Data Disc
{{Short description|Defunct American data storage company}}
{{Infobox company
| name=Ancomp, Inc.
| logo=Data Disc logo.svg
| logo_upright=0.75
| former_name=Data Disc, Incorporated (1962–1976)
| type=Public
| founded={{start date and age|1962|02}} in Palo Alto, California, United States
| founders={{ubl|Armin Miller|Daniel Teichroew}}
| defunct={{end date and age|1977|03}}
| fate=Acquired by Datapoint
| industry=Computer
}}
Data Disc, Incorporated, was a public American computer hardware company active from 1962 to 1977 and based in Silicon Valley. The company primarily manufactured hard disk drive units for mainframes and minicomputers. The company also manufactured specialized analog hard disk drives that stored video information for scientific organizations such as NASA as well as the television industry. Data Disc also produced graphical terminals and data tape drives, the latter under their subsidiary Bright Industries, Inc.. In 1976, the company changed their name to Amcomp, Inc., and in 1977, they were acquired by Datapoint.
History
Data Disc was founded in February 1962 in Palo Alto, California by Armin Miller and Daniel Teichroew.{{cite journal | date=April 21, 1969 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-peninsula-times-tribune-data-disc-in/138138366/ | title=Data Disc Inc. names Stevens new president | journal=The Peninsula Times Tribune | page=11 | via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite journal | date=February 1980 | url=https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_datamation_40970523/page/n165/ | title=In the Picture | journal=Datamation | publisher=Technical Publishing | volume=26 | issue=2 | page=164 | via=the Internet Archive}} Miller had previously worked for the Ampex Corporation, where he developed the basis for modified frequency modulation (MFM), a line code for magnetic data recording that doubled the density and transfer rate of data of the earlier FM encoding scheme. For MFM (also known as Miller modulation code), he was awarded a patent in 1963.{{cite book | last=Khurshudov | first=Andrei | date=2001 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2o4LCg9i3kYC | title=The Essential Guide to Computer Data Storage: From Floppy to DVD | publisher=Prentice Hall | page=85 | isbn=9780130927392 | via=Google Books}}{{cite book | last=Daniel | first=Eric D. | author2=C. Denis Mee | author3=Mark H. Clark | date=1999 | url=https://archive.org/details/magneticrecordin00eric/page/289/ | title=Magnetic Recording: The First 100 Years | publisher=IEEE Press | page=289 | isbn=0780347099 | via=the Internet Archive}} In 1965, by which the company employed 26 people, Data Disc moved their headquarters to the Stanford Industrial Park, occupying half of a 36,000-square-foot building formerly occupied by Lockheed. The company gradually expanded their presence to occupy the entire footprint of that building by the late 1960s.{{cite journal | date=March 29, 1971 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-peninsula-times-tribune-data-disc-in/138139192/ | title=Data Disc Inc. to consolidate | journal=The Peninsula Times Tribune | page=6 | via=Newspapers.com}}
At Data Disc, Miller developed the first low-mass, three-point-suspension read–write head that was later licensed to IBM and used in their influential Winchester drives.{{cite journal | date=April 11, 1997 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-modesto-bee-death-of-armin-miller-of/65552175/ | title=Armin Miller | journal=The Modesto Bee | page=F-8 | via=Newspapers.com}} This allowed for the head to come into closer contact with the spinning disk, allowing for much higher linear densities than that of Data Disc's competition (3200 {{abbr|bpi|bits per inch}} versus 300 {{abbr|bpi|bits per inch}} of their 1960s competitors). With the thin-film, nickel-cobalt-plated platters that Data Disc was using at the time for their drive units, the drives could even be stopped and started arbitrarily, with the heads midway through the platter, without causing a head crash.{{cite journal | date=March 4, 1965 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-peninsula-times-tribune-data-storage/138137537/ | title=Data storage company moves to new quarters | journal=The Peninsula Times Tribune | page=6 | via=Newspapers.com}} Data Disc sold their read–write heads to other companies on an OEM basis; companies whose drives used particulate magnetic media instead of thin-film magnetic media often had to lubricate their drives with silicone oil to prevent the heads from sticking to the drives.
Two former Ampex engineers, Fred Pfost and Kurt Machein, joined Data Disc in the mid-1960s; outside of work, they developed the VDR-210CF, a device that could record analog video signals onto a hard disk. This allowed broadcasters to perform instant replays of sports events on the fly, with the ability to jog between frames, replay in slow motion, and pause on a still frame cleanly (the helical scanning heads of videotape decks usually could not perform such trick plays cleanly, and pausing could wear out the signal on the tape due to friction concentrated on one spot on the tape). This device was sold by Machein's company Machtronics and licensed to Data Disc for resale to broadcast entities.{{cite web | last=Hammar | first=Peter | author2=Bob Wilson | date=September 12, 2023 | url=https://www.storagenewsletter.com/2023/09/12/culture-of-innovation-and-technical-achievement-at-ampex/ | title=Culture of Innovation and Technical Achievement at Ampex | work=StorageNewsletter | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230928202912/https://www.storagenewsletter.com/2023/09/12/culture-of-innovation-and-technical-achievement-at-ampex/ | archivedate=September 28, 2023}}{{cite journal | date=September 21, 1966 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/redwood-city-tribune-disc-stores-tv-pict/138138197/ | title=Disc Stores TV Pictures | journal=Redwood City Tribune | page=21 | via=Google Books}} Data Disc developed a specialized version of their videodisc recorders for NASA, which were able to store RGB component video signals sequentially and convert them to composite video signals usable by broadcasters.{{cite journal | last=Scandling | first=Marge | date=July 15, 1969 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-peninsula-times-tribune-technology-b/138138429/ | title=Technology behind the moonshot | journal=The Peninsula Times Tribune | page=15 | via=Newspapers.com}} Data Disc's system was used by NASA in 1969 during the Apollo 11 moon landings and the Mariner 6 and 7 missions to Mars.{{cite journal | date=July 31, 1969 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-peninsula-times-tribune-peninsula-fi/138138533/ | title=Peninsula firms supply Mars vehicle equipment | journal=The Peninsula Times Tribune | page=3 | via=Newspapers.com}}{{cite journal | date=June 11, 1970 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-peninsula-times-tribune-data-disc-ge/138139130/ | title=Data Disc gets large display system contract | journal=The Peninsula Times Tribune | page=7 | via=Newspapers.com}} Another application-specific version of their videodisc recorders allowed physicians to make rapid X-rays without film development wait times.{{cite journal | date=September 18, 1969 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-peninsula-times-tribune-medican-x-ra/138138564/ | title=Medican X ray 'instant replay' device developed | journal=The Peninsula Times Tribune | page=7 | via=Newspapers.com}} Data Disc formalized their video systems unit as a subsidiary in July 1969.{{cite journal | date=July 17, 1969 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-peninsula-times-tribune-data-disc-in/138138463/ | title=Data Disc Inc. forms video systems unit | journal=The Peninsula Times Tribune | page=7 | via=Newspapers.com}}
Following a corporate reorganization caused by a sudden doubling of production volume, Miller resigned as president of Data Disc in April 1969, while remaining on the board of directors. He was succeeded as president by William W. Stevens.{{cite journal | date=March 7, 1969 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-peninsula-times-tribune-data-disc-re/138138352/ | title=Data Disc reorganizes division | journal=The Peninsula Times Tribune | page=7 | via=Newspapers.com}} Miller later went on to found Datacopy, a pioneering manufacturer of image scanners, in 1973.{{cite journal | last=Yasaki | first=Edward K. | date=November 1983 | url=http://www.bitsavers.org/magazines/Datamation/198311.pdf | title=Camera for a CPU | journal=Datamation | publisher=Technical Publishing Company | volume=29 | issue=11 | pages=103–105 | via=Bitsavers.org}}{{rp|103}} Data Disc expanded with regional sales offices across the United States in November 1969,{{cite journal | date=November 10, 1969 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-peninsula-times-tribune-data-disc-in/138138579/ | title=Data Disc Inc. sets up sales organization | journal=The Peninsula Times Tribune | page=11 | via=Newspapers.com}} and the company left Palo Alto for larger headquarters in Sunnyvale, California, in March 1971. Andrew W. O'Sullivan replaced Stevens as president the following July.{{cite journal | date=June 30, 1971 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-peninsula-times-tribune-data-disc-na/138147577/ | title=Data Disc names acting president | journal=The Peninsula Times Tribune | page=12 | via=Newspapers.com}}
Data Disc filed its initial public offering in mid-1972. In June 1972, Data Disc acquired Bright Industries from Tracor of Austin, Texas, for 5,000 shares of Data Disc's stock, as well as $100,000 in cash. Bright, a maker of traditional data tape drives, was acquired to round out the company's roster of products and make them more enticing to Data Disc's hard drive customers, who often bought tape drives from competitors.{{cite journal | date=June 6, 1972 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-peninsula-times-tribune-data-disc-bu/138139249/ | title=Data Disc buys Texas maker of computer products | journal=The Peninsula Times Tribune | page=7 | via=Newspapers.com}} Likewise, Data Disc expanded to the field of computer graphics with the release of the Anagraph graphical terminal in November 1972 and the 6600 system in December 1973.{{cite journal | date=November 29, 1972 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XFwBCNwWK8MC&pg=PA33 | title=Data Disc Adds Color to Display | journal=Computerworld | publisher=CW Communications | volume=VI | issue=48 | page=33 | via=Google Books}}{{cite journal | date=December 12, 1973 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2k65Y9M-mJsC&pg=PA15 | title=Data Disc Graphic Display System Interfaces with CDC 1700 Computers | journal=Computerworld | publisher=IDG Publications | volume=VII | issue=50 | page=15 | via=Newspapers.com}} In June 1974, by which point the company employed 269 in total,{{cite journal | date=September 5, 1974 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-peninsula-times-tribune-data-disc-la/138140639/ | title=Data Disc lays off 47 employees | journal=The Peninsula Times Tribune | page=8 | via=Newspapers.com}} Data Disc raised a 52,000-square-foot building across the street for Bright to occupy.{{cite journal | date=June 19, 1974 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-data-disc-bui/138140488/ | title=Data Disc building | journal=The San Francisco Examiner | page=59 | via=Newspapers.com}} By mid-1975, Data Disc's hard drive sales accounted for 55 percent of their revenues; meanwhile, sales of graphics terminal sales accounted for 15 percent; sales of Bright tape drives for 20 percent; and sales of videodiscs for 10 percent.{{cite journal | last=Upton | first=Molly | date=November 19, 1975 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=khwnFtEzTccC&pg=PA50 | title=At Data Disc, Trend to Hybrid Disks Seen Developing | journal=Computerworld | publisher=CW Communications | volume=IX | issue=47 | page=50 | via=Google Books}}
In September 1975, Sullivan was succeeded as president by James J. Woo, an 11-year veteran of IBM.{{cite journal | date=September 23, 1975 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-peninsula-times-tribune-data-disc-i/138141182/ | title=Data Disc, Inc. names executive | journal=The Peninsula Times Tribune | page=9 | via=Newspapers.com}} One of his first acts as president was renaming Data Disc to Amcomp, Inc.,{{cite journal | date=June 17, 1976 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-argus-name-change/138141214/ | title=Name change | journal=The Argus | page=11 | via=Newspapers.com}} in reflecting its focus away from disk drive units and toward other peripherals and complete computer systems.{{cite journal | date=June 17, 1976 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-peninsula-times-tribune-data-disc-ch/138141225/ | title=Data Disc changes name to Amcomp Inc. | journal=The Peninsula Times Tribune | page=8 | via=Newspapers.com}} The name change was finalized in June 1976.{{cite journal | date=June 17, 1976 | url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-san-francisco-examiner-now-its-amco/138141238/ | title=Now it's Amcomp | journal=The San Francisco Examiner | page=61 | via=Newspapers.com}} In March 1977, Datapoint Corporation of San Antonio, Texas, acquired Amcomp for $2 million in a stock swap.{{cite journal | date=March 7, 1977 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ySBFs12hzSkC&pg=PA48 | title=Acquisitions | journal=Computerworld | publisher=CW Communications | volume=XI | issue=10 | page=48 | via=Google Books}}
References
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{{Hard disk drive manufacturers}}
Category:1962 establishments in California
Category:1977 disestablishments in California
Category:American companies established in 1962
Category:American companies disestablished in 1977
Category:Computer companies established in 1962
Category:Computer companies disestablished in 1977
Category:Computer storage companies
Category:Graphics hardware companies
Category:Defunct computer companies of the United States