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Rambus Looks to Win Memory War Either Way



Rutilus Moves to Spectrum, Rolls Out New Products

The battle over the next generation of computer memory technology might be over before it really gets started.

Rambus Inc., the creator of a controversial type of memory that transfers data faster but is expensive to make, is claiming ownership of a lower-cost alternative being pushed by a trade group of memory product makers.

Despite support for Mountain View-based Rambus from chip heavyweight Intel Corp., some memory product makers, including several in Orange County, say the technology is too expensive to produce because it requires new manufacturing equipment.

They are pushing a rival type of next-generation technology known as Double Data Rate Random Access Memory, which was supposed to be a grassroots industry standard that could be produced with only minor adjustments in the manufacturing processes most memory makers now have.

And better yet, DDR advocates said, licensing fees for the technology would go to other memory producers, not an outsider like Rambus, which designs memory interfaces but not memory modules themselves.

But now Rambus is claiming DDR uses its patents, and it hopes to collect licensing fees for that, too. DDR proponents Toshiba America Electronic Components Inc., Irvine, and Hitachi Semiconductor Inc. of San Jose agreed to pay Rambus royalties this month. With the industry giants caving in, smaller manufacturers are expected to fall in line.

Kingston Technology Co., Fountain Valley, has been one of the most vocal Rambus advocates, though it plans to make both types of memory. Likewise, most of the companies pushing DDR also have licensed Rambus technology.

Rutilus Moves to Irvine

Rutilus Software, a 2-year-old Laguna Hills company, is making a couple of big moves as it relocates to Irvine and introduces a line of products that back up data over the Internet and other networks.

The company plans to sell its eBack suite to manufacturers, who would include it as part of their network-attached storage units and portable storage products. Network-attached storage is a fast-growing segment that refers to devices that store data on computer networks and act as their own file servers, making it easier to boost the amount of information those networks can store and make available.

Rutilus also plans to build regional warehousing facilities around the globe that would store data for customers that use its Internet-based products.

The company’s other data protection offerings include SmartBack, geared toward older client-server setups, SmartRecovery, a system geared toward Web servers and workstations, and SmartManager, a utility that helps run Rutilus software.

Management includes several tech veterans, including president and chief operating officer Al Wilson, who formerly was chief operating officer of Fremont-based storage products maker Mylex Corp., chief executive of Executive Computer Systems, and general manager of EMC Corp. Its vice president of sales, Dan Johnson, held the same position at Toshiba America Information Systems Inc., and its vice president for marketing, Sean Lee, co-founded LogisticsOne and was director of worldwide product marketing at AST Research Inc.

Bits:

NowDocs.com, the Aliso Viejo company that sends documents over the Internet and prints them in the recipient’s city for same-day delivery, has added a feature that allows customers to use contacts listed in their personal information managers such as Microsoft Corp.’s Outlook, Symantec Corp.’s ACT! and Palm organizers … Nexgenix Inc., Irvine, has finished the Web site for Worldo.com, an online hub for companies in the commercial interiors market … QLogic Corp., Aliso Viejo, announced it will support Network Appliance Inc.’s Direct Access File System, a way of sending data that bypasses the operating system. In addition to speeding up large data transfers, the system makes it easier for computers using different operating systems,say, a Mac and a PC running Windows,to communicate with each other … Rancho Santa Margarita computer memory seller Viking Components Inc. has launched a Web site (OEM.vikingcomponents.com) that allows its business partners to communicate directly with the company’s engineering, product and supply management teams … DispenseSource Inc., a Rancho Santa Margarita-based company that makes computerized cabinets to track and control the distribution of office supplies, has launched its Web site at www.dispensesource.com … NQL Solutions Inc., a division of Santa Ana-based Alphaserve.com, has released a new version of its free stock market tracking program StockVue 2000 Plus and signed its first overseas customer, Sitelynx Ltd., a U.K.-based software company. For more: www.nqlsolutions.com … Global GPP Corp., Newport Beach, has signed on three Slovenian distributors for its online marketplace (www.globalgpp.com), which allows suppliers to bid for purchase requests. The distributors expect to purchase $56.5 million worth of goods on the site in the next year.

Ken Spencer Brown can be reached at kbrown@ocbj.com or (949) 833-8373.

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