Western Digital has launched its Media Center in Saudi Arabia. The new hard-disk drive is likely to be popular with mobile technology and home PC users who want to store pictures, videos and music with ease, and boosts Western Digital’s presence in the consumer electronics market.

“The demand for efficient and easy data storage is increasing in Saudi Arabia, as notebook PCs, digital cameras and PDAs become more popular,” said Hafeez Khawaja, senior director, Middle East, Africa and South Asia, Western Digital. “The Media Center is an easy-to-use solution combining the latest technology in an all-in-one unit.”

Western Digital’s Media Center is the only peripheral available in the market that provides consumers with all-in-one functionality. The Media Center, which is available in 160GB and 250GB formats, enables data from mobile technology equipment to be easily and securely stored, allowing the limited storage capacity of mobile devices to be utilized where it is needed — on the move.

The Media Center combines a 250GB WD Caviar SE hard-drive, an 8-in-1 memory card reader, USB 2.0 hub, and the company’s exclusive Dual-option Backup feature in one convenient external storage device. Western Digital’s exclusive Dual-option Backup system gives consumers the option to back up data either automatically or on-demand with the simple touch of a button. Users can also schedule a recurring backup.

Combining external storage with a built-in card reader for space-saving convenience and easier downloading at the touch of a button, the Media Center is compatible with eight major media card formats, including CompactFlash Type I and II, IBM Microdrive, SmartMedia, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, MultiMedia Card and SD Card.

Adobe Acrobat 7.0 Software

Adobe Systems has brought out the Adobe Acrobat 7.0 software, a family of desktop applications that provides capabilities far beyond converting documents into the Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). Now, workgroups can use Acrobat 7.0 and Adobe PDF to manage a range of essential business activities such as assembling documents from multiple sources, creating intelligent forms and more securely collaborating on projects inside and outside the firewall.

For the first time, Acrobat 7.0 Professional customers can now include virtually anyone in an electronic review of a PDF document by enabling access to commenting tools in free Adobe Reader 7.0 software. Adobe Reader users can quickly provide feedback on a PDF file that consists of several content types — from scanned paper to spreadsheets, presentations, and now, 3D computer-aided design (CAD) content.

Adobe also announced the release of Adobe Reader 7.0, the company’s free, universal client software. The product, which continues to deliver on the ability to reliably view and print Adobe PDF files across various operating systems, hardware and mobile device platforms, now offers more powerful capabilities, as well. Adobe Reader users can participate in document reviews, have Yahoo! Search capabilities at their fingertips and can interact with 3D objects placed in PDF. To download go to http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/.

WordPerfect Office 12

Building on the company’s mandate to open the home consumer software market to value-priced alternatives to Microsoft Office, Corel announced the availability of WordPerfect Office 12 — Home Edition. A comprehensive productivity suite specifically designed for the home computer user, WordPerfect Office 12 — Home Edition offers customers a significant savings by delivering productivity, security and multimedia in a single package.

The bundled suite provides everything consumers need for their home computers including software for word processing; spreadsheets; digital photo editing and organizing; CD/DVD creation; a rich encyclopedia; fonts; clipart; five powerful Internet security applications with a complimentary 90-day subscription to protection updates; and more.

WordPerfect Office 12 — Home Edition is anchored by Corel’s easy-to-use word processing and spreadsheet applications, WordPerfect 12 — Home Edition and Quattro Pro 12 — Home Edition. Additionally, the bundle lets users take advantage of two key trends in home computing — the explosion in consumers using their PCs as entertainment hubs for digital photos and music such as MP3s and CD mixes; and the need for a leading security technology like Symantec’s Norton Internet Security 2005 to keep important and highly personal data safe from hackers and viruses.

WordPerfect Office 12 — Home Edition includes Norton Internet Security 2005, WordPerfect 12 — Home Edition, Quattro Pro 12 — Home Edition, WordPerfect OfficeReady Personal Finance, Encyclopedia Britannica Ready Reference 2005, Corel Photobook, Corel PhotoAlbum, Pinnacle Instant CD/DVD v8LE.

These powerful applications are tied together by an intuitive and easy-to-use Task Manager that lets users launch applications, create projects, or seek support, all from within one simple interface screen. In addition, WordPerfect Office 12 — Home Edition also provides a full range of useful clipart, fonts and other valuable content designed to enable home users to make the most of their projects. To purchase the new suite directly from Corel please visit http://www.wordperfect.com/home.