JT Storage
Encyclopedia
JT Storage was a maker of inexpensive IDE hard drives for personal computer
s based in San Jose, California
. It was founded in 1994 by "Jugi" Tandon
—the inventor of the double-sided floppy disk drive and founder of Tandon Corporation
—and Tom Mitchell, a co-founder of Seagate
and former president and Chief Operating Officer of both Seagate and Conner Peripherals
.
The company later merged with Jack Tramiel
's Atari Corporation
, and was declared bankrupt in 1999.
s. The 3" form factor allowed a larger drive capacity for laptops with the existing technology. Compaq Computers was actively engaged in qualifying these drives and built several laptops with this form factor drive. Lack of a second source was a major obstacle for this new form factor to gain a foot hold; JTS licensed the form factor to Western Digital
to attempt to remedy this problem. Eventually, as 2.5" drives became cheaper to build, interest in the 3" form factor waned, and JTS and WD stopped the project in 1998.
JTS by then had become a source of cheap, medium-performance 3.5" drives with 5400 RPM spindles. The drives, produced in a factory in India
(the factory was in the Madras Export Processing Zone in the suburbs of the Southern Indian city of Madras, now known as Chennai
), were known for poor reliability. Failure rates were very high and quality control was hit-or-miss: good drives were very good, still running after 5 years, whereas bad drives almost always failed within a few weeks. Because of their low-tier reputation, JTS drives were rare in brand-name PCs and most frequently turned up in home-built and whitebox PCs.
The basic design of their drives was done by Kalok
for TEAC in the early 1990s. TEAC used the design as part of a removable HDD system, which was also sold under the Kalok name. After Kalok failed in 1994, JTS hired its founder as their chief technical officer, and licensed the patents involved from TEAC and Pont Peripherals.
and former home-computer producer, Atari Corporation
. It was primarily a marriage of convenience. JTS had products but little cashflow. Atari had money, primarily from a series of successful lawsuits earlier in the decade followed by good investments, but with its Jaguar
console struggling in the marketplace, losses mounting, and no other products to sell, Atari expected to run out of money within two years. While JTS announced plans to continue both brands, within a few weeks of the merger becoming official on July 30, 1996, the majority of former Atari employees were dismissed and Atari's remaining inventory was sold to liquidators
.
Even with the cash infusion from Atari, JTS quickly ran out of money. On February 23, 1998, JTS sold the Atari intellectual property to Hasbro Interactive
for $5 million in cash (the name had already been sold to THQ for home use and Midway/Williams for arcade use). Later that year, on December 11, JTS filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
, converting to involuntary Chapter 7
on February 28, 1999.
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
s based in San Jose, California
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
. It was founded in 1994 by "Jugi" Tandon
Sirjang Lal Tandon
Sirjang Lal Tandon also known as "Jugi" Tandon, was born in India in 1942. He is chairman and CEO of Celetronix, Inc. He is known for leading his company, Tandom Corp...
—the inventor of the double-sided floppy disk drive and founder of Tandon Corporation
Tandon Corporation
Tandon Corporation was a disk drive and PC manufacturer founded in the mid-1970s by "Jugi" Tandon. The company's original purpose was to provide magnetic read-write heads for the then-burgeoning floppy-drive market. Due to the labor-intensive nature of the product, production was carried out in...
—and Tom Mitchell, a co-founder of Seagate
Seagate Technology
Seagate Technology is one of the world's largest manufacturers of hard disk drives. Incorporated in 1978 as Shugart Technology, Seagate is currently incorporated in Dublin, Ireland and has its principal executive offices in Scotts Valley, California, United States.-1970s:On November 1, 1979...
and former president and Chief Operating Officer of both Seagate and Conner Peripherals
Conner Peripherals
Conner Peripherals was a company that manufactured hard drives for personal computers. Conner Peripherals was founded in 1985 by Seagate Technology co-founder Finis Conner but it in itself never produced a product. In 1986 Conner Peripherals merged with CoData, started by MiniScribe founders Terry...
.
The company later merged with Jack Tramiel
Jack Tramiel
Jack Tramiel is an American businessman, best known for founding Commodore International - manufacturer of the Commodore PET, Commodore 64, Commodore 128, Commodore Amiga, and other Commodore models of home computers.-Biography:...
's Atari Corporation
Atari Corporation
Atari Corporation was a manufacturer of computers and video game consoles from 1984 to 1996. Atari Corp. was founded in July of 1984 when Warner Communications sold the home computing and game console divisions of Atari to Jack Tramiel. Its chief products were the Atari ST, Atari XE, Atari 7800,...
, and was declared bankrupt in 1999.
Early years and products
JTS initially focused on a new 3" form-factor drive for laptopLaptop
A laptop, also called a notebook, is a personal computer for mobile use. A laptop integrates most of the typical components of a desktop computer, including a display, a keyboard, a pointing device and speakers into a single unit...
s. The 3" form factor allowed a larger drive capacity for laptops with the existing technology. Compaq Computers was actively engaged in qualifying these drives and built several laptops with this form factor drive. Lack of a second source was a major obstacle for this new form factor to gain a foot hold; JTS licensed the form factor to Western Digital
Western Digital
Western Digital Corporation is one of the largest computer hard disk drive manufacturers in the world. It has a long history in the electronics industry as an integrated circuit maker and a storage products company. Western Digital was founded on April 23, 1970 by Alvin B...
to attempt to remedy this problem. Eventually, as 2.5" drives became cheaper to build, interest in the 3" form factor waned, and JTS and WD stopped the project in 1998.
JTS by then had become a source of cheap, medium-performance 3.5" drives with 5400 RPM spindles. The drives, produced in a factory in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
(the factory was in the Madras Export Processing Zone in the suburbs of the Southern Indian city of Madras, now known as Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
), were known for poor reliability. Failure rates were very high and quality control was hit-or-miss: good drives were very good, still running after 5 years, whereas bad drives almost always failed within a few weeks. Because of their low-tier reputation, JTS drives were rare in brand-name PCs and most frequently turned up in home-built and whitebox PCs.
The basic design of their drives was done by Kalok
Kalok
Kalok was a hard disk drive manufacturer which went bankrupt in 1994.One of their last offerings was a 100 megabyte 3.5" disk drive using a stepper motor head actuator and was very limited in both access speed and reliability...
for TEAC in the early 1990s. TEAC used the design as part of a removable HDD system, which was also sold under the Kalok name. After Kalok failed in 1994, JTS hired its founder as their chief technical officer, and licensed the patents involved from TEAC and Pont Peripherals.
Merger with Atari Corporation and demise
On February 13, 1996, JTS merged with video game consoleVideo game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
and former home-computer producer, Atari Corporation
Atari Corporation
Atari Corporation was a manufacturer of computers and video game consoles from 1984 to 1996. Atari Corp. was founded in July of 1984 when Warner Communications sold the home computing and game console divisions of Atari to Jack Tramiel. Its chief products were the Atari ST, Atari XE, Atari 7800,...
. It was primarily a marriage of convenience. JTS had products but little cashflow. Atari had money, primarily from a series of successful lawsuits earlier in the decade followed by good investments, but with its Jaguar
Atari Jaguar
The Atari Jaguar is a video game console that was released by Atari Corporation in 1993. It was the last to be marketed under the Atari brand until the release of the Atari Flashback in 2004. It was designed to surpass the Mega Drive/Genesis, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and the Panasonic...
console struggling in the marketplace, losses mounting, and no other products to sell, Atari expected to run out of money within two years. While JTS announced plans to continue both brands, within a few weeks of the merger becoming official on July 30, 1996, the majority of former Atari employees were dismissed and Atari's remaining inventory was sold to liquidators
Liquidation
In law, liquidation is the process by which a company is brought to an end, and the assets and property of the company redistributed. Liquidation is also sometimes referred to as winding-up or dissolution, although dissolution technically refers to the last stage of liquidation...
.
Even with the cash infusion from Atari, JTS quickly ran out of money. On February 23, 1998, JTS sold the Atari intellectual property to Hasbro Interactive
Hasbro Interactive
Hasbro Interactive was an American video game production and publishing subsidiary of Hasbro, the large game and toy company.Hasbro Interactive was formed late in 1995 in order to compete in the computer and video game arena. Several Hasbro properties, such as Monopoly and Scrabble, had already...
for $5 million in cash (the name had already been sold to THQ for home use and Midway/Williams for arcade use). Later that year, on December 11, JTS filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
, converting to involuntary Chapter 7
Chapter 7, Title 11, United States Code
Chapter 7 of the Title 11 of the United States Code governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States...
on February 28, 1999.