The hardware - The Computing Universe: A Journey through a Revolution - page 38

speeds of up to 15,000 rpm and the read and write heads operate within
tens of nanometers of the surface. Originally introduced for IBM's main-
frame computers, hard disks are now small enough to be incorporated in
PCs, laptops, and even iPods. The company referred to hard disk drives
as “direct access storage devices” or DASDs - rather than use the term
computer memory . This was reportedly because Tom Watson Sr., the legend-
ary first head of IBM, feared that an anthropomorphic term like memory
might exacerbate people's fear and distrust of computers ( B.2.10 ).

Fig. 2.26. Hard disk drive from IBM.

B.2.10. Tom Watson Sr. (1874-1956) had built IBM to be the dominant company in punched
card tabulating machines that offered businesses and governments the ability to process
huge amounts of data. IBM was also known for its highly effective salesmen dressed in ties
and dark suits; for the company motto “THINK”; and the prohibition of any alcohol on IBM
property. Watson is often credited with saying “I think there is a world market for maybe
five computers,” but there is no evidence that he actually said this. It was his son, Tom
Watson Jr. (1914-93), who drove the company's move into electronic computers.