Midlife crisis for the hard drive

The amount of data that can be crammed onto a single platter in a computer hard drive has increased at a torrid pace for the past few years, even doubling annually during some periods. But that growth is beginning to slow as engineers run into technological obstacles and many PC buyers feel they have more than enough space. "The transition from 40GB per 3.5" platter to 80GB - the standard for most current PCs - took less than two years. A similar leap, however, may take three years, and could impact pricing, innovation and competition throughout the industry."

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