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The zip drives, available both in internal and external models, have held ground for years. Known to be a very reliable backup storage device, the zip drives, available in 100 MB, 250 MB and even higher capacities, can easily fit into a shirt pocket. This is an excellent device for those who want to move data between two computers on a daily basis. For example, businessmen can add data on the office computer to the backup system at home every evening. The only drawback of the zip drives is that they are expensive, but the reliability more than justifies the cost. Though, zip drives earlier had the limitation of 100 MB and 250 MB capacities, Iomega Corporation has now come out with zip drives that compete with compact disks (CD). The CD has emerged as the most popular storage device of the day due to the high reliability and low cost. CDs — that come in capacities of 640 and 700 MB — cost under Rs 100. A CD is said to have a life span of 100 years. The disadvantage of a CD as a backup storage device is that firstly the CD writing equipment is expensive and involves a high initial investment. Secondly, to burn a CD with a few megabytes of data would waste the unused CD capacity. To overcome this disadvantage, manufacturers of CD writers have developed re-writable CDs (CDR) which can be used as conventional floppy disks on which data from as little as a few bytes to several megabytes can be written and re-written. The CDRs are at present a good data storage alternative. Conventional tape drives are yet another alternative available for backing up data. Tape drives are bulky and are generally used where the data is very critical and needs to be backed up in large volumes almost simultaneously as it is written. This is a good option for storage for servers and software developers. Being expensive these are not suitable for SOHOs. Also, since tape cartridges move sequentially rather than randomly, the backup and restore process from the cartridges is slower than other available alternatives. The latest in the field of data storages are the MP3 players, which were originally designed for storage of music. But these devices also allow temporary storage of other data. Though mainly used for storing digitalised audio, the MP3 systems offer excellent compression and store a CD audio title in 3-5 MB space, yet offering excellent digital quality. Creative Lab’s Nomad is one such player that offers digital storage. Though, primarily meant to be a music player, other data can be stored on such devices. Besides, in the modern age of the Internet, there are several sites on the Net itself that give you storage space free of cost. You can store data safely and securely here for as long as you want. Www.freedrive.com and www.driveway.com are two such sites, though there are several other sites of this kind on the Net. The advantage of keeping data in storage on the Net is that it can be accessed from anywhere all over the world. But the dark side is that with unreliable Internet connections in India, you may not be able to access your data when you need it the most. All these options notwithstanding, a small user will acquire only one device or at best a combination of two. This makes it imperative upon the user that he analyse his need carefully and get what suits him best. Happy storekeeping! —Tribune News Service |
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This feature was
published on December 25, 2000 |
Hard disks continue to
be the favourite primary data storage device. From a mere 10 MB in the
early 1990s, hard disks are available in capacities of gigabytes and
terabytes, with capacities increasing every day. Hard disks are a very
reliable medium, but since every computer operation — from booting to
storing — involves their use, they become vulnerable to virus attacks,
apart from wear and tear that leads to crashes. One virus attack can
corrupt or damage data stored over months or even years. Hence, the need
for other storage devices to back up data.