IDEMA, the International Disk Drive and Materials Association, hosted its annual DISKCON conference in Santa Clara, Calif., Sept. 23 and 24. Included as a bonus on the show floor was a literal walk down memory lane for older engineers. This was a display of history-making hard drives, staged by longtime industry analyst and consultant Jim Porter. Many veteran engineers gazed at the artifacts with almost loving eyes: I spent about a year of my life working on that one, said one industry veteran. Another commented that another model was a bear–but we got the job done. No matter what, it took many millions of man-hours to develop these machines that we take so much for granted today. What follows is a chronological walk through history, remembering a number of the most important advances in HHD history. Perhaps you’ll see one you worked on yourself. Enjoy!By Chris Preimesberger
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