"...Seagate ,Intel and APT Technologies today unveiled the first Serial ATA Revision 1.0-compliant disc drive and PCI host bus adapter. The prototype represents another major step toward a future of faster, simpler, more cost-effective ATA disc drive technology. In a demonstration at this week's Intel Developer Forum, the Seagate Serial ATA disc drive, containing APT's Serial ATA Bridge and PHY technology, is attached via new Serial ATA-compliant cables and connectors to APT's Serial ATA PCI Host Bus Adapter, which is connected to an Intel Pentium 4 processor system. This interface is used to connect storage devices, such as hard disc drives, DVDs and CD-R/Ws, to the motherboard and is the replacement for today's Parallel ATA physical storage interface.

Serial ATA technology will allow for platform cost reductions and performance improvements while supporting a seamless transition from Parallel ATA technology. Serial ATA will supply storage interface headroom for many generations to come, beginning with 1.5 Gbps, and scalable to 2x, 4x and beyond. At the same time, Serial ATA is a drop-in solution that is compatible with existing ATA software drivers and will run on standard operating systems without modification.

It will provide for systems that are easier to design, with narrower cables that are simple to route and install, smaller cable connectors, improved silicon design, and lower voltages, which alleviate current design constraints in Parallel ATA. Configuration of Serial ATA devices will be much simpler, with many of today's requirements for jumpers and settings no longer needed..." NULL