I.B.M. plans to announce leap in disk-drive capacity
Article Abstract:
IBM plans to announce on Dec 30, 1997, that it has broken the magnetic disk data storage record of 10 billion bits per square inch. The technology will become available in 2001 and will first be used in 2.5-in non-removable disk drives in portable computers. A single 2.5-in platter is expected to store 6.5GB of data and a 3.5-in platter to hold 12GB to 13GB. With the new density, every square inch of disk space can hold about 725,000 double-spaced typewritten pages of information. Disk trend reports that since IBM introduced the world's first disk drive in 1956 with a storage capacity of 5MB and costing $10,000 a megabyte, the average data-storage capacity of disk drives has increased by 18 times, with price per megabyte dropping 52-fold. The cost of disk data storage has dropped from $5.23 per megabyte in 1991 to 10 cents in 1997.
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1997
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I.B.M. to introduce disk drive of tiny size and big capacity
Article Abstract:
IBM announces a one-inch disk drive, called Microdrive, expected to be available commercially in 1999. The device, which weighs about half as much as a golf ball and stores up to 340MB, targets the fast-growing market for hand-held computers. It could also be used in consumer appliances such as digital cameras or digital cellular telephones. Microdrive is compatible with the Compact Flash Type II slot, an industry standard used by some digital camera manufacturers such as Canon Inc. IBM says Microdrive can be used with a standard PC card adapter if a device does not have the new slot. Industry observers say Microdrive's success in the marketplace will depend on how fast a market for consumer devices beyond high-end cameras emerges. An executive with a market research company calls Microdrive 'an engineering marvel.'
Publication Name: The New York Times
Subject: Business, general
ISSN: 0362-4331
Year: 1998
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