Sandisk, allies hatch flash pact

Electronic News, Oct 16, 1995 by Andrew MacLellan

Intel's TrueFF flash-translation layer software has not been accepted as yet by the PCMCIA group as an official standard because of a SanDisk claim that the software's manufacturer, M Systems, has violated some of its patents.

Mr. Chan said second sourcing is a high priority for the 12-member CFA board of directors, which will dispense the CompactFlash recipe free of royalties or license requirements. This enticement, Mr. Chan hopes, will induce a bevy of second-source manufacturers to sign on to the technology, but at least one potential partner said it has been unhappy with the level of secrecy cloaking CFA's pursuit of a de facto standard.

Cirrus Logic VP of business development Michael Liccardo said SanDisk has rebuffed his offers to inspect and comment on specifications and claims SanDisk has formed a group which will hurt emerging flash memory technology by turning away from the input of other storage system manufacturers.

"If (they) have got a spec on something, we'd be willing to look at it and probably support it as is," Mr. Liccardo said. "If it's a new packaging standard, we'd be very big supporters of it.

"The only issue I have is if this is a critical trigger point at which time (the CFA) make a standard available...(we) need more than SanDisk to make it happen. If this is kept proprietary, it doesn't promote the standard."