John Best, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies
Chief Technologist

The Coming Explosion in HDD-Enabled Digital Devices

Abstract

Continuous innovation in disk drive technology is assuring the dominance of HDDs in traditional IT and non-IT applications. New storage technologies are enabling the designs of disk drive which are smaller, lighter, with increased robustness and higher capacity points. These improved attributes are propelling the rapid growth of HDD-enabled consumer electronic applications.

Hitachi GST’s Chief Technologist John Best will discuss how HDDs are being adopted in a wide variety of portable CE devices, such as: multifunction cell phones, MP3 players, video cameras and still cameras, where the data capacity requirements exceed those that can be economically delivered by Flash. Next-generation HDD technologies, including perpendicular recording, will further the significant advantages disk drive has over Flash.

Biography

John Best, Chief Technologist of Hitachi Global Storage Technologies, is responsible for the company's overall technical direction. He was previously Chief Technologist for the IBM Storage Technology Division. Dr. Best joined IBM in 1979 at the Almaden Research Center (now the San Jose Research Laboratory) after graduating from the California Institute of Technology, where he received his B.S. in Physics and Ph.D. in Applied Physics. His technical work has spanned a variety of storage technologies, including magnetic bubbles, recording heads, head/disk interface technology, hard disk drive data architecture, and storage systems. John's previous management positions include vice president in the Storage Technology Division, responsible for the Almaden Research Laboratory, and vice president in the Storage Technology Division, responsible for technology and product development. John has 11 patents and is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE).