Wired is running an article on how Seagate has been able to increase hard drive densities by aligning bits of data vertically, rather than horizontally as is done currently.

The new approach that aligns bits of data vertically rather than horizontally enables Seagate -- and other drive vendors -- to further boost the density of drives without increasing the risk of scrambling data....By storing bits in a vertical, or perpendicular, arrangement, engineers are able to boost capacity by taking advantage of the real estate that is freed up.

Seagate's new drive, the Momentus 5400.3, was being shipped as of Monday, the Scotts Valley, California-based company said. The shift to perpendicular recording allows it to bump up the maximum capacity of its notebook drive to 160 GB from 120 GB.

Read more here.