Software Architects, Inc.

For Immediate Release

January 4, 2001

New Software Utility Provides Universal Disk & File Compatibility for Personal Computer Systems TM


Disk Drive TuneUp™ v3.0 usesUniversal Disk Format (UDF) technology to provide disk interchange between operating systems for all types of block addressable drives.

Bothell WA,...Software Architects, Inc. announced its release of Disk Drive TuneUp™ v3.0 for Windows and Macintosh systems. Disk Drive TuneUp™ is the world's first disk drive utility that provides integrated use of the new UDF format for cross platform disk interchange for all types of block addressable storage devices. ("UDF" stands for "Univeral Disk Format"). Originally specified for DVD, the UDF format is fast becoming the new international format standard for all types of storage devices because of its ability to provide compatibility between different computers and operating systems.

Disk Drive TuneUp v3.0 provides the world's first UDF format support for Zip™, Jaz™, Superdisk™, magneto optical (MO) drives, removable Winchester drives and even fixed hard disk drives. Users can easily and reliably transfer all types of files on disk from one computer operating system to another, with assurance that the disk will be compatible, regardless of the operating system.

The software comes in a single "world edition" that versions supporting MS Windows 95, 98, Me, NT 4.0, and 2000; as well as Apple Mac OS 8 & 9. Each specific OS version is supported in English, Japanese, French, German, Spanish and Italian language versions on the same disk.

Disk Drive TuneUp offers a comprehensive "all-in-one" storage solution available for fixed and removable storage devices. The software supports disk drives using the following protocols: FireWire (IEEE1394), USB, SCSI, ATAPI and ATA (see SAI web site for latest list of drives and protocols supported by each individual operating system).

Disk Compatibility and the UDF Format

UDF stands for the "Universal Disk Format" and file system. It is the key software technology underlying disk format standards for digital convergence. Based on the International Standards Organization's (ISO) ISO-13346 standard, the UDF format ensures that disks can be properly used on all types of computer systems as well as future consumer digital appliances. The UDF Format and file system implementation guidelines are published by the Optical Storage Technology Association (www.osta.org).

Advantages of the UDF Format:

• Operating system independence: UDF is the optimal file distribution format for removable disks.
• Large capacity: The UDF file system can store data to the terabyte level in a single volume
• Optimized data transfer rates: Read and write speeds of UDF formatted disks can outperform data transfer rates of native file systems when transferring larger files that are common with multimedia applications.
• Supports Unicode character set for compatibility with foreign language systems
• Supports extended file attributes used in some native operating systems.
• Supports long file names beyond the limits of current operating systems.

Key Components:

• The SmartDriver™ device driver suite that automatically configures for optimized I/O, based on the type of drive or type of disk inserted in a specific drive
• The WriteUDF!™ file system that reads and writes to disks formatted in the Universal Disk Format (UDF) format
• The Disk Drive TuneUp™ formatting application that formats in both UDF and native PC file formats (including FAT 16, FAT 32, HFS and Extended HFS formats), creates & names partitions, write protects disks, tests and remaps defective blocks on the media.

Easy Partitioning

Disk Drive TuneUp™ includes the world's easiest, and fastest way to partition your disk drive. Simply drag the partition flag across the partition slider bar to create a partition of any size. Create native FAT, HFS, HFS+ or UDF formats (including UDF v1.0.2, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.0.1). If you make a mistake, simply drag the flag again to the desired capacity.

Media Testing & Repair

Includes three types of media testing enabling the user to predict and prevent data loss. Defective sectors can be easily identified and re-assigned to prevent future data loss.

Speed: Multi-level Read Caching for Selected Operating Systems

The Mac OS versions feature Rocketcache(tm) a proprietary "multi-level" read caching technology designed to overcome the slow I/O performance of many popular removable drives. This is especially true for USB protocol devices. Select the cache size you want for the "read ahead buffer", the dedicated RAM cache and the file-based "hard disk cache". All three work together to optimize your file access time.

System Requirements

Windows 95: 486 Mhz cpu or greater; 16 MB of RAM
Windows NT or 98: Pentium class or greater; 32 MB of RAM
Windows 2000: 133MHz Pentium or greater; 64 MB of RAM
Windows Me: 150MHz Pentium or greater; 64 MB of RAM

Macintosh OS 8: PowerMac G3 or iMac or greater; 16 MB of RAM
Macintosh OS 9: PowerMac G3 or iMac or greater; 32 MB of RAM

Compatibility & Standards

Disk Drive TuneUp(tm) creates UDF formatted media that is fully read & write compatible with MS Windows 98, Me and 2000 UDF readers, as well as Mac OS 8.5 & 9 UDF readers.

Disk Drive TuneUp is the only general storage utility that can ensure read & write compatibility of UDF formatted disks between Apple(tm) Macintosh(tm) and MS Windows(tm) computer systems. The software's UDF file system is OSTA (Optical Storage Technology Association) UDF compliant and complies with DVD Forum specifications for DVD drives. SAI is the only software company to guarantee that its UDF format is OSTA UDF compliant.

About SAI

Software Architects, Inc. develops and publishes system level utility software and specialty applications for personal computers. The company applies its file system, device driver and image enhancement technology to address the integration and ease of use of input and storage devices with personal computers.

Founded in 1987, the company has fourteen years of commercial experience licensing its technology to OEM manufacturers and systems integrators worldwide. As a member of the Optical Storage Technology Association (OSTA) as well as the DVD Forum, SAI plays a leading role in the application of the Universal Disk Format and technology for a variety of computer and consumer applications.

To learn more and to buy go toDisk Drive TuneUp v3

US Headquarters Software Architects, Inc 19102 North Creek Parkway, Suite 101 Bothell, WA 98011 USA Phone: 425-487-0122 Fax: 425-487-0467 Email: sales@softarch.com President's Email: bobz@softarch.com

Japan Office Software Architects, Inc Attn: Yoshihisa Suda 3-20-13-302 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku Tokyo, Japan 150-0002 Phone: 81-3-3406-1875 Fax: 81-3-3409-7095 Email: yoshihisas@softarch.com


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