Quantum Corp has announced the Quantum Bigfoot hard disk drive, so called because the company has reverted back to the 5.25 format (CI No 2,861). The company say the Internet is partly responsible for the renewed interest in what will be considered by some as old technology. The ability to download ever- increasing amounts of information is stretching current storage capability. The return to the 5.25 format will increase affordable storage availability. The Milpitas, California-based company’s latest offering followed hot on the heels of Seagate Technology Inc’s earlier announcement of its own latest 5.25 drive (CI No 2,861). The main difference between the two offerings appears to be storage capacity. Seagate’s Elite 23 package stores a cool 23.4Gb. Bigfoot has been designed for the consumer market and offers a lower formatted capacity of 1.286Gb or 2.577Gb from two platters. Quantum has the distinct advantage of being first off the mark and brings with it a whole host of heavyweight personal computer manufacturers such as Acer Computer Corp and Hewlett-Packard Co, who agreed to use the drives in their mainstream desktop systems. Standing at 8 by 5.75 by 0.75, Bigfoot fits into most modular personal computers without need to customize system enclosures. There is no need for brackets or mounting rails as the drives mount exactly like a CD- ROM unit, so installation is easier than a traditional 3.5 drive, says Quantum. Volume drives will be available in April, but the first packages are already being shipped, with prices around $270 for the Quantum Bigfoot 1.2 Fast ATA-2 and $380 for version 2.5.
