Western Digital 2000 Annual Report Download - page 11

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Connex's designs and speciÑcations. For further discussion of Connex, see Part II, Item 7, under the heading
""Risk factors relating to Western Digital particularly.''
Products Developed by SageTree. SageTree oÅers analytical software, branded SageQuest‚, and
services for enterprise-wide supply chain intelligence, product lifecycle intelligence and decision support in the
manufacturing industry. The SageQuest‚ software is a Web-based suite of packaged analytic applications
designed for the manufacturing industry. The applications collect and synthesize dissimilar data across an
enterprise and transform the data into customized, accurate reports that assist management in solving business
and operational issues. This allows rapid analysis and management of a manufacturer's products and
components at all stages of the product lifecycle, including products in manufacturing and in the Ñeld. The
applications use advanced analytics and data warehousing technology to create ""supply chain intelligence''.
The objectives of supply chain intelligence include improved manufacturing yield, product quality and
reliability, and customer satisfaction. The Company expects to begin selling SageQuest software in 2001.
SageTree also oÅers professional services for data warehousing and analytic applications, including
manufacturing and supply chain consulting, implementation services, advanced analytics, training and post-
implementation support.
Technology and Product Development
Hard drives are used to record, store and retrieve digital data. Their performance attributes are currently
better than removable or Öoppy disks, optical disk drives and tape, and they are more cost eÅective than
semiconductor technology. The primary measures of hard drive performance include:
""Storage capacity'' Ì the amount of data that can be stored on the hard drive Ì commonly
expressed in gigabytes.
""Average seek time'' Ì the time needed to position the heads over a selected track on the disk
surface Ì commonly expressed in milliseconds.
""Internal data transfer rate'' Ì the rate at which data is transferred to and from the disk Ì
commonly expressed in megabits per second.
""Spindle rotational speed'' Ì the rotational speed of the disks inside the hard drive Ì commonly
expressed in rpms or revolutions per minute.
All of the Company's hard drive products employ similar technology. The main components of the hard
drive are the head disk assembly and the printed circuit board. The head disk assembly includes the head,
media (disks), head positioning mechanism (actuator) and spin motor. These components are contained in a
hard base plate protective package in a contamination-free environment. The printed circuit board includes
custom integrated circuits, an interface connector to the host computer and a power connector.
The head disk assembly is comprised of one or more disks positioned around a spindle hub that rotates
the disks by a spin motor. Disks are made of a smooth substrate to which a thin coating of magnetic materials
is applied. Each disk has a head suspended directly above it, which can read data from or write data to the
spinning disk. The sensor element of the head, also known as the slider, is getting progressively smaller,
resulting in reduced material costs.
The integrated circuits on the printed circuit board typically include a drive interface and a controller.
The drive interface receives instructions from the computer, while the controller directs the Öow of data to or
from the disks and controls the heads. The location of data on each disk is logically maintained in concentric
tracks which are divided into sectors. The computer sends instructions to the controller to read data from or
write data to the disks based on track and sector locations. Guided by instructions from the controller, the
head stack assembly is pivoted and swung across the disk by a head actuator or motor until it reaches the
selected track of a disk, where the data is recorded or retrieved.
Industry standard interfaces are utilized to allow the disk drive to communicate with the computer.
Currently, the primary interface for desktop PCs is EIDE. Increasingly, work station computers are using the
EIDE interface as well. As computer performance continues to improve, the hard drive will need to deliver
information faster than this interface can handle. Accordingly the desktop PC industry plans to transition to
6