The end of ATA/IDE Hard Drives?

By Jon, jon@smalldog.com (written by Jon, posted by Ed)

Seagate has stopped production of ATA/IDE hard drives now that the vast majority of newly manufactured computers employ serial-ATA (SATA) drives. Serial ATA drives are faster than their ATA counterparts, and all Apple computers now include serial ATA hard drives; TV and iPod still use the older ATA technology.

Why does this matter? With one more manufacturer removing their offerings from the table, users of iBooks, PowerBooks, and pre-G5 PowerMacs and iMacs will be limited to fewer choices in upgrades. With fewer choices, one would assume increased prices for the lesser supply. Time will tell whether supply will become constrained, and price inflated. My bet is that other manufacturers will simply step up production to make up for the difference.