You may not give much thought to how your computer stores all of your photos, work files, or apps. We tend to take for granted that our data is stored somewhere for when we might need it, either immediately or a year from now. Thanks to the evolution of modern PCs, there are a variety of storage devices available today for either permanent or temporary storage.
We live in a data-driven world where more information is being stored today than ever before. Just consider the number of emails, tweets, and text messages you write each day. All of this data needs to be stored somewhere. So you might be wondering which form of storage is most suitable for your needs. Read on to learn more about the different storage devices available today.
Why Is Computer Storage Needed?
Imagine configuring your device’s settings every time you decide to use it. Without storage devices, your desktop, laptop, or smartphone would not be able to save or remember any information or applied settings. This applies to just about any electronic device, too, including tablets and smartwatches.
Without some form of storage in place, a computer would only be able to display information. A user of a store-less device would have to connect it to another device with storage capabilities in order to save anything. Even a task such as browsing the web requires loads of information to be stored on your device.
Simply stated, computer storage saves users time and effort while adding efficiency and convenience to their processes.
The Different Types of Storage Devices
Modern storage devices come in all sorts of forms. If anything, their current variety is proof of the advancements made in computing and storage technology over the past few decades. Let’s consider the three categories mentioned above and which storage device falls into each.
Magnetic Storage
This form of storage leads the list because it was for decades the most common form used in computers and other electronics. If you’re thinking of a conventional hard drive or floppy disc, then you’re in the realm of magnetic storage devices.
Remember those tape cassettes used for your old VHS machine? That is a prime example of a magnetic storage device. Also included in this category are zip discs, superdiscs, and magnetic strips.
Optical Storage
These use lasers to read and write information. They are a more common form of storage that has only recently started phasing out.
If you’re thinking of CDs, DVDs, Blu-ray Discs, and rewritable discs, you’ve hit the nail on the head. Those are prime examples of devices that use lasers to both store and relay information to their users. They make up the category of optical storage devices.
Solid-State Storage
Taking the lead in the modern day are solid-state drives. Their ease of manufacture and durability have rendered most other forms of storage obsolete.
Solid-state storage is commonly referred to as either SSD or flash memory. They are actively replacing most optical and magnetic media. Their rise to the fore can be attributed to their cheaper manufacturing costs, efficiency, and reliability of use.
You need not look too far for examples of solid-state storage devices. Think of your USB thumb drive, the memory card in your phone or camera, or the storage on your laptop.
Cloud Storage
Although not exactly a storage “device,” this form of storage needs an honorable mention. That is due to its efficiency and widening use around the world.
Information stored on the cloud is actually stored on a server, or several servers, somewhere around the world. It is their easy access and marketing that have many people believing that the information placed on the cloud is somehow just floating in the ether.
However, they might as well be, because all you would need to access cloud information is an internet connection and a compatible device.
Why So Many Storage Options?
In truth, it is getting harder to find devices that make use of older forms of storage such as magnetic storage. As mentioned before, SSDs are more common than the rest, with cloud storage following closely behind. Yet, why are there so many ways to store your computer data? The answer is technological advancements.
As computers grow more and more sophisticated, so do their related storage devices. Modern consumers crave devices with more space, faster performance, more portability, and cheaper costs. To meet these desires, manufacturers have had to innovate accordingly.
The result is the production of more effective and efficient forms of data storage. Every advancement in storage technology leads to computing devices that can store more data, saving it faster and retrieving it faster too.
Accounting for the advancements made in storage technology is incredible. To think that mere decades ago, household computers required CDs and floppy discs to store and transfer data. And with computing advancements on the rise, who knows how we will be storing our information in years to come.