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History (1997): Disc or Disk?

Choice involves much more than simple spelling discrepancy.

Why not take advantage of summer vacation – storage company CEOs excepted, who apparently never take time off – to discuss a minor point of spelling, so trivial that it revolves around only two letters, “c” and “k.”

History Disc Disik

To the ear, there is no difference, but written on the page, should one opt for disc or disk.

The choice involves much more than a simple spelling discrepancy. In fact, the entire marketing policy of certain large firms is at stake. Why does Seagate always prints “hard disc drives,” while all of its competitors prefer “hard disk drives?” Why “compact disc” and not “compact disk?”

According to an official Seagate release, dating nearly 15 years back, Seagate’s founding fathers were in negotiations with Dysan, a maker of floppy and hard disks, for the firm’s initial venture capital. One of the conditions set in the deal by Dysan’s president was that the new enterprise spell disk with a “c,” as he did. Though it was an unusual request, the company complied.

And so the new firm began to research, develop and manufacture hard disc drives. When the time came, Seagate inaugurated its new headquarters on 920 Disc Drive, in Scotts Valley, CA.

During an interview with Al Shugart, COB and CEO, in 1988, we raised the issue, which he addressed along similar lines: “That’s an interesting question. When we started the company, the first person to put money in the company was Dysan, and Dysan always spelled ‘disc’ with a ‘c.’ You’re the first person that ever asked me this question.”

In fact, all of the spellcheckers at Seagate stop when they come across the word disk, automatically changing it to disc. The practice is a worldwide corporate policy. Not a single document leaves the nest without being systematically stripped of thedreaded “k.”

Hard disc drive = Seagate
The whole matter has reached such proportions that anyone who writes “hard disc drive” is suspected of being in some kind of cahoots with Seagate. All of Seagate’s competitors, the bulk of storage industry analysts, the press, literature and everyone else uses the spelling disk. This spelling is also universally preferred by floppy disk drive professionals.

Occasional exceptions to this rule arise among firms that work with magnetic media. Then, the “c” appears from time to time in floppy disc (allthough diskette always has a “k”) or in hard disc.

In the audio world: disc
The word disc is also quite widely used in the audio realm, although DJ generally stands for disk jockey and not disc jockey.

Sony and Philips, the inventors of the compact disc are largely responsible for the preferred usage. When CD-ROMs arrived on the scene, once again the “c” dominated, as it did in all optical formats destined for the mass market, notably with videodisc (Pioneer, the last survivor in this market, insists on its LaserDisc), then later with the DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), whose standardization body is also stuck on the last letter.

On the other hand, interestingly, the optical disk industry concerned purely with data storage collectively prefers to use disk. This is true of the magneto-optical and phase change disk market. The situation blurs slightly around recordable CDs.

Furthermore, most manufacturers of solid-state memories write flash disks and electronic or semiconductor disks.

No problem in French and German
Only in English does this question arise. In theory, the German word is “diskus,” taken directly from Latin, but in practice, it is commonly replaced with disk. Germans are quite fond of the letter “k” (and in fact, “c” is always soft, particularly after “s”).

In French, it’s not even an issue, there is only one correct spelling: “disque.”

In conclusion, while we may seem to be splitting hairs over a trivial spelling point of the English language, in fact, a minor preference may disguise a de1iberate marketing policy.

Seagate may one day discover that the contract with Dysan is not eternal, but discontinued, perhaps, after lengthy discussions of its discriminatory policy, in which case it could well (but discreetly) adopt a more discerning spelling practice, requiring greater discipline and reducing, ultimately, the firm’s disconnection with the rest of the industry. Whether the firm discloses a new disc brake or the end of the discord, it won’t lose any face.

Now try telling that to the 12cm optical platter community. Our choice: “k” When we started Computer Data Storage Newsletter, we had to make a decision. In fact the choice was simple: we had to go with disk unless we wanted to pass for a Seagate mouthpiece.

Whenever we print interviews with executives of the latter firm, we proceed as though we hear “disk” and not “disc.”

Seagate, a good sport, has never made the slightest reproach, or even comment, on our policy.

In fact, if memory serves, didn’t Seagate invest money in a firm called SanDisk? It goes without saying that we don’t tamper with company names, such as DISC, Inc. or Brown Disc Corp., no more than with product lines (for example, Cygnet’s Infinitydisc).

In this issue, and in particular because of this article, the word “disk'” occurs 55 times, while “disc” appears 25 times.

History Disc Disik F2

This article is an abstract of news published on ≠115 on August 1997 from the former paper version of Computer Data Storage Newsletter.

Note: Seagate now speaks about “hard drive”, avoiding to choose between disc or disk.

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