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Geekworld: Memory storage devices
There was a time when the floppy drive was a must-have piece of hardware for any computer. This was when the price of the drive used to make a substantial difference in the price of the machine. This was also when not having one meant that your computer, no matter how great in performance, was relegated to the position of a glorified electronic typewriter.
Those days are now over. Ever since the full utility of the personal computer has been realized, information storage and retrieval has become the mainstay of using a computer. After all, this was why the computer was invented in the first place.
Many types of devices have been used over the years to store data. However, as with all things technological, the physical dimensions of these devices have shrunk while the data storage capacity has increased many times. From the first known storage device — the punch card — to today’s ubiquitous USB drives or memory sticks, the process of data storage and retrieval has evolved through the various tiers of measurability to the present gigabyte age.
These days, the most common data storage device — not counting the ones that are permanently installed, like the hard disk — is the memory stick. The stick has effectively replaced the 3.5-inch floppy disk as the preferred medium of temporary memory, taking over what was once thought irreplaceable or, as some would like to remember, unreliable.
The unreliability of the floppy disk had almost become legendary, resulting in delays or missed deadlines. And yet, because there was no better alternative, the disk ruled the data storage world for more than a decade.
But now things have changed and the floppy disk is on its way out. This has presented computer assemblers in Pakistan with a dilemma; should they include a diskette drive in their computers or not?
Expressing his views over the issue, a local computer dealer Adnan said: “The diskette drive is not costing more than Rs200 at the moment. So removing it from the system is not making much of a difference.”
Most people going for a brand new computer that costs as low as Rs13,000 these days opt for the diskette because somehow the computer doesn’t look nice without it. This, says Adnan, will change in a year or two. And that is where the memory stick is likely to come into play.
At the moment a memory stick having a capacity of 128MB is worth Rs900. Add Rs400 and you will get a memory stick that can carry 256MB of data. The virtue of having a memory stick is that you don’t need any separate equipment to ready it.
Unlike the floppy disk or the CD-R, the memory stick is good for the USB port that comes built-in with every computer. And best of all, no pesky driver needs to be installed to get the memory stick running. It’s just a question of plugging in and using it.
As Adnan said: “The memory stick has really come in handy for a lot of people who want to go about their work no matter what. In fact, this will be the next revolution where you will carry loads of data in your pocket. Data will not be lost even if the stick is misplaced. Hence, there will be no need to take extra precautionary measures. It is ready to be used for a long, long time.”
Adnan added that the latest trends vis-a-vis memory devices had even given birth to MP3 players that sounded like memory sticks. “It is quite ingenious,” he remarked.
The next thing to look forward to is the 1GB memory stick. The need to transfer files, particularly large graphical ones, has brought about this need. Earlier, transporting large files required what was known as the Zip drive. In an age when the diskette could carry a little over a megabyte’s worth of data, Zip represented a revolutionary solution by providing 100MB worth of space.
Before we could be accustomed to the miracles of the Zip drive, however, there came the Jaz drive which could hold an unheard of 1GB of data. But the downside to both Zip and Jaz was that they required separate hardware to operate them.
A solution to the entire data transfer process was the portable hard disk. Plug it in, write the files on it and then whisk the bulk, weighty and fragile disk across the town to the publisher, where he would attach a few cables to read the files.
The Zip and Jaz drives could not last for long, since before they could truly come into their elements, the CD made its mark everywhere. Capable of holding 700MB of data and with no unnecessary strings attached, the CD has made life easier for a lot of people.
For advertisement agencies and many other business concerns, transferring files after recording it on a CD is the best possible solution so far. The option is also quite popular for a cost-conscious market like Pakistan’s where the varied needs of a consumer have to be met with his financial strength.
A blank CD costs Rs10 per piece while the needed CD-Recordable drive, that also plays the CD and the DVD format optical discs is now available for as low as Rs2,500. Therefore, the CD, as some like to say, killed the Zip!
However, already we see the CD facing a tough competition from the memory stick. At the same time, other than being of mass-scale use for the likes of advertising agencies, the USB has proved to a potent replacement for the floppy disk. Though it is true that the stick is easier to use and very convenient to handle, but presenting a CD in a plastic case and a sticker is still regarded as a dignified form of presentation by many.
Interestingly, there is another form of storage that is very commonly used by all of us. We just don’t realize that we are using it — the internet. Just think about it. When was the last time you cleaned your web-based e-mail’s inbox?
Thanks to the seemingly endless capacity of the mail boxes — from 1GB to 2Gb — most of us are now more relaxed, or lazy, about cleaning our inboxes. And that is because there is always some important file or the other that we feel will be of use in the future.
Unfortunately, these massive mailboxes have yet to be fully utilized because of our poor internet connectivity. Otherwise, transferring heavy multi-megabyte files would have been a blast.
So for the moment, let’s stick to the memory stick. It is still the most reliable of storage devices around.
The writer is a freelance contributor
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