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Essay Archive - Data Storage Devices
Data Storage Devices
Even before the first computer was conceptualized, data had already been
stored on hard copy medium and used with a machine. As early as 1801, the
punched card was used as a control device for mechanical looms. One and
one-half centuries later, IBM joined punched cards to computers, encoding
binary information as patterns of small rectangular holes. Today, punch
cards are rarely used with computers. Instead, they are used for a handful
of train tickets and election ballots. Although some may find it
surprising, a computer printout is another type of hard copy medium.
Pictures, barcodes, and term papers are mod....
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