Maxtor's "Sturdy" Hard Drive

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Posted by Hemos on Tuesday February 13, 2001 @04:39AM from the interesting-approach-to-things dept.

robkill writes "PCWorld has this article on a new drive by Maxtor, using 1 platter, 1 head and 70% fewer moving parts. Using one side of a 30GB platter, the drive holds 15GB and has a smaller height as well." Well, it's not huge, but it's sufficent size - and with more durability, putting it into mobile devices becomes easier to do.

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Sturdy? HA! by sprag · 2001-02-12 23:55 · Score: 4
I've got a Digital RA82 sitting next to my desk. That is a sturdy drive. Consider these features:
- 622M capacity using 14" platters
- weighs 163 lbs
- can be used as a bench or footstool
- has a locking air-cylinder to hold up the 'hood'
- Can be repaired using tools from your garage.
- Sounds very much like a radial arm saw
3/4" high disk considered sturdy? What is the world coming to?
Re:Sturdy? HA! by wiredog · 2001-02-13 00:47 · Score: 4

Back in '83 I was outside a computer room when a large drive like that had a head crash. The platter (still spinning) got ejected through the side of the case and embedded into the wall. Sounded like a bomb went off.

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Re:cool by b0z · 2001-02-12 23:48 · Score: 4

Now when I get the blue screen o death and decide to chuck the box out a 10 story window, the hardrive might still work.
Wrong. You simply open up your hard drive case, turn the platter upside down and use the other side. I can see some good potential uses. The first dual boot system where to go from windows to linux you simply flip your pc over. It's almost like an electronic etch a sketch.

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Woo hoo! Time to dust off the old tools... by glebite · 2001-02-13 00:12 · Score: 4

With it using only 1 side, I'll just break out my trusty old nibble-notcher and get me a dual-sided drive! Wooooooo!

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Oh.. by caino59 · 2001-02-12 23:45 · Score: 4

So it's half a hard drive....hmmmm
*looks in computer case*
*looks at sawzall*
Well shit, I can do that!
-Caino
Dont't touch my .sig there!
Innovator's Dilemma by landley · 2001-02-13 00:21 · Score: 5

The first third of the book "The Innovator's Dilemma" by Clayton Christensen was all about the progress of hard drives from 14 inch washing machines to 2.5 inch laptop models.
Each switch to a smaller form factor (8 inch, 5 1/4 inch, 3.5 inch, etc) actually LOWERED the price/performance ratio and didn't seem to make sense, but it allowed the drive to be used in new situations (minicomputers for 8 inch, desktops for 5 1/4, early laptops for 3.5, modern laptops for 2.5.)
Who cares if the drive only has 5 gigs if it'll fit in your palm pilot?
Rob
using just one side by MillMan · 2001-02-13 00:22 · Score: 5

I work in the hard drive industry (scary) and there are a few monetary benefits to the company, hopefully passed on to the consumer...

Basically platter yield goes up. HD companies lose a certain % of platters when the two sides aren't parallel to each other within spec. With a one sided setup this doesn't matter and won't cut into yield. Also, since Si defects will always be there, you can gain some yield back when the defects are only on one side, and simply use the other side.