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wires are suspended. A selector arm raises one of the frames, a read–write head slides and pivots onto a selected wire, and the wire is moved up and down to record data along it. The entire set of frames could be moved all at once and replaced with a different set, making it a pioneering removable storage device as well as an early mass-storage device. Potter with the help of George
Comstock later tweaked the design to use half-inch magnetic tape (suspended in the frames using springs) instead of steel wire. He successfully marketed the device to the
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device working in three dimensions that uses steel wires as the recording medium. The patent was accepted in 1952, the same year the company announced their first linear tape drives. As described in the patent, the device comprises rows of the two-dimensional frames, onto which columns of the steel
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While the bulk of Potter's facilities remained physically locked up amid bankruptcy proceedings, the company's 100-worker military products division continued to operate in spite of orders from above. In August 1975, the division was acquired by Jan
Stenbeck, a 31-year-old businessman from Sweden,
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At their peak in the 1970s, Potter was the largest computer company in Long Island, employing over 1,500 people across four plants. In the late 1960s the firm entered the computer rental business, leasing out IBM mainframes to large businesses, following in the footsteps of large players like
227:
and rechristened
Miltope Corporation. Miltope thrived off their military contracts and is still in business as of February 2024, while Potter dissolved sometime in the late 1970s, after John T. Potter had been ousted as chairman and CEO in 1978.
211:. This would eventually become Potter's undoing, as in 1971 IBM severely cut their leasing fees, reducing the demand for third-party lessor such as Potter. In 1972, the company posted a $ 13.1-million loss. John T. Potter resigned as president and
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183:. Potter's disk drives were praised for being marginally faster than their IBM counterparts while costing far less. They would eventually become a major player in the
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in 1957. With this, the Potter Three-Dimensional Memory Device was the first magnetic random-access mass storage device with interchangeable media, predating the
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117:(1911–1987), a prolific inventor of electronic instruments and magnetic computer storage devices. The company was the first to market a random-access
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Potter eventually pursued more traditional rotating disk drives in 1968 with the release of their DD4311 disk drive,
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was a public
American computer hardware company active from 1942 to the late 1970s and based in
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in 1942. The company initially produced a variety of electromechanical devices for enterprise
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553:(4). Reed Business Information: 208. April 1978 – via the Internet Archive.
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and chairman of the company. Two years later, in April 1975, Potter filed for
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436:(8). Berkeley Enterprises: 61. August 1968 – via the Internet Archive.
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Potter
Instrument Company was founded by John Taft Potter (1911–1987) in
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The First
Magnetic Random-Access Memory with Interchangeable Media
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389:(8). CW Communications: S29 – via the Internet Archive.
254:(10). Kiplinger: 7–11. October 1961 – via Google Books.
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In 1948, John T. Potter filed for a patent that describes a
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410:. Computer History Museum. January 17, 2020. Archived from
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274:"John Taft Potter, 75, Inventor, Founded Computer Firm"
528:(2264): 24, 26. January 27, 1973 – via ProQuest.
379:"All IBM Tapes, Disks Have Plug-to-Plug Counterparts"
462:(6). CW Communications: 28 – via Google Books.
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404:"1962: Bulk storage systems add low-cost capacity"
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342:: 1. March 11, 1948 – via Newspapers.com.
244:"New way to buy into promising young companies"
191:hard drive market. Potter also specialized in
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426:"Potter DD4311 Disk Drive Is IBM Compatible"
308:Comstock, George; Len Shustek (March 2015).
223:and shut down their Long Island operations.
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121:device with interchangeable media in 1957.
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317:. Computer History Museum. Archived from
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631:List of defunct hard disk manufacturers
569:Official website of Miltope Corporation
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1111:American companies established in 1942
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522:"Potter Puts New Talent at the Top"
502:Murray, Barbara (August 28, 1975).
377:Piasta, Frank (February 25, 1970).
336:"Device Counts 1,600,000 in Second"
482:"Thriving Company Born of Failure"
16:American computer hardware company
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450:Staff writer (February 7, 1973).
272:Staff writer (January 28, 1987).
215:in January 1973, while remaining
510:: 35 – via Newspapers.com.
452:"Potter Names George May Chief"
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783:Digital Equipment Corporation
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619:History of hard disk drives
46:; 82 years ago
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1131:Computer storage companies
488:: 51 – via ProQuest.
280:: 43 – via ProQuest.
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166:Card Random-Access Memory
107:Potter Instrument Company
20:Potter Instrument Company
945:Nippon Electric Industry
708:Bryant Computer Products
624:IBM magnetic disk drives
430:Computers and Automation
838:Hokushin Electric Works
743:Computer Memories, Inc.
504:"Firm Gets Inside Help"
526:Bloomberg Businessweek
162:National Cash Register
90:Bankruptcy dissolution
221:Chapter 11 bankruptcy
920:MiniStor Peripherals
865:Intégral Peripherals
798:ExcelStor Technology
324:on February 8, 2017.
193:data-entry terminals
113:. It was founded by
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408:ComputerHistory.org
160:of the late 1960s.
100:1,500 (1970s, peak)
96:Number of employees
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1050:SyQuest Technology
1035:Shugart Associates
748:Conner Peripherals
738:CII-Honeywell-Bull
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355:Unknown parameter
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111:Long Island
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1095:Categories
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995:PrairieTek
925:Mitsubishi
915:MiniScribe
910:Micropolis
895:Librascope
875:JT Storage
547:Datamation
231:References
181:2311 drive
154:disk packs
970:Panasonic
768:Datapoint
758:Data Disc
713:Burroughs
359:ignored (
287:285339163
185:mainframe
283:ProQuest
61:New York
36:Computer
33:Industry
1080:YE-Data
1040:Siemens
1005:Quantum
980:Philips
960:Okidata
905:Memorex
890:Kyocera
885:Kennedy
843:Hyosung
833:Hitachi
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753:Cornice
728:Calcomp
718:C. Itoh
666:Defunct
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640:Current
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486:Newsday
278:Newsday
209:Foxboro
125:History
76:Defunct
68:Founder
49: (
41:Founded
1070:Tokico
1055:Tandon
1030:Sequel
1015:Rodime
900:Maxtor
870:Iomega
853:AdStar
788:Emulex
688:Anelex
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28:Public
1075:Xebec
1020:SAGEM
1010:Ricoh
1000:Priam
950:Nomaï
793:Epson
683:Ampex
322:(PDF)
315:(PDF)
175:with
1060:TEAC
828:HGST
703:BASF
361:help
207:and
205:Itel
195:and
187:and
87:Fate
82:1979
51:1942
44:1942
940:NEC
935:NCR
880:JVC
848:IBM
460:VII
217:CEO
213:COO
179:'s
177:IBM
55:in
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80:c.
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