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Technology Stocks : Western Digital (WDC) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Sarmad Y. Hermiz who wrote (10971)	1/19/2005 1:36:35 AM
From: CFA	Respond to of 11057

Thanks for the links...had no idea that these items were available from Seagate, etc. (and I've searched for them multiple times over the years). A couple of problems here: 1. Why are these things so difficult to find? If someone like me (who's looking for the items) is having problems finding them, then there's no way that a mainstream consumer will find them. Who shops at westerndigital.com? Why aren't these things available at Amazon? 2. Aside from a mini HD from "Archos" that I've found on Amazon.com, these mini HDs are way too big and heavy relative to CF. I shied away from the Archos because I'm not familiar with the brand...so I ended up paying $200 back in May, 2003 for my CF. amazon.com If a reputable compay like Maxtor, Seagate, or Western Digital came out with a product that's the size, shape, and weight of a CF card (the Archos HD looks much like a CF card), sold it on Amazon, and put some marketing behind it, I think that it would be a winner, with great margins. I posted a weblog entry from Mark Cuban a few months back. Here's another from Cuban. Like me, Cuban loves HD storage. Personally, I would love to store all of my DVDs, music, etc. on a portable HD that I could take anywhere, just like I do with my CF. blogmaverick.com --------------------------------------- Abandoned by the DVD business I guess Im not typical. Its rare for me to watch a DVD at home anymore. If Im watching TV, its a basketball game, something on HDNet/Movies, or one of the HD channels, or something I Tivo’d. Typically Dave Chappelle or Law and Order. About the only time I actually place an actual DVD into a DVD player is when its for my daughter. Thats not to say I dont want to watch DVDs, or I havent watched DVDs. I do , and I have. I watched them in hotel rooms on my PC. Ive watched them on my PC when Im on a plane. Mostly, and Im sure this was my fault for not being careful, I watched half till the end, the other half until they stopped playing because of a scratch. Is there anything more irritating than a scratched DVD ? So I thought I would do something about it. I have already written about how I think hard drives will have a signicant part to play in how we experience and watch video content. What I hadnt done personally was take the time to convert DVDs I had PURCHASED to a format that could be easily stored on my new remote control sized, 80gbs Firelight. My plan was to take the drive, stuff it with movies, and use it to launch movies I could watch on the road. What a pain in the ass. I used 3 different rippers. All pretty much worked in realtime. Slow. Tedius. Didnt rip correctly every time. My dream of taking 20 or so movies on the road with me died a sad death halfway through the boredom of coming back and checking to see if Dodgeball was done. Which leads to the “arent I the customer here moment” we all have. Why isnt an AVI, DIVX,WMV, MOV or any format of computer usable video put on one of the DVDs ? Anything but those pain in the ass VOB files. Most DVDs have the less than 1gbs in space left. It can be copy protected for those studios with Piraphobia (fear of piracy). I just need the ability to copy it 3 or 4 times (dont want to be left off when I put it on my new 250gbs mobile drive next year ). I would even pay a premium for it…..Put a sticker on the package saying this DVD has a format compatible with PC hard drives. Better yet, you could put it online. Let me put my DVD in, it checks your website for authenticity, I give you my demographic information , you let me download a file I can put on my hard drive. You win, the customer wins and guess what. When it comes time to buy a DVD, and its a toss up between the movie that makes it easy for me, the customer, vs the one who doesnt care about me. Guess which one I pick ? If no one wants me as their customer, then I do more of what Im starting to do now. I take the movies and tv shows I record from my computer based PVR and copy them to my little harddrive (in minutes for everything), and watch them on the road instead of buying your DVDs. Complications lose customers. Simplification gets customers.

To: Sarmad Y. Hermiz who wrote (10971)	2/2/2005 3:37:19 PM
From: Sam Citron	Respond to of 11057

1:44PM Xyratex -- New High Profile (XRTX) 20.00 +0.12: Making a new 52-week high today is Xyratex, which provides data storage and storage process technology. The co sells its Storage and Network Systems products exclusively to OEMs. This is a name we highlighted twice in December, on our Small Cap Focus page and on InPlay. We brought to investors' attention that each of the co's top three customers were guiding higher (NTAP, STX, WDC). Together, they combine for about 78% of XRTX's sales. But... the stock did not move much, and even headed south in early January. After that, the company guided higher in January, not once, but twice. The stock is up over 40% since then. At Briefing.com, we believe one of the best trades is the supplier of companies guiding higher. The stock appears to be picking up momentum as this recent IPO begins to hit more radar screens. Robert Reid www.briefings.com

To: Sarmad Y. Hermiz who wrote (10971)	2/18/2005 9:56:09 PM
From: Sam Citron	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 11057

Hearing new iPod mini to be released in 2 weeks w/ Seagate HDD: next iPod mini will also pack a higher capacity Seagate drive. Sources hinted at a 6GB drive, but Seagate currently only offers its 1-inch hard drive the iPod mini would use in a 5GB capacity. The possibility always remains that for a customer as large as Apple, Seagate may quietly roll-out a 6GB version of its ST1 Series hard drive alongside the new iPod mini. Regardless, a bump to 5GB or 6GB will keep the iPod mini more competitive with the myriad of similar players from competitors that already use a 5GB drive. Seagate's ST1 Series also offers another advantage over the current 4GB Hitachi drives being used in the iPod mini: the company's RunOn technology ensures consistent music playback regardless of operating conditions. "RunOn Technology senses a high motion environment and compensates for it, enabling the drive to consistently and continuously deliver music even when the listener is out for a run," according to Seagate's Web site. thinksecret.com