Peripherals
Article Abstract:
Progress was made on many fronts in the data-storage devices arena in 1988. Smaller, faster, denser drives were developed, including drives using 2.5-inch disks, 2.5-inch 20Mbyte hard disks, and faster 5.25-inch drives able to store more data. Hewlett-Packard achieved the lowest average latency time of 7.5 milliseconds with the new line of 760Mbyte 5.25 drives. IBM plans to bring out a faster successor to the mainframe storage 3380 drives. Twin tier tracking, in which servo information is stored beneath disk data and accessed by the head at a different frequency, will be employed by Brier Technology's 43Mbyte 3.5 inch drive. Write-once, read-many (WORM) automated storage libraries will continue to be the major application of optical disk drives, although erasable disk drives are available. Helical scanning, writing data at an angle to the width of a tape, increases the storage density of digital-audio tape. Flexible WORM tape will be used in an optical-tape storage device capable of storing a terabyte per reel.
Publication Name: IEEE Spectrum
Subject: Engineering and manufacturing industries
ISSN: 0018-9235
Year: 1989
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Americans in Paris...
Article Abstract:
US technology may be the key to keeping a unified Europe open to US companies. Numerous US companies already have a permanent presence in Europe, and many more are working to establish one by New Year's Eve 1992. The two-way trade between the US and Europe totaled $171 billion in 1989 or $1 trillion if US-owned companies in Europe and European-owned companies in the US are included. This trade is increasing in importance in the high-technology area. Some high-technology companies are worried about the "rules of origin" which now require semiconductor chips to be fabricated in EC territory to get the made-in-Europe seal. This may mean that US semiconductor companies must establish wafer-manufacturing facilities within the EC. To deal with the administrative challenge and recognize the importance of Europe 1992, the US government granted the European Community ambassador the same status as given to representatives of independent nations.
Publication Name: IEEE Spectrum
Subject: Engineering and manufacturing industries
ISSN: 0018-9235
Year: 1990
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Moon lander: 1969
Article Abstract:
Development of the lunar module for NASA was a major engineering accomplishment by 7,000 Grumman Corp personnel - including 3,000 engineers, over 100 subcontractors and NASA's own engineers. The rigorous design, development and testing process had to cover every conceivable situation and problem; the modules could not get a thorough test of their systems and capabilities until one was in actual mission use. The $387 million contract that Grumman won for the lunar module was eventually worth over $2 billion by the end of the project in the early 1970s. The firm's engineers had to revamp broad sections of their design knowledge to develop the module, and many modifications were made in the course of the project. NASA's and Grumman's attention to detail was diligent, and many veterans of the project are concerned that less attention to every detail is the rule today.
Publication Name: IEEE Spectrum
Subject: Engineering and manufacturing industries
ISSN: 0018-9235
Year: 1988
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