Quantum Corporation is aiming for the budget PC market with its new product line, starting with the Fireball lct desktop hard disk drive. Designed for use in sub-$700 PCs, the Fireball ranges in capacity from 4.3GB to 26GB. Its features include Quantum's SPS II Data Protection System, Ultra ATA/66 interface and the third generation of GMR heads. The SPS II provides more resistance to physical shocks that can damage data, both operating and non operating. Quantum says it is a big improvement on the SPS I. The Fireball is the result of over two years' development, and Quantum claims it balances customers' low-cost demands with its own requirements for quality and reliability. The Fireball lct offers PC OEMs a wide range of capacity points but requires only one drive qualification for a variety of systems. Quantum says that this simplification will save its customers time and money, and allow them to get products to market faster. The 3.5in Quantum Fireball lct runs at 5400rpm. It has an average seek time of 9ms, a maximum internal transfer rate of 250MBpsec, and a 512KB buffer. ®