PC Briefs

NEW YORK — SmartDisk, maker of the FlashPath flash memory card adapter, will ship on Sept. 1 the SmartDisk MVP, which is music, video and picture digital content management software. The software helps consumers store their music, digital video and digital still image files and has editing capability, said Paul Piske, director of product marketing. The application can create video files in CD video format allowing them to be burned onto CD-R media and played back on any DVD home player. It will carry an $89.95 suggested retail price, but a $20 mail-in rebate will be offered at launch.

WALNUT, CALIF. — ViewSonic will start shipping its newest flat-panel monitor, the VE170m, in mid-August. The 17-inch LCD will carry an $899 suggested retail price and is targeted at budget-conscious business users and home power users. Other features include a high contrast ratio of 300:1 and 1280 x 1024 true resolution.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Verbatim started shipping five and 10 packs of its new Pocket CD-R media for use in camcorder and ultra-compact personal CD/MP3 players. The 3-inch CD-Rs can hold 185MB of data, enough to record more than 150 photos, 21 minutes of video or up to 3 hours of MP3 music. The suggested retail prices are $14.99 for the 5 pack Pocket CD-Rs and $24.99 for the 10 pack.

IRVINE, CALIF. — Toshiba's SD-M1280 can hold up to four hours of music or 40 minutes of video, and samples are now available with a price of $149 when purchased in OEM quantities. Toshiba plans to introduce a 256MB SD card in the fourth quarter of 2001.

SAN RAMON, CALIF. — The Internet Home Alliance continued to grow with the addition of 11 new members, bringing the total membership to 31. The new members include ADT, AVAD, Connected Lifestyles, Echelon, emWare, National Semiconductor, Sage Systems, Sempra Energy Connections, Ucentric Systems, Visteon Corporation and Western Digital. The companies encompass a range of markets, including service providers, infrastructure providers, home integrators and energy management services. "In the midst of a fluctuating technology market, it's impressive to see a group of companies band together to advance the home networking industry," said Navin Sabharwal, vice president of residential and networking technology, Allied Business Intelligence.