Rodime
Encyclopedia
Rodime was an electronics
company specialising in hard disk
s, based in Glenrothes
, Scotland
. It was founded in 1979 by several Scottish and American former employees of Burroughs Corporation and listed on the London Stock Exchange
in 1986, becoming Rodime PLC.
Rodime produced a wide range of hard disks, initially 5.25 in form-factor ST506-compatible devices, later launching the world's first 3.5 in hard disk and also producing SCSI
and ATA
disks.
Due to increasing competition and delays in developing new products, Rodime became unprofitable after 1985, and a financial restructuring package was put in place in 1989. However, in 1991, Rodime ceased manufacturing and was reduced to a holding company which continued to pursue patent
litigation against other hard disk manufacturers such as Quantum and Seagate
.
Some ex-Rodime engineering staff went on to form Calluna Technology, which specialised in 1.8 inch PC Card
form-factor hard disks.
In 2000, Rodime PLC performed a reverse takeover
of the Littlewoods
gaming business, thus changing its principal business to gaming and betting. Soon after, it changed its name to Sportech PLC
.
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
company specialising in hard disk
Hard disk
A hard disk drive is a non-volatile, random access digital magnetic data storage device. It features rotating rigid platters on a motor-driven spindle within a protective enclosure. Data is magnetically read from and written to the platter by read/write heads that float on a film of air above the...
s, based in Glenrothes
Glenrothes
Glenrothes is a large town situated in the heart of Fife, in east-central Scotland. It is located approximately from both Edinburgh, which lies to the south and Dundee to the north. The town had an estimated population of 38,750 in 2008, making Glenrothes the third largest settlement in Fife...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It was founded in 1979 by several Scottish and American former employees of Burroughs Corporation and listed on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
in 1986, becoming Rodime PLC.
Rodime produced a wide range of hard disks, initially 5.25 in form-factor ST506-compatible devices, later launching the world's first 3.5 in hard disk and also producing SCSI
SCSI
Small Computer System Interface is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between computers and peripheral devices. The SCSI standards define commands, protocols, and electrical and optical interfaces. SCSI is most commonly used for hard disks and tape drives, but it...
and ATA
AT Attachment
Parallel ATA , originally ATA, is an interface standard for the connection of storage devices such as hard disks, solid-state drives, floppy drives, and optical disc drives in computers. The standard is maintained by X3/INCITS committee...
disks.
Due to increasing competition and delays in developing new products, Rodime became unprofitable after 1985, and a financial restructuring package was put in place in 1989. However, in 1991, Rodime ceased manufacturing and was reduced to a holding company which continued to pursue patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
litigation against other hard disk manufacturers such as Quantum and Seagate
Seagate Technology
Seagate Technology is one of the world's largest manufacturers of hard disk drives. Incorporated in 1978 as Shugart Technology, Seagate is currently incorporated in Dublin, Ireland and has its principal executive offices in Scotts Valley, California, United States.-1970s:On November 1, 1979...
.
Some ex-Rodime engineering staff went on to form Calluna Technology, which specialised in 1.8 inch PC Card
PC Card
In computing, PC Card is the form factor of a peripheral interface designed for laptop computers. The PC Card standard was defined and developed by the Personal Computer Memory Card International Association which itself was created by a number of computer industry companies in the United States...
form-factor hard disks.
In 2000, Rodime PLC performed a reverse takeover
Reverse takeover
A reverse takeover or reverse merger is the acquisition of a public company by a private company so that the private company can bypass the lengthy and complex process of going public...
of the Littlewoods
Littlewoods
Littlewoods is the name of a former retail and gambling company founded in Liverpool, Merseyside, England by John Moores in 1923.It started as a shopping catalogue company, processing orders by post in the early 1970s. In 1981, it expanded to a call centre, processing orders via telephone. At its...
gaming business, thus changing its principal business to gaming and betting. Soon after, it changed its name to Sportech PLC
Sportech PLC
Sportech is one of the leading suppliers and operators of pools/tote betting in the world, processing over $13 billion in bets and with a presence in 30 countries. Sportech is one of the very few European gaming companies with a license to operate and process bets in the U.S...
.