Hard drive spec change

[Felix Miata]

On 2010/03/10 19:11 (GMT-0800) John Reiser composed:

>> MultiGHz, Multicore CPUs consume magnitudes more power than HDs.

> Not always.  A typical 3.5" harddrive consumes about (max):
>      0.65A *  5V =  3.25W
>      0.50A * 12V =  6.00W
> which totals 9.25 Watts, and less when not transferring data.
> I am composing this message on a system with a 2.5GHz, two-core
> processor that consumes 45 Watts maximum, and less when "idle".
> So in this case the ratio is closer to 5:1, not 10:1.

RAM, GPUs & fans are also nonzero power consumers, so any reduction in HD
power consumption in typical desktops and laptops is minimal in the grand scheme.

OTOH, loss of backward compatibility means accelerated additions to landfills
of otherwise perfectly useful hardware.

It should be fine to have an option for larger sector sizes, but it shouldn't
mean extinction in the foreseeable future of a happily working standard for
those who only want to replace a HD when the HD dies, and not commit whole
systems to landfills for want of a generic component.

Sounds to me like the HD manufacturers want to make 512 go the way of PATA,
accelerating obsolescence to drive up profitability of the whole computer
hardware industry. People shouldn't have to buy whole new systems for want of
replacing a dead 20GiB 512 byte sector HD.
-- 
"The wise are known for their understanding, and pleasant
words are persuasive." Proverbs 16:21 (New Living Translation)

 Team OS/2 ** Reg. Linux User #211409

Felix Miata  ***  http://fm.no-ip.com/