Segate Sez: No More IDE
Hard disk manufacturer Segate is planning to stop manufacturing IDE drives by the end of the year, and shift production exclusively to SATA. Their reasoning? SATA now accounts for 66.7 percent of desktop hard drive sales, 44 percent of laptop sales, and an unspecified (but increasing) amount of enterprise storage connectivity.
Not only has SATA overtaken PATA as the interface of choice for hard drive connectivity, but it’s become the main interface for primary hard drive connectivity as well—meaning that a majority of OEM system shipments now contain a SATA-based hard drive rather than the older PATA standard. Accomplishing all of this in less than a decade is impressive, particularly when compared to the slow pace at which floppies or the original USB interface have been supplanted by newer technologies. Unlike the slow pace of adoption that characterized other standards, SATA has virtually sprinted across the finish line.
I had no idea SATA had hit that level of penetration. Most of my hardware i buy today still features PATA as the default (and only) method for connectivity. Will this hurt Segate sales?
