March 10, 2011
WD buys Hitachi GST: the good and the bad
ZD Net
Robin Harris shares the negatives regarding Western Digital’s recent acquisition of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies.
“The bad: Bargain hunter alert: with one less, sometimes desperate, competitor on the field of we won’t see as many firesale pricing events, the per gigabyte price declines we’ve seen for years won’t be as steady or a steep. Beginning next year expect to see annual price declines drop to about 30 per cent per gigabyte per year, down from the traditional 40 to 50 per cent declines in we’ve seen for years, the pressure on the remaining drive vendors – Toshiba, Seagate and Samsung – to consolidate will increase. The world only needs three hard drive manufacturers and it looks like we’ll soon be there and The rate of technological improvement will slow. The investments in next-generation hard drive technology will be easier to finance, but the urgency to bring them to market will decrease.”
Your new laptop will ship in packaging that’s alive
ZD Net
Andrew Nusca provides details about a new green packaging offering called EcoCradle.
“Over at our sister site SmartPlanet, the chief executive of Ecovative Design describes a product that won’t sit in a landfill for thousands of years once you toss it in the trash. It’s called EcoCradle, and despite the happy green name, it’s a savvy way for companies to engineer better packaging for their gadgets – without the downstream side effects. The product is made from mycelium, derived from mushrooms, and it’s strong enough to keep your new toy safe without sticking around longer than the tech manufacturer that made it. Now, the company’s looking toward bigger and better applications, such as automobiles, office furniture and wine.”
HP CEO: WebOS coming to all HP PCs in 2012
The Loop
Peter Cohen writes that according to information from Businessweek, Leo Apotheker, HP’s CEO said that next year, the company will ship its PCs pre-installed with its WebOS operating system.
“’The move is aimed at enticing software developers to create a wider range of applications that would differentiate HP PCs, printers, tablets and phones from those sold by rivals,’ said Businessweek reporter Aaron Ricadela.”