.png)
Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Terry Johnson (entrepreneur)
Terry Johnson (1935–2010) was an American engineer and entrepreneur notable for his work on hard disk drives (HDD) and for pioneering the transition of computers to using smaller disk drives.
After college in 1963, Johnson worked in engineering and management roles at IBM for seven years, followed by two years at Memorex. He then joined Disk Systems Corporation, which was acquired by Storage Technology Corporation (StorageTek or STC). At StorageTek, he helped develop the Super Disk, a hard disk drive (HDD) that had a storage capacity of 800 megabytes (MB), the highest available at the time.
In 1980, Johnson left StorageTek to establish a startup called Miniscribe, a manufacturer of 5.25-inch HDDs. After leaving Miniscribe in 1984, he co-founded a new company, CoData, that merged with Conner Peripherals the following year. CoData's 3.5-inch drive became the company's first product. Additionally, in 1985, Johnson co-founded PrairieTek, the first to manufacture smaller 2.5-inch drives.
Johnson died in the Northwest Territories, Canada, when his private aircraft crashed during his return from a canoe trip.
Terry Johnson was born in Ogden, Utah, on March 14, 1935, to Clifford Johnson Sr. and Myrtle (née Kunz) Johnson. He grew up in Ogden but spent his summers on a ranch in Clover Valley, Nevada. After graduating from high school in 1953, he started college but left in 1954 to enlist in the US Navy for four years. During his time in the Navy, Johnson worked as an electronics technician and often felt like a second-class citizen. In 1958, following his military service, he was, therefore, highly motivated to finish his college education to avoid feeling that way for the rest of his life. Johnson earned a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Utah in 1961. After graduating, he received job offers from computer companies Control Data and IBM; however, he chose to pursue a Master's degree first. He worked as an engineer at Hercules Power Company, an aerospace company, for one year before being accepted into graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley). Johnson went on to earn his Master's degree from UC Berkeley in 1963.
Johnson joined IBM in 1963 in San Jose, California, where he worked for seven years. At IBM, he focused on analog circuit design and servo circuitry. His final project at the company involved designing circuitry for the IBM 3330 during its early development stage. Code-named Merlin, the 3330 was a Direct Access Storage Facility with a disk storage capacity of 100 MB, which was considered high capacity at the time.
After leaving IBM in 1970, Johnson joined Memorex in Silicon Valley, CA. While at IBM, Johnson was limited to working only with components that had already been approved by the company and focused on a narrow section of the circuitry related to the servo system. Realizing that he had fallen behind in terms of state-of-the-art technology, Johnson spent a year at Memorex learning about circuitry innovations. Although his primary role at Memorex was to design the circuitry for the servo system, he was also able to work on the entire system, unlike at IBM where his focus was restricted. Additionally, he contributed to a product that competed with the IBM 3330.
After two years at Memorex, Johnson moved on to a startup called Disk Systems Corporation in the San Francisco Bay Area, a company funded by tape storage manufacturer StorageTek. StorageTek aimed to expand its operations into making disk drives for computer systems.
Hub AI
Terry Johnson (entrepreneur) AI simulator
(@Terry Johnson (entrepreneur)_simulator)
Terry Johnson (entrepreneur)
Terry Johnson (1935–2010) was an American engineer and entrepreneur notable for his work on hard disk drives (HDD) and for pioneering the transition of computers to using smaller disk drives.
After college in 1963, Johnson worked in engineering and management roles at IBM for seven years, followed by two years at Memorex. He then joined Disk Systems Corporation, which was acquired by Storage Technology Corporation (StorageTek or STC). At StorageTek, he helped develop the Super Disk, a hard disk drive (HDD) that had a storage capacity of 800 megabytes (MB), the highest available at the time.
In 1980, Johnson left StorageTek to establish a startup called Miniscribe, a manufacturer of 5.25-inch HDDs. After leaving Miniscribe in 1984, he co-founded a new company, CoData, that merged with Conner Peripherals the following year. CoData's 3.5-inch drive became the company's first product. Additionally, in 1985, Johnson co-founded PrairieTek, the first to manufacture smaller 2.5-inch drives.
Johnson died in the Northwest Territories, Canada, when his private aircraft crashed during his return from a canoe trip.
Terry Johnson was born in Ogden, Utah, on March 14, 1935, to Clifford Johnson Sr. and Myrtle (née Kunz) Johnson. He grew up in Ogden but spent his summers on a ranch in Clover Valley, Nevada. After graduating from high school in 1953, he started college but left in 1954 to enlist in the US Navy for four years. During his time in the Navy, Johnson worked as an electronics technician and often felt like a second-class citizen. In 1958, following his military service, he was, therefore, highly motivated to finish his college education to avoid feeling that way for the rest of his life. Johnson earned a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Utah in 1961. After graduating, he received job offers from computer companies Control Data and IBM; however, he chose to pursue a Master's degree first. He worked as an engineer at Hercules Power Company, an aerospace company, for one year before being accepted into graduate studies at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley). Johnson went on to earn his Master's degree from UC Berkeley in 1963.
Johnson joined IBM in 1963 in San Jose, California, where he worked for seven years. At IBM, he focused on analog circuit design and servo circuitry. His final project at the company involved designing circuitry for the IBM 3330 during its early development stage. Code-named Merlin, the 3330 was a Direct Access Storage Facility with a disk storage capacity of 100 MB, which was considered high capacity at the time.
After leaving IBM in 1970, Johnson joined Memorex in Silicon Valley, CA. While at IBM, Johnson was limited to working only with components that had already been approved by the company and focused on a narrow section of the circuitry related to the servo system. Realizing that he had fallen behind in terms of state-of-the-art technology, Johnson spent a year at Memorex learning about circuitry innovations. Although his primary role at Memorex was to design the circuitry for the servo system, he was also able to work on the entire system, unlike at IBM where his focus was restricted. Additionally, he contributed to a product that competed with the IBM 3330.
After two years at Memorex, Johnson moved on to a startup called Disk Systems Corporation in the San Francisco Bay Area, a company funded by tape storage manufacturer StorageTek. StorageTek aimed to expand its operations into making disk drives for computer systems.