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To: Stitch who wrote (4185)	10/27/1998 10:42:00 AM
From: Mark Oliver	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5058

<<Actually, during the last conference call management indicated that the trend towards fewer heads per drive might be reversing.>> I heard this also and it seemed to be said with reservation. They said it could have been because they were improving their product mix and getting more heads into higher end drives. They saw this increase as a contradiction, but that would be an explanation. What do you think of Fujitsu going GMR now. Will they have shortages, low yields, etc that will be a product of racing ahead with new technology, or have they got the processes in place to make a smooth transition? Can other drive makers expect a similar experience? Who will benefit from this move to higher end components? Obviously, RDRT is not the only maker of GMR. Do you think Fujitsu will be kicking the others in the butt to keep up, or will they be satisfied with MR a little longer? Do you think RDRT has any chance of getting into Fujitsu? Is there any difference between an enterprise head and desktop head? Seems like they should be the same, but just slightly higher on the technology curve thereby getting higher prices and perhaps more heads in a drive. Regards, Mark

To: Stitch who wrote (4185)	10/29/1998 1:25:00 PM
From: Z Analyzer	Respond to of 5058

<<I noticed that and it has sent me searching with not much feedback yet. For the same reason that Jeff mentioned I would have guessed that the decline in head/media count would continue. It was the rapid advent of MR that caused the decline to accelerate in the first place. Why wouldn't GMR do the same especially since it appears Fujitsu and IBM are moving rapidly to those heads? I am still asking and will post whatever I learn. Would welcome comments from anyone else.>> The best guess I would have is that higher growth in the high platter count enterprise drives could be more than offsetting reduced platters in the desktop. Which raises the question of what percent of RDRT's production is enterprise oriented.