There are a number of different types of removable media devices, including floppy disks, optical disks, memory cards, magnetic tapes and paper data storage.
Floppy disks are a relatively dated, but still efficient, way of storing media on a removable device. The floppy disk was invented by IBM in the 1970s and was available in a number of sizes - the 3.5 inch floppy disk, the 5.25 inch floppy disk and the 8 inch floppy disk. The larger the floppy disk, the more information could be stored on the disk.
Floppy disks are made up of a thin piece of plastic, which meant that the disks were available in a number of different colors, and could be written on. Inside the plastic was a magnetic storage medium - it was on this medium that the data or information was stored.
While you may be unfamiliar with the term "optical disks", chances are that you will be familiar with the types of optical disks available on the market, such as CDs and DVDs. Optical disks are inserted into a computer, DVD player or other such device and are read by the optical disk drive within the device. This drive uses electromagnetic waves to read the information stored on the disk, which is then decoded and translated by the computer.
Memory cards can appear in a number of different forms, including USB sticks (sometimes known as pen drives) and FlashDrives. Memory cards are inserted into a specially designed slot on the computer, and the information on the card is transmitted directly into the computer. The small size of memory cards means that they can be used in devices such as portable games consoles and cell phones, while the memory capacity on the cards means that very large amounts of data can be stored on them.
- Floppy disks
Floppy disks are a relatively dated, but still efficient, way of storing media on a removable device. The floppy disk was invented by IBM in the 1970s and was available in a number of sizes - the 3.5 inch floppy disk, the 5.25 inch floppy disk and the 8 inch floppy disk. The larger the floppy disk, the more information could be stored on the disk.
Floppy disks are made up of a thin piece of plastic, which meant that the disks were available in a number of different colors, and could be written on. Inside the plastic was a magnetic storage medium - it was on this medium that the data or information was stored.
- Optical disks
While you may be unfamiliar with the term "optical disks", chances are that you will be familiar with the types of optical disks available on the market, such as CDs and DVDs. Optical disks are inserted into a computer, DVD player or other such device and are read by the optical disk drive within the device. This drive uses electromagnetic waves to read the information stored on the disk, which is then decoded and translated by the computer.
- Memory cards
Memory cards can appear in a number of different forms, including USB sticks (sometimes known as pen drives) and FlashDrives. Memory cards are inserted into a specially designed slot on the computer, and the information on the card is transmitted directly into the computer. The small size of memory cards means that they can be used in devices such as portable games consoles and cell phones, while the memory capacity on the cards means that very large amounts of data can be stored on them.