Seagate claims SSD patent - bit-tech.net Forums

CardJoe · 25th Mar 2008, 10:58

http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/03...s_ssd_patent/1

Bill Watkins, CEO of Seagate, claims that his company has patents on SSD tech that could make it difficult for competitors.

The_Pope · 25th Mar 2008, 11:50

He's wrong on one front - SSDs *are* key to the future of notebooks. I want light weight and ZERO noise; battery life (if it improves) is a bonus and while I've never killed a notebook HDD the greater robustness of SDD is a bonus.

Couldn't give a toss about capacity - 32GB is more than enough for work + a bit of fun. Sure, on a per GB price basis it's more expensive but it will certain fall into "affordable if you want it" soon enough

Phil Rhodes · 25th Mar 2008, 12:20

Outstanding, Seagate! Don't bother innovating or creating, just hire some lawyers and win anyway.

Fantastic attitude.

Wonderful. Very helpful.

God almighty...

E.E.L. Ambiense · 25th Mar 2008, 12:39

Ah, man.... here we go....

TreeDude · 25th Mar 2008, 12:56

SSD is the future, period. They have far greater potential than HDs. HDs are mechanically limited, they can only go so fast and we are reaching their limit. The harder and faster you push a HD the smaller the MTBF gets. Companies use 15k RPM drives, but they are in RAID arrays. So if one fails you just swap it. But 99% of most consumers don't even know what RAID stands for, let alone use one. That drive fails and that's it for all their music, movies, and photos.

The MTBF for SSDs is very high. Plus you do not have to worry about dropping it while it is on and breaking it (I did that with an external once).

As soon as the transfer speeds and capacity increase more people will start buying and the price will plummet. It is already happening. Anyone who does not see that is an idiot.

BTW I love Seagate, I think they make excellent drives. But Watkins is either dumber than a box of rocks or is looking for some sort of effect by saying that.

chicorasia · 25th Mar 2008, 14:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by TreeDude

is looking for some sort of effect by saying that.

You mean, having the words "seagate" and "SSD" on the headlines of every tech site?

DXR_13KE · 25th Mar 2008, 17:06

i don't really like seagate drives, all of the ones i have put in systems ended up being substituted by Samsung and WD and Hitachi ones.....

Smilodon · 25th Mar 2008, 17:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by DXR_13KE

i don't really like seagate drives, all of the ones i have put in systems ended up being substituted by Samsung and WD and Hitachi ones.....

From what I have seen, Seagate drives are among the most reliable and least noisy (varies between models). Hitachi, however... don't get me started on that one...

I run Seagate and WD in all the computers i have chosen drives for myself.

E.E.L. Ambiense · 25th Mar 2008, 17:15

Last Seagate I ran, it had constant use for 6 years. 6 years! And then it finally died. Honestly, I've never had any HDD problems with any company, with the exception (a big exception) of Maxtor.

Mister_Tad · 25th Mar 2008, 17:18

How incredibly counter-productive. Progress? pah!

Seagate needs to be hit with a stick, or a trout

RE reliability - no company is more or less reliable than any other. Different models of drives may be particularly robust and others could be terribly unreliable. Every manufacturer out there has had a generation of drives that were complete lemons, Seagate included.

E.E.L. Ambiense · 25th Mar 2008, 17:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister_Tad

Seagate needs to be hit with a stick, or a trout

HAhahahaa

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister_Tad

RE reliability - no company is more or less reliable than any other. Different models of drives may be particularly robust or just lemons. Every manefacturer out there has had a generation of drives that were complete lemons.

True. Definitely true. I can only speak from personal experience in saying that every Maxtor I've ever gotten died a quick death for really no apparent reason. And the replacements. Other brands I've tended to have a better track-record with.

Bluephoenix · 25th Mar 2008, 17:50

Maxtor itself was a lemon, period.

as for me, give me hard-state mag-ram and then we're talking

Cobalt · 25th Mar 2008, 19:07

If Seagate are sitting on patents that would really be that lucrative I doubt they would be content with making vague threats. They just want to scare the competition while avoiding the courts.

[quote=Smilodon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DXR_13KE

Hitachi, however... don't get me started on that one...

Hitachi are the only brand that haven't failed me yet. WDs crapped out on me twice and were the most expensive. Seagate drive failed, Samsung one works but slowly for no apparent reason. Personal experience means basically bugger all because anyone can have bad luck.

Smilodon · 25th Mar 2008, 19:57

I'm not saying that Seagate drives doesn't fail.

I have worked with lots of computers, and can say that the current drives from Hitachi seems to be utter crap. Maxtor was also crap, but they don't exist any more, so... (Bought by Seagate IIRC)

Mister_Tad · 25th Mar 2008, 21:56

Everyone has a different story.

I've used oodles of maxtor drives and have had just one fail (out of dozens). Even the ones that were from the "crap" series were fine. Had a couple of IBMs fail years ago, but never lost an HGST drive. Samsung and Fujitsu have also been completely solid in my experience. Seagate has the worst track record with me, both with desktop and enterprise drives. Go figure.

Maxtor was indeed bought by Seagate. Some of the most amusing advice I've ever seen on a forum was something along the lines of "Maxtor drives are crap, buy this Seagate drive instead" with a link to a "Seagate" drive that was actually a rebranded Maxtor

Krikkit · 25th Mar 2008, 22:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mister_Tad

Everyone has a different story.

Bingo.

I've had/experienced at least one drive from all the major manufacturers from most of their lines over the years, and the only one that died was a Maxtor DM9 - 3 years after its warranty was up. That includes IBM 75GXP's and allsorts of "unreliable" and otherwise crappy drives.

HGST's are my current favourite because they're pretty fast, fairly quiet and a bit cheaper than most brands.

r4tch3t · 26th Mar 2008, 22:11

Just have a look at that RAID they set up with SSDs, I think they will take off. As for this whole thread drift, I always get Seagate's for the warranty and only 2 have failed (both travelled around the world in a plastic clamshell)

The_Beast · 26th Mar 2008, 23:45

Seagate is the bomb when it comes to HDD's

25th Mar 2008, 10:58	#1
CardJoe Player Character bit-tech Staff Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 8,009	Seagate claims SSD patent http://www.bit-tech.net/news/2008/03...s_ssd_patent/1 Bill Watkins, CEO of Seagate, claims that his company has patents on SSD tech that could make it difficult for competitors. __________________ this is joe's non-bit-tech blog

25th Mar 2008, 12:39	#4
E.E.L. Ambiense Acrylic Heretic Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Malabar, FL Posts: 2,729	Ah, man.... here we go.... __________________ Latest Builds: "Movie Sign!" • CheckMate - MotM May '09 ~~Nominee~~ Loser! • BluBawx I • Lumière Noire - MotM Apr. '08 ~~Nominee~~ Loser! • Razzle Dazzle • CMC Field Server • "Building Better Worlds" - MotM Feb. '08 ~~Nominee~~ Loser! • Biohazard • MicroSuperFly

25th Mar 2008, 17:06	#7
DXR_13KE Madeira's banana is the best!!! Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Madeira ; Portugal Posts: 6,480	i don't really like seagate drives, all of the ones i have put in systems ended up being substituted by Samsung and WD and Hitachi ones..... __________________ RENEGADE X CONTEST! <---- CLICK if you want to win a free Command & Conquer 4 beta key!

25th Mar 2008, 17:15	#9
E.E.L. Ambiense Acrylic Heretic Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Malabar, FL Posts: 2,729	Last Seagate I ran, it had constant use for 6 years. 6 years! And then it finally died. Honestly, I've never had any HDD problems with any company, with the exception (a big exception) of Maxtor. __________________ Latest Builds: "Movie Sign!" • CheckMate - MotM May '09 ~~Nominee~~ Loser! • BluBawx I • Lumière Noire - MotM Apr. '08 ~~Nominee~~ Loser! • Razzle Dazzle • CMC Field Server • "Building Better Worlds" - MotM Feb. '08 ~~Nominee~~ Loser! • Biohazard • MicroSuperFly

25th Mar 2008, 19:57	#14
Smilodon The Antagonist Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Norway Posts: 4,895	I'm not saying that Seagate drives doesn't fail. I have worked with lots of computers, and can say that the current drives from Hitachi seems to be utter crap. Maxtor was also crap, but they don't exist any more, so... (Bought by Seagate IIRC) __________________ "You have to wonder about a business plan based on the notion that people want to interact with a soda can." -Jeff Salkowski abot the :CueCat My Flickr

25th Mar 2008, 11:50	#2
The_Pope Geoff Richards Moderator Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: UK Posts: 2,089	He's wrong on one front - SSDs are key to the future of notebooks. I want light weight and ZERO noise; battery life (if it improves) is a bonus and while I've never killed a notebook HDD the greater robustness of SDD is a bonus. Couldn't give a toss about capacity - 32GB is more than enough for work + a bit of fun. Sure, on a per GB price basis it's more expensive but it will certain fall into "affordable if you want it" soon enough

25th Mar 2008, 12:20	#3
Phil Rhodes Supermodder Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 582	Outstanding, Seagate! Don't bother innovating or creating, just hire some lawyers and win anyway. Fantastic attitude. Wonderful. Very helpful. God almighty...

25th Mar 2008, 12:56	#5
TreeDude Multimodder Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 239	SSD is the future, period. They have far greater potential than HDs. HDs are mechanically limited, they can only go so fast and we are reaching their limit. The harder and faster you push a HD the smaller the MTBF gets. Companies use 15k RPM drives, but they are in RAID arrays. So if one fails you just swap it. But 99% of most consumers don't even know what RAID stands for, let alone use one. That drive fails and that's it for all their music, movies, and photos. The MTBF for SSDs is very high. Plus you do not have to worry about dropping it while it is on and breaking it (I did that with an external once). As soon as the transfer speeds and capacity increase more people will start buying and the price will plummet. It is already happening. Anyone who does not see that is an idiot. BTW I love Seagate, I think they make excellent drives. But Watkins is either dumber than a box of rocks or is looking for some sort of effect by saying that.

25th Mar 2008, 17:18	#10
Mister_Tad Serious about coffee Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Nottingham Posts: 7,556	How incredibly counter-productive. Progress? pah! Seagate needs to be hit with a stick, or a trout RE reliability - no company is more or less reliable than any other. Different models of drives may be particularly robust and others could be terribly unreliable. Every manufacturer out there has had a generation of drives that were complete lemons, Seagate included.

25th Mar 2008, 17:50	#12
Bluephoenix Spoon? What spoon? Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Daytona Beach, FL Posts: 936	Maxtor itself was a lemon, period. as for me, give me hard-state mag-ram and then we're talking

25th Mar 2008, 21:56	#15
Mister_Tad Serious about coffee Moderator Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Nottingham Posts: 7,556	Everyone has a different story. I've used oodles of maxtor drives and have had just one fail (out of dozens). Even the ones that were from the "crap" series were fine. Had a couple of IBMs fail years ago, but never lost an HGST drive. Samsung and Fujitsu have also been completely solid in my experience. Seagate has the worst track record with me, both with desktop and enterprise drives. Go figure. Maxtor was indeed bought by Seagate. Some of the most amusing advice I've ever seen on a forum was something along the lines of "Maxtor drives are crap, buy this Seagate drive instead" with a link to a "Seagate" drive that was actually a rebranded Maxtor

26th Mar 2008, 22:11	#17
r4tch3t hmmmm.... Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: New Zealand Posts: 2,887	Just have a look at that RAID they set up with SSDs, I think they will take off. As for this whole thread drift, I always get Seagate's for the warranty and only 2 have failed (both travelled around the world in a plastic clamshell) __________________ Fight my Brute The quantum limit of reality might be scaled up because we're all holograms. Obviously. Once more we see that sufficiently advanced physics is indistinguishable from getting really stoned. From here

26th Mar 2008, 23:45	#18
The_Beast I am The Stig Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 3,235	Seagate is the bomb when it comes to HDD's __________________ Rendering Machine - Gigabyte DS3L P35 - C2Q Q6600 - Antec New Solution Series NSK4480B - Corsair XMS2 2Gb - Sapphire 2600 XT 256mb - Seagate 'Cuda 320 GB - Antec Earthwatt 430 watt - Windows XP Pro -