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Magnetic Tape
Fritz Pfleumer, a German engineer, patented magnetic tape in 1928. He based his invention off Vlademar Poulsen's magnetic wire. -
Magentic Drum
G. Taushek, an Austrian innovator, invented the magnetic drum in 1932. He based his invention off a discovery credited to Fritz Pfleumer. -
Williams Tube
Professor Fredrick C. Williams and his colleagues developed the first random access computer memory at the University of Manchester located in the United Kingdom. He used a series of electrostatic cathode-ray tubes for digital storage. A storage of 1024 bits of information was successfully implemented in 1948 -
Magnetic Core
A magnetic core memory, also known as a ferrite-core memory, uses small magnetic rings made of ceramic to store information from the polarity to the magnetic field it contains. -
Hard Disk
A hard disk implements rotating platters, which stores and retrieves bits of digital information from a flat magnetic surface. -
Music Tape
Philips introduced the compact audio cassette in 1963. Philips originally intended to use the audio cassette for dictation machines; however, it became a popular method for distributing prerecorded music. In 1979, Sony's Walkman helped transformed the use of the audio cassette tape, which became widely used and popular. -
DRAM (PDF)
In 1966, Robert H. Dennard invented DRAM cells. Dynamic Random Access Memory technology (DRAM), or memory cells that contained one transistor. DRAM cells store bits of information as an electrical charge in a circuit. DRAM cells increased overall memory density. -
8" Floppy
IBM started its development of an inexpensive system geared towards loading microcode into the System/370 mainframes. As a result, the 8-inch floppy emerged. A floppy disk, a portable storage device made of magnetic film encased in plastic, made it easier and faster to store data. -
CD
During the 1960s, James T. Russel thought of using light to record and replay music. As a result, he invented the optical digital television recording and playback television in 1970; however, nobody took to his invention. In 1975, Philips representatives visited Russel at his lab. They paid Russel millions for him to develop the compact disc (CD). In 1980, Russel completed the project and presented it to Sony. -
3.5" Floppy
The 3.5-inch floppy disk had significant advantages over its predecessors. It had a rigid metal cover that made it harder to damage the magnetic film inside. -
CD ROM
The CD-ROM, also known as the Compact Disk Read-Only Memory, used the same physical format as the audio compact disks to store digital data. The CD-ROM encodes tiny pits of digital data into the lower surface of the plastic disc, which allowed for larger amounts of data to be stored. -
DAT
In 1987, Sony introduced the Digital Audio Tape (DAT), a signal recording and playback machine. It resembled the audio cassette tape on the surface with a 4 millimeter magnetic tape enclosed into a protective shell. -
MOD
The Magneto-Optical disc emerged onto the information technology field in 1990. This optical disc format used a combination of optical and magnetic technologies to store and retrieve digital data. A special magneto-optical drive is necessary to retrieve the data stored on these 3.5 to 5.25-inch discs. -
MiniDisc
The MiniDisk stored any kind of digital data; however, it was predominately used for audio. Sony introduced MiniDisk technology in 1991. In 1992, Philip's introduced the Diigtal Compact Cassette System (DCC). MiniDisk was intended to replace the audio cassette tape before it eventually phased out in 1996. -
Compact Flash
CompactFlash (CF), also known as “flash drives,” used flash memory in an enclosed disc to save digital data. CF devices are used in digital cameras and computers to store digital information. -
DVD
DVD became the next generation of digital disc storage. DVD, a bigger and faster alternative to the compact disc, serves to store multimedia data. -
CD-RW
The Compact Disc Rewritable disc, a rewritable version of the CD-ROM, allows users to record digital data over previous data. -
Multimedia Card
The Multimedia Card (MMC) uses a flash memory card standard to house digital data. It was introduced by Siemen's and SanDisk in 1997. -
Microdrive
A USB Flash Drive uses a NAND-type flash memory to store digital data. A USB Flash Drive plugs into the USP interface on standard computers. -
SD Card
The Secure Digital (SD) flash memory format incorporates DRM encryption features that allow for faster file transfers. Standard SD cards measure 32 millimeters by 32 millimeters by 2.1 millimeters. A typical SD card stores digital media for a portable device. -
Blu-Ray
Blu-Ray is the next generation of optical disc format used to store high definition video (HD) and high density storage. Blu-Ray received its name for the blue laser that allows it to store more data than a standard DVD. Its competitor is HD-DVD. -
WMV-HD
The Windows Media High Definition Video (WMV-HD) references high definition videos encoded with Microsoft Media Video nine codecs. WMV-D is compatible for computer systems running Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP. In addition, WMV-D is compatible with Xbox-360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. -
HD-DVD
High-Density Digital Versatile Disc (HD-DVD), a digital optical media format, uses the same disc size as Blu-Ray. It is promoted by Toshiba, NEC, and Sanyo. -
Holographic
The future of computer memory resides in holographic technology. Holographic memory can store digital data at high density inside crystals and photo-polymers. The advantage of holographic memory lies in its ability to store a volume of recording media, instead of just on the surface of discs. In addition, it enables a 3D aspect that allows a phenomenon known as Bragg volume to occur. -
Cloud Backup
Zetta’s cloud enables businesses to protect data using backup, recover from a disaster, and archive unused files using only a lightweight sofware client and Zetta’s bi-coastal datacenters. As storage hardware and internet bandwidth continue to develop, so will Zetta's performance.
