James Porter

James N. Porter died March 2 at Monterey Community Hospital after having suffered a massive stroke. He was in Monterey to attend a Dixieland Jazz Festival, which was one of his favorite things to do. He also enjoyed camping, hiking and photography.

1n 1977 he founded DISK/TREND Inc., which published market research reports focused on the disk drive and data storage industries. In addition, he acted as a management consultant to many data storage companies. Prior to starting DISK/TREND, he worked at several companies, including Pabco Paint, Crown Zellerbach, and Cartridge Television, CMX Systems, a CBS-Memorex joint venture. He was a founder of IDEMA, the International Disk Drive and Equipment Association, serving as Chairman of the Board and remaining an active member for many years. DISK/TREND, in association with Freeman Associates, founded the Diskcon trade show and the Data Storage Conference. He chaired sessions at various trade shows all the way to the end of his life, and participated most recently in the Storage Visions Conference held in January 2012. After retiring and closing DISK/TREND, he became a member of the Advisory Board of the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, Ca.

Jim was born October 3, 1931 in Sacramento Ca to Alice Elizabeth (Betty) and Neil Porter. His father was in the California Highway Patrol, eventually making Captain. Jim graduated from Sequoia High School in Redwood City, Ca and San Jose State University. He is survived by his daughters Katie Porter of Fremont Ca and Anne Cirner of Felton Ca, his sons in law John Jossy and Jim Cirner, his grandchildren Kelly Cirner, Susannah Jossy and Sean Jossy, and his sister Jean Porter of Congers New York. He was preceded in death by his son David Porter.

A celebration of life will be held at a date to be announced. Anyone interested in attending is requested to send an email to [email protected]

Arrangements under the direction of The Paul Mortuary, Pacific Grove, CA.