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Microdrive Technology Rebounds Thanks to iPod Mini

Posted by timothy on from the 4-gigs-for-cheap dept.

An anonymous reader writes "A few years ago Richard Menta over at MP3 Newswire did a lengthy review on the IBM Microdrive and declared it would significantly alter the MP3 portable market if IBM did one thing - drop the price. That never happened and it prompted Menta last year to declare the iPod's more cost effective Toshiba drive made it moot and he put the Microdrive on his 2002 MP3 loser list. Since then the drive technology was acquired by Hitachi who convinced to Apple to use it for the iPod Mini. The Mini's recent success prompted Menta to revisit his previous write-off. Interesting view of the up and down travils of any technology and how each change can have dramatic effect on its success and failure."

9 of 191 comments (clear)

  1. This reminds me of myself by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    I declared Gopher dead as a result of the web in 1994, and Gopher has since has an incredible rebirth and is now in common use again.
    Text in italics may not have actually happened.

  2. IBM Storage Tech in Mini-ipods? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    Well I'm sure the RIAA will love the self-destructive nature of those drives

  3. Re:Hrmm by EMH_Mark3 · · Score: 2, Funny

    and the mp3s would play so much faster!! :P

    --
    Burn the land and boil the sea, you can't take the sky from me
  4. SCO starts selling iPod Mini licenses by azuroff · · Score: 5, Funny

    From the press release:

    "IBM had access to the SysV source code. IBM also developed the MicroDrive. Therefore, the MicroDrive is obviously a derivative product, and we believe that all iPod Mini owners now owe us $699."

  5. Re:Think outside the square by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Nobody really needs to carry that much data (640K?) around.

    Thanks for your input, Mr. Gates.

  6. Re:It takes a long time by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    > to become an overnight success. ..especially when you're developed by IBM, a company with a history of failing to properly market their innovative consumer tech.

    Back in 2001, OS/2 was overheard quietly saying to Microdrive, "Sorry, kid, I've been down this road and it's not pretty. Prepare to be ignored by the marketplace."

  7. Re:Hrmm by aardvarko · · Score: 5, Funny

    iPod Mini (silver): $249
    Lexar 8GB CompactFlash: $3000 [1]
    Case of Zima: $24
    The look on your face after it's stolen from your messenger bag: Priceless


    [1]: http://www.letsgodigital.org/en/news/articles/stor y_934.html

  8. Re:Versus "normal" hard drive based mp3 players? by Bombcar · · Score: 3, Funny

    It was always reading, hardly ever writing. I used it as an MP3 store, and was playing songs with mpg123. My guess is that the Linux cache meant that it was normally idle, but still spinning. I think the gyroscope nature of the disks would help it be stable.

    I once had a panic stop that caused it to fly off the seat and onto the floor, and that hung the machine, but I think it was because the RAM popped out. A reboot fixed that. :)

    --
    Fellowship 9/11
  9. Bad move, Apple by Laconian · · Score: 2, Funny

    I can't wait until the class action lawsuits are filed.. the click-whirr of death from legions of iPod minis!

    Hitachi has inherited an evil, evil legacy.