The user‘s attention is called to the possibility that implementation to this Specification may require use of an invention covered by patent rights. By distribution of this Specification， no position is taken with respect to the validity of this claim or of any patent rights in connection therewith. The patent holder has filed a statement of willingness to grant a license under these rights on reasonable and non-discriminatory terms and conditions to applicants desiring to obtain such a license.The development work on this specification was done by the SFF Committee， an industry group. The membership of the committee since its formation in August 1990 has included a mix of companies which are leaders across the industry. When 2 1/2“ diameter disk drives were introduced， there was no commonality on external dimensions e.g. physical size， mounting locations， connector type， connector location， between vendors. The first use of these disk drives was in specific applications such as laptop portable computers and system integrators worked individually with vendors to develop the packaging. The result was wide diversity， and incompatibility. The problems faced by integrators， device suppliers， and component suppliers led to the formation of the SFF Committee as an industry ad hoc group to address the marketing and engineering considerations of the emerging new technology. During the development of the form factor definitions， other activities were suggested because participants in the SFF Committee faced more problems than the physical form factors of disk drives. In November 1992， the charter was expanded to address any issues of general interest and concern to the storage industry. The SFF Committee became a forum for resolving industry issues that are either not addressed by the standards process or need an immediate solution.