From: "Rich Gauszka" 

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,2134561,00.asp?kc=ETRSS02129TX1K0000
532

Western Digital said Monday that it has begun shipping a 250-Gbyte version
of its Scorpio 2.5-inch disk drive, pushing notebook PC storage capacities
ever higher.
Available in capacities ranging from 40 to 250 Gbytes, the new WD drives
feature a pair of new technologies, which the company calls
"WhisperDrive" and "ShockGuard". Prices on the new
250-Gbyte drives will be about $199, available from WD's online store.

Although the company touted the 250-GB Scorpio as the highest-capacity hard
disk drive to date, it will have to compete with the Fujitsu MHY2BH, a
similar 2.5-inch, 250-Gbyte drive whose shipments began last week,
according to the company.

Like virtually all new hard disk drives, the WD Scorpio drives employ
perpendicular recording, a technique to maximize the drive's capacity by
aligning the magnetic grains vertically, rather than along the surface of
the disk platter.

In addition, the new drives use a technique called
"WhisperDrive," which adjusts the drive's controller to minimize
head movement when seeking data. A complementary technology,
"Intelliseek,", forces the drive to wait until it spins up before
it seeks data, in a "just in time" procedure that also will
stifle noise, the company said.

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5