Although not exactly new news, a nice obituary in The Guardian Unlimited tells us that Al Shugart, who many regard as the father of the disk drive industry, sadly died in early December 2006.
In an affectionate article, his life history is told with some humour and a great deal of respect. Interesting snippets of his up-and-down business ventures are interweaved with quotes and other personal idiosyncrasies, such as his penchant for loud Hawaiian shirts. The whole article is revealing in many areas, ranging from the derivation of the name 'Seagate' from his own surname, to his business partnership with Conner and its later breakup.
For those readers who have been with PC-based HDDs all their lives, the technological achievements of the early years of circular magnetic storage developments seem ridiculously modest by today's standards, and even just for this aspect, the article makes entertaining reading. Whilst in recent years, Shugart was not directly involved in HDD companies, he remained committed to the spirit of enterprise. Summing up his own entrepreneurial approach, he said quite simply "Find a parade and get in front of it."
