If five of the largest storage manufacturers have anything to say about it, you'll soon have new technology designed to improve system performance and introduce the world to hybrid disks. Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Inc., Seagate Technology LLC, Fujitsu Ltd., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. and Toshiba Corp. have teamed up to form the Hybrid Storage Alliance. The idea behind the group is "promote and educated industry enablers and influencers about the benefits and advantages of Hybrid HDDs." The new hard disks are said to increase power efficiency, which extends battery life. Also, because the drives spin down and the mechanical components actually stop moving, the drives are purported to have higher shock tolerance.

For more info on the Alliance, visit the Hybrid Storage Alliance.