A little about data disk sizes
I was thinking after reading how Bruce likes .FLAC and have decided to make a little journal about difference in years when it comes to movable data diskettes.
All i could get my hands on for now was an old PF HDD and a newer IBM ATA HDD, an old 5.25" floppy and a new 10GB Dittomax floppy, and an Magneto-Optical disc, which was top tech than and was made before CD RW.
As we know, every day more and more transistors/data gets squeezed into even smaller spaces. Genius error correction codes and protection is made to assure it works well, but how good is it really?
On the next 2 pictures i will show you an IBM 123.5GB HDD, on the left, that was made in 2002 and on the right i will show you an 60MB HDD that was made around 1988.
The difference in data size is enormous! But, that 60MB HDD still functions perfectly even today. While the exact same IBM HDD died a few weeks ago from getting too much bad sectors.
The older data drives are much more resistant and will last much longer. Over voltage? What is that asks the 60MB HDD.
I once overclocked my AMD K6-2 550MHz by 0.6V more than it should get in the core, no problem at all, even no heating.
Next are floppies, the one on the left is an newer Omega 10GB floppy disk, and the on the right is a 160KB 5.25" floppy:
You could take the old floppy and bend it as much as you like, even trow it as a frizzby to your friend who needs it, no problem with it falling on the ground or getting hit. But if i threw this 10GB disk any kind of way it would probably get damaged a lot. Sure it has more memory, but if i accidentally threw it, or something shakes the writing head in the drive the disk would get damaged. (PS These 10GB disks are slow as HELL)
Next is an Magneto-Optical disc. These were made before the existence of CD-RW discs. They were using the newest crystal technology to achieve a rewritable function.
They were early steps in rewritable technology when it comes to Discs. This one could be used over 100 times and it had a capacity of 650MB. I even had a reader for these things, but it died a long time ago, this is the only not used MO Disc i have left.
Also, an interesting thing, Blu Ray discs would have also been cased into such boxes as the MO Disc, but because the production costs would have been larger by a great percentage they just decided to rise the reading head that is almost touching the Blu Ray disc. One kick and the disc damages the reading head. That is one bad thing about Bly Rays, but, they have invented a protective coating for the disc, so they are more or less safer to move around and store, with out the fear of them getting damaged.
Thats all i had time to find to show you, what i was aiming with this is to tell you that if you'd lived and worked with such limits as 1.5GB of data memory, or less, you start to appreciate every spare KB of space you can get.
Computers may be very advanced today, but its still up to us and how we use it that determines their working hour.