Sinclair intends to produce a 7Mb version of its Wafer Scale Integration silicon disk (issue 103) next year.

This year's model will have only 0.5 Mb of storage, and production will be contracted out to other manufacturers, but the projected 7 Mb disk is to be built in a completely new £50 million factory.

Sinclair has teamed up with Robb Wilmot, chairman of ICL, whose first job will be to raise the £50 million in the City. Sinclair has already made a £1 million investment in R&D, and holds a number of patents that will be crucial to the project.

So while Sinclair's financial commitment is minimal, the project, should it succeed, could prove to be a goldmine for Sir Clive. The fact that a whole new plant is needed to build the second version of the disk tends to confirm speculation that the 0.5 Mb version is relatively low tech. And as Sinclair is announcing the super chip project now, it can be assumed that WSI Mark One works to his satisfaction, and is on schedule for release later this year.