The data storage capacity has consistently been a significant concern, since the invention of computers and different computing devices. As computers got further developed, data size expanded accordingly making a never-ending interest for expanded storage limits. Data storage devices have advanced radically from being enormous trunks with the ability to hold a couple of kilobytes of data, to microchips ready to hold a couple of gigabytes of data.
We have always tried to find simplistic ways to save the information, right from the first storage device, which was invented by Fritz Pfluemer “Magnetic Storage, 1928” till today which is cloud storage. We have invented simple, easy and accessible storage devices which are more accustomed based on today’s and futuristic needs. But, the revolution in storage devices started from 1971 with the invention of ‘floppy’ which was developed by IBM. At that time floppy was considered to be a least expensive storage device geared towards loading microcode into the system/370 mainframes. It was a portable device made up of magnetic film encased in plastic, made it easier and faster to store data. Invention of the floppy disk revolutionized the portable factor of storage disk which had not been seen in earlier storage devices.
As time went on, there was a need to store more data in one disk itself to ease the life of the people and CD-ROMs helped serve this need. The acronym ROM – Read-Only Memory, meant that without writing or erasing data can be read . This was progressive, in light of the fact that other than computer data, audio files could be put away and played utilizing a CD player. Albums contain up to 680 MB of storage space and can store programming and game consoles.
In contrast to floppies and CDs, USB drives can store, erase and reprogram data. USBs a.k.a thumb drives or pen drives are actually the size of a human thumb. Try not to let their little size nitwit you as they can store data anyplace between 8GB to 256 GB at low expenses. USBs basically should be associated with a USB port in a work area or a PC. Like USBs are External portable hard drives that hold up to 1 Terabyte of data and work like a USB.
Cloud Computing was a revolution in the data age. The whole idea of storage was repurposed by erasing the requirement for dynamic administration by the user. The user can distantly get to data that is available on “clouds” that have a place with either similar association or various associations. The requirement for finding a storage space that is virtual and available from anyplace prompted the improvement of cloud storage.
The measures of data and data we use or trade have developed exponentially and have called for propels in data storage. For more than 50 years, scientists have tried different things with different techniques to locate an ideal storage arrangement. With such a great amount of data to be put away today, we can just envision its expansion in the coming years. In the years to come, we can anticipate more progressive storage gadgets; far unbelievable what we are utilized to today.
Also read: How Social Media Is Affecting Our Mindset and Style of Living?
As we have seen a developing trend in terms of digital storage which revolutionized the computing and storage capacities of the devices. Right from the invention of the storage devices it has always been dependent on various components such as, storage space, price per MB of storage, performance, etc. If we look at the trend in physical size of the storage devices, we can clearly see that right from the invention of the first storage device it has been reduced to such an extent that it is portable and easy to operate and handle. The first floppy which was introduced was of 8-inch which was then cropped up into 3.5 inches in 1981. The storage capacity of the floppy disk was 218.8 kb which was then developed into CD-ROM with an increased storage capacity of 700MB. CD-ROM was developed in such a way that it can be used in cd players and in computers too. The storage device further developed into USB (universal serial bus), which was much smaller in size as compared with the previous storage devices and was having a greater amount of data storage capacity.
The cost of these devices varied according to their time of use. If we compare them to the scale of cost per mb of data storage, it is much easier to say that with the revolution in devices there is a cheaper amount of data per mb of storage within these devices. There is also a revolution in the performance of these devices, USB storage devices are much better than a CD-ROM and floppy because at a cheaper price and in a small size it can perform better and is portable as compared to other devices.
As you can clearly see in the above table, development in the size and capacity took place, performance and functionality also increased. The price per MB of storage lowered down as and so as the physical size of these devices.
There has been a vital development in the performance and capacity of these storage devices while the cost per MB of storage have lowered down dramatically. Moree’s Law which was originally articulated for microchips could be easily applied over these devices as their storage capacities have increased 1,00,000 times while the cost of these devices have become cheaper and accessible to all.
Also read
