Magnetic tape
- Magnetic tape was first used for data storage in 1951.
- The tape device was called UNISERVO and was the main I/O device on the UNIVACI computer.
- The effective transfer rate for the UNISERVO was about 7,200 characters per second.
- The tapes were metal and 1200 feet long (365 meters) and therefore very heavy.
Above left:
The standard compact cassette.
Above right:
The Commodore Datasheet is sure to bring up fond memories for people who grew up in the 80's.
we can’t mention magnetic tape without also mentioning the standard compact cassette, which was a popular way of data storage for personal computers in the late 70s and 80s.
Typical data rates for compact cassettes were 2,000 bit/s. You could store about 660 kB per side on a 90-minute tape.
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