[elucid]

so i've been doing my research for my first hard drive addition to my year old mac, and learning a lot in the process, however, i started looking around for "the" recommended drive that doesn't appear to exist. seems everyone recommends from experience and i understand completely as i have learned so much about the mac platform since switching to it a year ago.
for everyone who swears by a maxtor/seagate/westerndigital, there's someone who swears against each brand. most posts around the net are favorable reviews for each brand, but the negative ones worry me as i'm wet behind the ears still.
can anyone say why drives fail?
is there any preventative medicine/maintence/advice for ensuring a long hard drive life?
or is it just a crap shoot ?
that some drives are doomed to an unknown life expectancy?

thanx to all for edjukaiten me.....

[OldManMac]

Drives fail because they are a mechanical device, which will fail as they age. The heads float at microscopic distances over the drive platters, at varying temperatures and humidities, yet they have to be precise. There is a motor powering the drive, etc. Failure rates are getting better, but they're never perfect.

[bradoesch]

Originally posted by KarlG:
The heads float at microscopic distances over the drive platters, at varying temperatures and humidities, yet they have to be precise.

There isn't even room for a particle of smoke between the heads and the platters. Now that's precise.