Channel 4 China blog: The history of data storage

Friday, April 18, 2008

The history of data storage

by:Sarah

Today, we are already accustomed to the more than 100 computer storage configuration G, a small mp3 players and other handheld devices typically have the capacity of several G, and all this a few decades ago is only exist in science fiction in the imagination. For example, in the not far away from us in 1980, had a capacity of the drive has G refrigerator so great. Now we will be saved every day and used to large amounts of data, and I think that history will look back on this is an interesting thing, but also allow us to a clearer understanding of this process.

Election of a few

This is the 1946 developed a few of the election, the capacity of 32 to 512 bytes, 512 bytes of which are 10 inches long, 3 inches wide, and the production cost is, therefore has never been in normal use.

On the map: 1024 elections a few bits of

Punch cards

Early computer punch cards are commonly used to carry out procedures and data input, it has been widely applied to the mid-1970s continued. Need to mention is that, as early as in 1725, a time before computers, it was something that the textile industry used to control the weaving machine.

On the map: a section of Fortran program cards, Z (1)=Y+W (1)

On the Left: the card reader on the right: the card-writing

Perforated paper

Like punch cards, such tapes was first used mechanical weaving machines. The computer, it can be used for data input but also the output medium. Tapes on every line of a corresponding characters.

On the map: 8 perforated paper (one per line 8 hole)

Cigu memory

Invented in 1932 (Austria), widely used in the last century 5,6 and 10 years in the mid-1950s, this probably Cigu memory capacity of 10 K bytes.

On the Left: UNIVAC computer Cigu storage right: the IBM 650 computer Cigu 16 inches long, 40 tracks, 10 KB capacity per minute to 12500

Drive

Section 1956 is a hard drive with the IBM 305 RAMAC computer with the IBM Model 350 disk. It consists of 50 24-inch disc a total capacity of slightly less than 5 megabytes.

On the map: a hard drive

And a capacity of more than one section G drives from IBM, IBM 3380, and can store 252 GB, refrigerator so great and weighing 550 pounds (250 kilograms), for sale at $ 81,000 to $ 142,400.

On the Left: 1979 250 M disk on the right: IBM 3380

Laser disk

We mentioned here mainly because of its laser disk CD-ROM and other optical storage solutions pioneer. By the end of 1978, there appeared the first set of laser disk system, the diameter of 11.81 inches (30 cm), the single largest can accommodate 60 minutes of video or audio, CD-ROM on the realization of the basic skills of fact, as early as in 1958 invented out.

On the Left: ordinary laser disk and DVD disc? Right: laser disk

Floppy

IBM Corporation once again on the disks have made contributions to the invention from the 1970s to the late 1990s has been widely used in the storage arena. First 8-inch disk and later into a 3.5-inch and 5.25. 1971 in the capacity of a floppy disk 79.7 KB, it is read-only, and only a year later version read and write.

On the Left: 8-inch disk and disk drives, next to the 3.5-inch disk? On the right: to facilitate the storage medium from

Tape

Tape for the first time as a data storage medium in 1951, known as UNISERVO, UNIVAC I is the main type of computer I/O devices. Effective transfer rate of 7,200 bytes per second. These tapes are metal, a total of 1,200 feet long (365 meters), the very Shen.

On the Left: UNIVAC I-computer tape drives? Right: IBM 3410 tape subsystems, 1971

On this point, we can not fail to mention the compact cassette tape, is the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, the popular personal computer storage devices, usually in the transmission rate of 2000 bits per second. A box of 90 minutes of tape can be placed on about 660 KB.