NEWS - Thursday, March 4, 2004
No Hard Drive for Xbox Next?
M-Systems president Dov Moran confirmed today that Microsoft’s next entry into the console market WILL NOT contain an internal hard drive. M-Systems, which recently signed an agreement to develop removable flash memory units for Microsoft, makes the Fast Flash Disks, which have a storage capacity ranging from 16 MB to 47 GB. The Fast Flash Disks are an advanced solid-state disk designed for military and aerospace infrastructure applications. Speaking in a recently posted interview with Globes Online, Moran spoke about Microsoft’s decision and M-Systems’ role in the matter. "Microsoft has taken the hard disk out of its Xbox," Moran said. "The only thing left will be a CD; that’s all. At some point, when users want to save their e-mail messages, copy music, or anything like that, the only storage they’ll have is what we give them. It’s worth hundreds of millions to the company, spread over a few years, and we’ll be the main supplier for it; and I hope the sole supplier." The agreement between Microsoft and M-Systems specifies that the company will utilize its DiskOnKey technology which can store anywhere from 16MB to 1 gigabyte of memory. With the company’s other memory solutions, however, it is possible that the products they supply Microsoft will contain even greater storage capabilities. With this latest information and the previous knowledge that software development kits have been shipped, the mystery of Xbox 2 is slowly coming to light. It’s safe to bet that even more info on Microsoft’s latest machine will come forth soon as the Game Developers Conference will be held later this month and May’s E3 is fast approaching.Source: http://www.gigex.com
