<MILD RANT>
Back in the 60s they were pouring iron oxide mixtures on spinning disks from dixie cups. Trust me they have made enormous improvements. I mean look at what the hard drive does. The heads fly over the media at a distance measured in angstroms, the data is recorded at an incredible density and the read circuits use complex yet very fast signal amplification and error correction algorithms. All hard drives are just small computers with custom data storage attached.
I can guarantee that the overall technology improvements in the hard drive are far more advanced than anything else in your PC (and about even with the processor). Just to stay on the fore front of storage technology, drive makers are pushing the limits of known physics and chemistry and they still have to deliver these technological triumphs at commodity prices. Look at what you pay for a top of the line drive vs cam corder, LCD projector or even a big screen TV. None these rely on difficult to master technology yet the best of all of them cost way more than the best hard drive.
</MILD RANT>
