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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. Today it can record 185 TB of data per data cartridge. -
Hard disk
A hard disk implements rotating platters, which stores and retrieves bits of digital information from a flat magnetic surface. -
FIrst Ever Hard Drive
IBM ships the first hard drive in the RAMAC 305 system. The drive holds 5 MB of data at $10,000 a megabyte. The system is as big as two refrigerators and uses 50 24- inch platters. -
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. -
Twistor Memory
Bell Labs developed Twistor memory by wrapping magnetic tape around a wire that conducts electrical current. Bell Labs used Twistor tape between 1968 to the mid-1970s before it was totally replaced by RAM chips. -
Bubble Memory
In 1970, Andrew Bobeck invented the Bubble Memory, a thin magnetic film used to store one bit of data in small magnetized areas that look like bubbles. The development of the Twistor memory enabled him to create Bubble Memory. -
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. -
5.25" Floppy
Allan Shugart developed a the 5.25-inch floppy disk in 1976. Shugart developed a smaller floppy disk, because the 8-inch floppy was too large for standard desktop computers. The 5.25-inch floppy disk had a storage capacity of 110 kilobytes. The 5.25-inch floppy disks were a cheaper and faster alternative to its predecessor. -
USB Flash Drive
NAND-type flash memory data storage devices that connect to a computer through a USB interface. Flash drives are small and light, plus they plug and unplug from the computer easily. Most importantly, they can be written to thousands, if not millions, of times. -
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 recoring 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. -
MOD (PDF)
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. -
Zip
The Zip drive became commonly used in 1994 to store digital files. It was a removable disk storage system introduced by Iomega. -
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. -
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. -
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. -
xD-Picture Card
Olympus and Fujifilm introduced the xD-Picture Card in 2002, which are exclusively used for Olympus and Fujifilm digital cameras. -
Blu Ray (PDF)
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 (PDF)
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 Solutions
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.
