Storage solution companies make the one of the toughest metal armors around. Just look at this Maxtor HDD which was shot by a .45 caliber Automatic Colt Pistol and .38 Special Full Metal Jacket.
All 5 shots hit the hard drive but not a single bullet got past through.
Now, that’s tough. So there’s still some good use in all those crashed HDD hanging around somewhere. 
{Picture via Pete}
(from The Inquirer)
Hard drive manufacturers Seagate and Maxtor confirmed the acquisition. The deal is worth $1.9 billion. The firms said the combination will be 10-20% accretive on a cash EPS basis after the first full year of combined operations. The combined company will save around $300 million in operating expenses after the first full year of integration, Seagate said. The transaction will be completed in the second half of next year. If the deal falls apart, Maxtor will pick up $300 million.
Is this good news?
Maybe yes. Because the combined Seagate+Maxtor production line will save (as they claim) $300 million on their first year and this could translate to bigger budget for R&D, huge HDD capacities and lower retail prices.
Maybe not. You now have a HDD giant having almost complete monopoly of the industry. And we know what it means for prices and reliability when one is the only single player left.
Yes, that’s half a terabyte of storage. Maxtor seems to be on top of the race, for now. Full press release here.
It won’t be long ’til we get our hands to a 1 TB HDD. 
I’ll give it another year.
