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Next Wave Of Hard Drive Tech: Perpendicular Recording

Posted by timothy on from the dig-for-your-data dept.

angrytuna writes "New serial technologies are set to replace standard SCSI and ATA (Advanced Technology Attachment) interfaces over the next two years, even as hard-disk drive manufacturers prepare for an entirely new form of bit storage. Perpendicular recording will replace longitudinal recording in storage devices, placing bits on end instead of lying them parallel on the disc surface, thus dramatically increasing the possible storage density."

3 of 380 comments (clear)

  1. Increased Reliability? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I am less concerned about the amount of stuff I can put on a hard-drive, and more concerned that the next time I boot up my computer, that stuff will still be there, as harddrives get more and more high-tech, the reliability seems to be taking a big nosedive, how will this effect the reliability of future drives?

  2. And? by CompiledMonkey · · Score: 5, Interesting

    In the days of 250GB hard drives, who cares? All I'm concerned about is the speed of drives. Lets improve that for once...

  3. how bits on end would work........ by Sean+Johnson · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I have seen a few posts from folks not quite understanding how the "bits-on-end" approach works. Some were speculating that it might be holographic, multiple layers, or 3D and such. It is not at all that complicated as they are making it out to be. I heard it best described from Alan Shugart who started the company called Seagate. On an episode from "The Computer Chronicles" back in 1984 he described it as standing the magnetic particles on end to fit more in a given area, which is similar to how a cord of wood could fit into a given smaller area by standing them up on end instead of laying flat. So it really is simpler than you might imagine. Of course the implementation is anything but simple. This is especially evident by the fact that this idea was known as a way to increase storage density back in 1984, when even 200 million bits per square inch was not in a consumer product yet. It was merely in labs with thin film head technology poised to become the next big thing in a short time from that year.
    By the way, you can see old episodes of "The Computer Chronicles" at the Prelinger Archives collection.
    http://www.archive.org/movies/preling er.php.
    I believe Slashdot had a story about that a while ago. Good stuff! Great info can be had through those old episodes about computer history.

    --
    >>>>>> Chewie, take the professor in the back and plug him into the hyperdrive.