Removable storage devices have been around for many years, dating as far back as the early 1800's. Over the years there have been many different kinds available to the market. Some of the storage devices lived longer than others and many are still being used today. Some died out before they even got started.
One of the first removable storage devices was punch paper tape used in early computers as early as 1944. Punch paper tape was used for around 30 years for data that was input into the computer and output from the computer. Although punch paper tape was used on the earliest computers the punch card started back in the 1800's. First used to total Census data they turned into storing input and output data on computers.
The fifties brought the data on tape. The data on tape looks like a big movie real used in the theaters. The tape is thin strips of plastic that is coated with magnetically sensitive substance. The computers could read and write to the tape using electronic heads embedded on a tape drive.
IBM that started back in the punch card days came up with the first removable disks in the sixties. These removable disks had 14 inch disk that are in an interchangeable disk pack of six disks. These look like today's hard drives on the inside but the outside is round instead of rectangle. The sixties also brought the tape cartridges. Tape cartridges are like cassette tape of the eighties just a little bigger. Taking the big theater reels and downsizing them into a much small enclosed case.
Again IBM comes up with another removable storage disk in the seventies. The floppy Diskette started out as an 8 inch disk going down to a 5.25 inch. Then Sony came along with an even smaller disk of 3.5. All three disks were made of magnetic material coating a disk in a plastic sheath. These were not the only floppies. In the eighties there was a run on floppy experiments. Some of them were 3 inch and 2 inch floppies. None of them could compete with the 5.25 or the 3.5 inch disks.
The compact cassette was developed by Philips in the seventies. It was great for audio but went nowhere for the data storage. The ROM cartridge hit the market in the early eighties for Lotus 1-2-3 used on the IBM PCjr. These read only memories were smaller versions of the 8-Track tape. They were short lived due to the cost.
Before we left the eighties Sony and Philips developed the CD-ROM. They did not stop there. They came up with a CD-ROM that could record. They figured out a way to take a plastic disc with reflective molded pits and make it so anyone could record to it. First with CD-ROM you had software at your fingertips to load onto your computer. Then with the CD-R you could output data from your computer to the disc.
It was in the eighties that Iomega introduced the Zip drive. The zip drive was similar to the floppy disk but had more memory. You could add 100MB onto the zip drive reformat and start again. This allowed the zip drive to last through the nineties. That was until the CD-RW evolved from the CD-R. If you made a mistake or decided you did not need the data, no problem, they came out with the CD-RW that you could rewrite data to over and over. Holding data of excess of 650MB the Zip drive faded away. With the small record like discs that could store data, audio, and video this pretty much finished out the floppy disk and along with it the Zip drive. Iomega tried hanging in there coming out with the Jaz drive but to no avail. Taking the CD a step further in the nineties and two thousands brought about the DVD. From there, you guessed it, the Blu-ray.
The eighties and nineties were booming with new removable storage devices. In the mist of the Zips, the Jaz drives and all the CD's and DVD's Toshiba stepped up to the plate. They brought with them the multimedia card with flash memory. All different sizes of flash cards that did not have any movable parts flooded up on the market. Toshiba may have started the trend but any one and every one jumped on the wagon. Companies like Sony, San Disk, Fuji Film and more kept pushing the envelope on the storage capacity.
USB arrived in the late nineties. With plug-and-play it makes it very convenient to use USB-powered hard drives. For the USB there are many different types of removable storage devices. The thumb drive, the pen drive, and the USB key are a few. Using the USB gives you the ability to use the external hard drive too.
Hot swap can be used for another type of removable storage device. Hot swap is an independent hard drive that can be removed and replaced without affecting the computer. They could be SCSI or IDE hard drives.
These are some of the removable storage devices that have been used over the years. The question is why have all the different types of removable storage devices that have been created over the years? Some of the removable storage devices improved the technology while some removable storage devices have faded into the past. Some removable storage devices never even really got started in the market. Some removable storage devices are pretty much the same as the day they came to market. Why do we even need removable storage devices? There are many reasons to answer that question.
One very important reason would be backing up the computer system. This should be done often. If the computer crashes the user could lose everything. If the user has all their important data on a removable storage device they will not lose the data. A second reason would be the ease of software use. Using commercial software on a storage device allows the user to load the software easily. If there is a problem or error in the computer with the software it can be fixed or reloaded using the removable device. A third reason would be to secure information. If someone else has access to the user's computer then storing the data on a removable storage device instead of on the computer keeps them from accessing the data. Another security reason would be not storing the information on the computer and hackers would have a very hard time getting their hands on the information. A fourth reason would be to move data from one computer to another. Data could be copied from one computer onto a removable storage device and inserted into another computer. Or data could be copied onto a removable storage device and given to another person. A fifth reason would be to move data to a removable storage device that does not need to be accessed very often. The user could even put software that is not needed often on removable storage device. This also accomplishes saving space on the hard drive which helps with the performance of the computer.
With all the removable storage devices out there for computer users to use comes a reason for companies to beware of the removable media. Steps have to be taken to protect business information. Controlling who has access to storage device connection by limiting disc drives and USB ports. This would keep employees from copying confidential information not meant for outside eyes. Employees can also infect the system with viruses when using an infected device in the company's computer. Controlling access would help prevent infections.
Which removable storage device should the computer user use? It depends on what the user is wanting to store. How big is the data? How much they want to spend? What is their personal preference? The removable storage has a wide range in capacity, ranging from 1.44MB up to 120GB. The bigger the capacity normally the more it costs.
Where will the removable storage devices go next? Do not count the Internet out. The Internet has given companies access to store data for computer users. The Internet takes the need away from having to use removable storage to copy from one computer to another. The internet has also taken the need for removable storage to copy and give to someone else.
