Intelligent electronic appliance system and method

A method of controlling an actuator of a data storage device, the method comprising:

• selectively controlling an audio transducer that is separate from the actuator, in dependence on at least an intended output signature of an audio program executed by a media rendering system;
• selectively controlling the actuator in dependence on at least the audio program, to effect disk drive head transitions causing impulses synchronized with the intended output signature of the audio program, to reduce a perceived acoustic disturbance from changing acoustic emissions emanating from the data storage device during operations;
• modeling noise generating events during head transitions of the data storage device;
• and
• modifying the audio program based on the model.

A data storage system, comprising:

• (a) an actuator configured to produce changing acoustic emissions during operations performed by a data storage device;
• and
• (b) a control system, configured to:
• control said actuator to respond to a media program comprising an audio program, wherein the media program defines sounds for rendering by a media rendering system,
• reduce a perceived acoustic disturbance from the actuator, such that the actuator generates at least a portion of the defined sounds,
• synchronize acoustic impulses generated during operations of the data storage device selectively in dependence on a correspondence between a predicted acoustic emission of the actuator and the defined sounds,
• operate the actuator to effect a head transition operation that is synchronized with an intended output signature of the defined sounds,
• model events generating noise during head transitions of the data storage device, and
• modify the audio program based on the model.

A data storage device, comprising:

• (a) an acoustic emission source, selectively producing an impulse acoustic emission in dependence on an operation of a data storage device;
• (b) a controllable audio transducer configured to reproduce acoustic media having an intended output signature of an audio program;
• and
• (c) a control system, controlling the acoustic emission source and the audio transducer, to generate an audio signal based on a media source stored on the data storage device, the impulse acoustic emission produced in dependence on the operation being masked by synchronized sounds of the intended output signature from the controllable audio transducer, to model events generating noise during head transitions of the data storage device, and to modify the audio program based on the model, to reduce a perceived acoustic disturbance while producing sounds consistent with the intended output signature.