Data storage device
In
computing, a
data storage device—as the
name implies—is a
device for
storing data. It usually refers to
permanent storage (non-volatile), that is, the data will remain stored when power is removed from the device; unlike
RAM.
Recording can be done
mechanically,
magnetically, or
optically.
A typical way to classify data storage media is to consider its shape and type of movement (or non-movement) relative to the read/write device(s) of the storage apparatus. The following is a list of storage media, roughly sorted descending from modern to older/archaic media.
- Flash memory/memory card (solid state semiconductor memory)
- Magnetic bubble memory
- Disk storage (flat, round, circularly spinning object)
- Optical disc like CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-ROM, DVD-R, DVD-RW, DVD+R, DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, Blue Ray
- Hard disk (magnetic)
- Floppy disk, ZIP disk (removable) (magnetic)
- Gramophone record (used for distributing some 1980s home computer programs) (mechanical)
- Tape storage (long, thin, flexible, linearly moving bands)
- Paper card storage
As of 2003, it is expected that in the
future, miniaturization might lead to the invention of storage devices that store
bits using one single
atom each (Bekenstein, 2003).
References
See also