Tom, Young and all: Computerworld Article
FROM IDG Web site:
Western Digital Corp. is gearing up for the release in September of an ultrathin removable hard drive that can be swapped between laptop and desktop PCs,Computerworld has learned.
The technology is licensed from JTS Corp. in San Jose, Calif. JTS already is shipping its version of the drive, code-named Nordic, to Compaq Computer Corp.for fixed installation in forthcoming laptops, said Steve Kaczeus, chief technology officer at JTS.
In its removable form, the passport-size drive fits in to a PC docking bay and does everything a fixed hard drive does, from running the operating system to storing data. Business travelers will be able to move the drive between desktops and notebooks. Multiple users will be able to share one PC but use different hard disks. Western Digital CEO Charles Haggerty estimates the price will be between $200 and $300.
Problems solved
John Reeder, an analyst at Rocker Partners in New York, said the swappable hard drive is one of the best removable storage products he has seen. "It solves the performance issue and the portability issue," he said.
The performance issue has plagued major players in the removable storage space. For example, market leader Iomega Corp. faults competitor MKE Ltd. for the slow rotation of MKE's LS-120 drive. LS-120 proponents, in turn, criticize Iomega's Zip drive for its power consumption.
The JTS drive transfers data almost 12 times as fast as the Zip and more than 29 times as fast as the LS-120, Kaczeus said.
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