 2000

World's Smallest Drives are First to Include Both FireWire

and USB Support

-- LaCie brings back popular PocketDrive

-- Fast, plug and play storage expansion -- no rebooting required

-- Unprecedented flexibility -- U&I(TM) connects to FireWire(R)

and USB-equipped personal computers

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With the capacity, mobility and convenience they provide, LaCie's new 6GB, 18GB and 32GB PocketDrives(TM) have already been labeled as "must-have" storage expansion solutions by content developers, illustrators, audio/video professionals and people on-the-go. Measuring only 3.5" x 5.75" and weighing less than a pound, LaCie's new drives are not only some of the world's smallest hard drives, they're the first peripherals to offer both Universal Serial Bus (USB) and FireWire(R) (IEEE 1394) support, or "U&I" (LaCie's acronym and trademark for the dual-support capability). The drives are being demonstrated this week at LaCie's MACWORLD Expo NY Booth 2219.

With the unique combination of features these versatile drives provide, users have an easy means of expanding the storage capacity of USB-equipped computers such as Apple(R) iMac, PowerBook and G3 computers, and FireWire systems such as the most recent Macintosh(R) G3/G4 workstations, PowerBooks and the new iMacDV systems as well as and Windows(R) 98SE and 2000 PCs. In addition, users can quickly share the contents of the entire drive with others. The capacity and performance of the new LaCie hard drives also make them ideal for full backups of an internal drive, including a bootable operating system.

To achieve U&I functionality, LaCie incorporates both a FireWire controller and a USB controller in the new LaCie PocketDrives. The FireWire controller is a 400 Mbps interface that is based on a 1394 to IDE/ATAPI bridge chipset. For USB connectivity, the drives are equipped with the new mass storage-class USB controller and a software driver developed by LaCie. When the drive is connected to a FireWire interface, performance is more than 11 Mbytes/second and fast enough for capturing video from DV camcorders. When the USB interface is used, the LaCie hard drives deliver a sustained performance of up to 750Kbytes/second. Designed with true plug-and-play capabilities, the FireWire and USB buses make the LaCie drives hot-pluggable -- they can be removed or swapped without having to shutdown or reboot the system. The drives mount automatically as soon as they are connected.

For added convenience, the PocketDrive can be powered directly by the bus power provided by Apple's G3, G4, and iMac computers as well as the new PowerBooks with built-in FireWire. For use with USB connections, the provided universal AC adapter provides the necessary power. The adapter is also necessary when using FireWire with some PowerBook and other portable computers equipped with FireWire ports that do not provide bus power.

"Our new PocketDrive line provides everything users need to meet the storage requirements of today's demanding, data-intensive applications -- high capacity, fast access, and reliability in an affordable, ultra-compact design plus cross-platform interoperability," said Bill Mazieres, LaCie's East Coast managing director. "For the first time in the history of the storage industry, content developers and graphics professionals will have the capacity and the mobility they need plus the ability to quickly and easily share large files without having to worry about whether the computer is equipped with a USB port or a FireWire port. With our U&I approach, they have the best of both worlds."

LaCie brings back the PocketDrive with modern USB and FireWire interfaces. The original award-winning PocketDrive was introduced by LaCie in 1991 with a SCSI interface.

Availability and Pricing

Available now through LaCie authorized resellers and mail order partners, the LaCie PocketDrives have SRPs of $399 for the 6GB hard drive and $749 for the 18GB drive and $1,299 for the 32GV drive. In addition to U&I support, the drives include a small international power supply adapter for worldwide use, and LaCie's Silverlining Pro drive utility software for MacOS environments. Silverlining 98 is included for Windows 98SE (Second Edition) and Windows 2000 environments. Silverlining Pro is the most comprehensive drive management software on the market and the only driver able to manage USB, IDE, SCSI and FireWire peripherals at the same time.

For more information on the features and capabilities of the USB and FireWire technologies, visit www.lacie.com/usb/ and www.lacie.com/firewire/.

About LaCie

Founded in 1987, LaCie is a world leader in the development and manufacture of cross-platform mass storage, digital video and color-management computer peripherals for personal, business, industrial and multimedia environments. In addition to its U.S. development, marketing and manufacturing facilities in Hillsboro, Ore., LaCie has its corporate office in Massy, France, and sales offices in Canada and 10 European countries. LaCie Group SA is a French public company listed on the Paris Nouveau Marche (code 5431). For more information, contact LaCie, Ltd. at 22985 NW Evergreen Parkway; Hillsboro, OR 97124 or call 503/844-4500, Fax 503/844-4593. Visit LaCie's Web site at www.lacie.com

Business Services Industry

LaCie Shipping 6GB, 18GB & 32GB PocketDrive … the Ultimate in Storage Convenience

Business Wire, July 18, 2000

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