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Date: Tue, 12 May 92 17:51:59 -0400
From: harm@emunix.emich.edu (Michael Harm)
Message-Id: <9205122151.AA06668@emunix.emich.edu>
To: jlemon@amdahl.com
Subject: compact cards
Status: OR
>From The Ann Arbor News, May 9th, p. A-1

NEW CARD MAY REVOLUTIONIZE COMPUTER DATA
By AL FASOLDT

   A small U.S. company has invented what could become one of the most
signifigant new consumer electronic products of the 1990s-a
credit-card-sized electronic storage device that could replace tapes and
discs in every home and office use.
      The card could record and play back lengthy sound and video
recordings, and could store prodigious amounts of computer data.  Those who
are familiar with the technology on which the card is based say it could
store the contents of a half dozen compact discs or a full-length feature
movie when used for audio or video.
      As a computer data storage device, the card could hold the equivelant
of thousands of floppy disks or 25 typical hard-disk drives, these sources
say.
    The tiny storage device has been undergoing private tests for many
months.  A few weeks ago, its inventor, Sydney Urshan, revealed some of its
details in a patent application.
        Urshan's company, Urshan Research Corp. of Los Angeles, says in its
patent documents that the storage card will hold 1 gigabyte of data-a
billion bytes, or the equivelant of about 1,000 paperback books- and will
use a special compression method to squeeze even more data onto the card.
The company says the card could cost as little as $20.00.
    Urshan Research says it will have prototype units ready in about six
months.  Industry sources say Apple Computer, ATT and other U.S. companies
have been supplying Urshan with equipment and know-how in an attempt to get
the device on the market as quickly as possible.
    If it works as claimed, the card could launch a revolution in the
storage and retrieval of literally all kinds of material.  Since it has no
moving parts and takes up very little space, it could be a natural
replacement for audio and videocassettes and laser discs in a couple of
years.
      Urshan Research says it is developing a prototype audio-video recorder
based on the card.  It would record digital audio and high-quality video,
and would have computer connections for musical instrument uses, too.
    The storage card  would also be ideal for the newest generation of
notebook- and sub-ntoebook-size computers, according to a report in an
industry trade paper.  Urshan himself sees a more universal application in
the comptuer field-as the standard replacement for both floppy disks and
hard disks.
     Urshan also sees his "compact card," as his patent papers describe it,
as a means of storing sound, moving pictures, and computer data that would
be sent over improved telephone lines.
   If Urshan's card works, U.S. technology would get a big boost.

