Japanese wire Nikkei Net reported over the weekend that Sony has made a breakthrough in producing the largest MR (magnetic resistance) heads for hard drives in the world. According to the reports, it has already delivered samples of 4Gb heads to hard drive firms, suggesting that it is close to producing the units in volume. If Sony succeeds in gaining market acceptance (customers, in other words) for the products, it could give the IBM storage division a run for its money. Last week, Quantum and MKE announced they would shut down a joint venture to produce heads in the US. ® Click for more storage Click for story index