MiniScribe: Facts, Discussion Forum, and Encyclopedia Article

MiniScribe

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	Topics MiniScribe Topic Home MiniScribe was a manufacturer of disk storageDisk storage Disk storage is a category of data storage mechanisms for computers; data is recorded on planar surfaces or 'disks' for temp... products, founded in Longmont, ColoradoLongmont, Colorado Longmont, Colorado\|-\| align=center colspan=2 \| \|-... in 1980. MiniScribe designed and sold stepper motorStepper motor A stepper motor is a brushless, synchronous electric motor that can divide a full rotation into a large number of steps, for... -based hard diskHard disk A hard disk drive is a digitally encoded non-volatile storage device which stores data on the magnetic surfaces of hard dis... s with a large amount of onboard intelligence for the time, eventually moving into higher-profile voice coilVoice coil A voice coil is the coil of wire attached to the apex of the moving cone of a loudspeaker.... motor designs before going bankrupt in 1990, and subsequently being purchased by MaxtorMaxtor Maxtor Corporation was the world's third-largest manufacturer of computer hard disk drives, before its acquisition by Seagat... . MiniScribe’s failure centered on one of the first major accounting scandalsAccounting scandals Accounting scandals, or corporate accounting scandals are political and business scandals which arise with the disclos... in the computer industry; after losing a supply contract with IBMIBM company_name = International Business Machines Corporation \|... 's PC division in 1985, MiniScribe falsified its sales records for several years before being discovered in 1989. The primary scandal erupted in the final weeks of 1989, when after failing to procure short-term financing, the company executives decided to embark upon a fraudulent course of action to bring in the financing unwittingly from their customers. As each unit sold was tracked via serial numbers and also sat uninspected for some weeks inside warehouses in SingaporeSingapore Singapore, formally the Republic of Singapore , is an island city-state and the smallest country in Southeast Asia.... awaiting use in production, the decision was made to ship pieces of masonry inside the boxes that would normally contain hard drives. After receiving payment, Miniscribe then planned to issue a recall of all the affected serial numbers and then ship actual hard drive units as replacements, using the money received to meet financial obligations in the short term. Astoundingly, Miniscribe embarked upon a round of layoffLayoff A layoff is the termination of employment of an employee or a group of employees for business reasons, such as the decision ... s just before their Christmas shutdown, including several of the employees that were involved in the packaging and shipping of the masonry. These people immediately called the Denver area newspapers, which broke the story during the holiday season. Following immediate investigations in Singapore and in Colorado the fraud was confirmed. Miniscribe lawyers filed for bankruptcy within minutes of the start of business on January 2, 1990. Miniscribe is frequently called "Brand X Brick Shippers" in Colorado.