I don't
hate the appearance of SATA, not per se. I hate the
disappearance of IDE.
Don't they make SATA to IDE converters for under $3
shipped from
China?
I don't know; I've never really looked. If I could buy such a
converter at the local brick-and-mortar the same way, at the same time
as, I buy the drive? Then you might have a point. Otherwise, at the
very least it's raised the bar substantially.
The local brick-and-mortar store would charge $19.99 for the same part.