Dragonfly:
I'm still thinking about that part and other parts of the 10Q. I want to check this, but it reminds of the caveats they used when they were reporting on the progress of KM+TFI from the lab to the field testing to the negotiations. I'll get back to you.
Gus
P.S. Integrated = vertically integrated = Seagate AND IBM?
As a result of this anticipated transition to MR disk drives, Ampex has been increasing the proportion of its keepered media development efforts that is focused on MR technology. . During the first quarter of 1997, the Company demonstrated under laboratory conditions a significant increase in the capacity of MR heads utilizing keepered media. However, testing under laboratory conditions may not be representative of performance in a production disk drive and there is a significant possibility that further testing or technical or economic factors may make the incorporation of keepered media into MR-based disk drives impractical.
The development of MR-based drives incorporating keepered media will require a considerable amount of time and financial resources. Ampex has discussed its recent test results of keepered media with MR heads with certain potential customers, and expects to present the data to additional disk drive and component manufacturers in the near future. In order to attempt to
accelerate the commercial deployment of keepered media in MR disk drives, the Company has provided samples of keepered media disks that are optimized for MR heads to two integrated manufacturers of disk drives, and is in discussion with respect to joint development programs that, if successful, would target the
introduction of an MR-based disk drive program utilizing keepered media during 1998. These discussions have not, to date, resulted in any definite proposal, and the Company does not expect to generate any revenue from keepered media with MR heads in the current fiscal year. There can be no assurance that the results of such joint development efforts, if any, will be successful. |
