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Hitachi launches ultra slim drive for A/V streaming devices
BANGALORE: Hitachi Global Storage Technologies (Hitachi GST) announced the industry’s broadest family of ultra slim and light 7mm Z-height drives.
Of the two drives announced, CinemaStar drives are specifically designed for A/V streaming devices and power the most popular set-top boxes (STB), PVRs, portable video players, DVR-enabled TVs and video surveillance systems in the market today. This fifth generation 2.5-inch, 5400 RPM, 8MB cache, Serial ATA 3Gb/sec interface CinemaStar drive continues this tradition, delivering the right balance of capacity, power-management and outstanding low acoustics.
Continuing to push acoustic performance, as well as hard drive and systems reliability, Hitachi has implemented several design improvements to enhance its new CinemaStar Z5K320 drive family. At 1.9 idle / 2.0 seek bels, the new CinemaStar Z5K320 family delivers the quietest 7mm 2.5-inch experience for bedroom-quiet systems, claims Hitachi. Reliability enhancements include an improved protection scheme for power fluctuation and enhanced Thermal Fly-Height Control for improved error rates.
The other series of drives that Hitachi has also launched are the TravelStar 7200 rpm and 5400 rpm drives that include the Travelstar Z7K320 and Travelstar Z5K320.
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With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
