Have you ever run of storage on your device? It’s a very real problem that could hamper both your productivity and leisure. It has become an important part of our lives that not a lot of people ever really give attention to. But, when we unfortunately stumble into the dilemma of not having enough data storage, sometimes all we could do is weep.
So, here are a few things in data storage technology that I think you should know. They can potentially save you from this difficult dilemma.
Magnetic Tape Drives
Since the age of magnetic tape drives, we've been able to physically transfer data through data banks of some sort. If you're a millennial or younger, you probably don't know what a cassette tape was. It was the first portable data transfer standard from the 1980s. Mainstream users mostly knew it as a music transfer device that you can play through cassette players. But, the standard that became the standard when it comes to computer data transfers was the floppy disk. It held, 1.44mb. By today's standards, that's a pitiful amount but back then, it was enough.
These days we have portable drives that can carry terabytes of data. It's now one of the most common ways people use to transfer and store huge amounts of information.
The general problem with magnetic tape drives is that the read and write life cycle is a bit limited. You can only transfer and read data for a certain number of times for a certain number of years.
Portable Drives
One of the most common ways of transferring data today is through external hard drives or through external SSD. I won't dive into the difference of the two because that's a new topic on its own. The general rule is that SSDs are more expensive but way faster than Hard Drives. Among the portable drives, these two have the most carrying capacity.
The only downside to both of them is that they're a bit on the clunky side of the spectrum in terms of size. The magnetic tape standard currently in use just take up so much space.
Thumb Drives
If you want a smaller medium, thumb drives are the best way to go. As the name implies, they're portable drives the size of the normal human thumb. They can also carry a huge amount of data but in terms of data storage and price ratio, these are more expensive than a straight up External Hard Disk or External SSD.
You'll usually find the 16GB-128GB thumb drives at relatively affordable prices. But, going up any more than that and portable hard drives might be the more practical route to take.
SD Cards
Another possible data transfer method is through SD Cards commonly seen in digital cameras. It's surprising that not a lot of people these days know that they can store almost all file types imaginable on these tiny little gadgets.
Smartphones
These days, smartphones have storage capacities that can rival entry level laptops. That's exactly what some manufacturers are aiming for - smartphone and laptop in one device.
So, essentially, anything you can store, read, and transfer with a laptop, you can also do the same on your smartphone.
Cloud Storage
Applications like Google Drive, Microsoft's OneDrive, and Box have become pretty popular lately. These cloud storage systems are excellent for exactly for transferring huge files.
Cloud storage works like a synced folder across all your devices through a common drive. Thus, once a file is uploaded to the designated cloud folder, it should be immediately accessible on your other devices. However, cloud storage is a bit limited. You can only access your files through the internet unless you download them directly on your computer's hard drive.
However, the problem here is that the servers get bogged down sometimes. There are also instances when they’re completely down. So if those things happen, you won’t have access to your files unless you have them downloaded to your own hard drive.
We have quite a selection of free cloud storage services but they’re usually capped. What people often do is subscribe to each one and spread out their files across all of them.
DNA
At the bleeding edge of storage technology lay DNA storage. It’s been slowly picking up steam in the tech scene since a Harvard University study led by geneticist George Church successfully transferred and stored a copy of his 53,400-word book, 11 JPG files, and a JavaScript program.
Now that the concept has been proven, what manufacturers are trying desperately to figure out is how to package it in a
cost-effective way before bringing it to market.
The excitement in the community is palpable because when the product matures, it can solve a lot of the current data management bottlenecks. It has a dense data storage capacity. The current magnetic tape standard takes up a lot of space. DNA can store more data in a microscopic scale. The lifespan of DNA should also beat magnetic tape. Current Hard Drives and SSDs are only usable for 5 years if used heavily and maybe up to 10 if used infrequently. DNA can potentially hold data for much longer.
There are various proofs of concept already done on this from small independent labs to companies as huge as Microsoft. The only problem now is cost. Sequencing DNA is already an expensive endeavor, developing and manufacturing usable casings for them is another story. So for now, this will remain as something to look forward to instead of a usable alternative.
File Compressors
File compression still won't let you transfer that 2GB movie via email. But, it can definitely make the process a whole lot easier. And, in some cases, even more efficient.
It's not the most intuitive thing at first. Shrinking files seem like you're leaving some possibly useful data out. Or, if you're transferring videos, the quality may be the first thing compromised.
The answer is quite simple, though. ZIP and RAR compression standards essentially break the files down into smaller pieces and packs them into a zipped folder. Then, at a later date, you can unpack the file into a fully readable state. In its smaller state, transferring it should be a lot faster as the smaller file size are a lot easier to move.
If you're moving huge files, it's advisable to compress them first to avoid possible data corruption.
So, here are a few things in data storage technology that I think you should know. They can potentially save you from this difficult dilemma.
Magnetic Tape Drives
Since the age of magnetic tape drives, we've been able to physically transfer data through data banks of some sort. If you're a millennial or younger, you probably don't know what a cassette tape was. It was the first portable data transfer standard from the 1980s. Mainstream users mostly knew it as a music transfer device that you can play through cassette players. But, the standard that became the standard when it comes to computer data transfers was the floppy disk. It held, 1.44mb. By today's standards, that's a pitiful amount but back then, it was enough.
These days we have portable drives that can carry terabytes of data. It's now one of the most common ways people use to transfer and store huge amounts of information.
The general problem with magnetic tape drives is that the read and write life cycle is a bit limited. You can only transfer and read data for a certain number of times for a certain number of years.
Portable Drives
One of the most common ways of transferring data today is through external hard drives or through external SSD. I won't dive into the difference of the two because that's a new topic on its own. The general rule is that SSDs are more expensive but way faster than Hard Drives. Among the portable drives, these two have the most carrying capacity.
The only downside to both of them is that they're a bit on the clunky side of the spectrum in terms of size. The magnetic tape standard currently in use just take up so much space.
Thumb Drives
If you want a smaller medium, thumb drives are the best way to go. As the name implies, they're portable drives the size of the normal human thumb. They can also carry a huge amount of data but in terms of data storage and price ratio, these are more expensive than a straight up External Hard Disk or External SSD.
You'll usually find the 16GB-128GB thumb drives at relatively affordable prices. But, going up any more than that and portable hard drives might be the more practical route to take.
SD Cards
Another possible data transfer method is through SD Cards commonly seen in digital cameras. It's surprising that not a lot of people these days know that they can store almost all file types imaginable on these tiny little gadgets.
Smartphones
These days, smartphones have storage capacities that can rival entry level laptops. That's exactly what some manufacturers are aiming for - smartphone and laptop in one device.
So, essentially, anything you can store, read, and transfer with a laptop, you can also do the same on your smartphone.
Cloud Storage
Applications like Google Drive, Microsoft's OneDrive, and Box have become pretty popular lately. These cloud storage systems are excellent for exactly for transferring huge files.
Cloud storage works like a synced folder across all your devices through a common drive. Thus, once a file is uploaded to the designated cloud folder, it should be immediately accessible on your other devices. However, cloud storage is a bit limited. You can only access your files through the internet unless you download them directly on your computer's hard drive.
However, the problem here is that the servers get bogged down sometimes. There are also instances when they’re completely down. So if those things happen, you won’t have access to your files unless you have them downloaded to your own hard drive.
We have quite a selection of free cloud storage services but they’re usually capped. What people often do is subscribe to each one and spread out their files across all of them.
DNA
At the bleeding edge of storage technology lay DNA storage. It’s been slowly picking up steam in the tech scene since a Harvard University study led by geneticist George Church successfully transferred and stored a copy of his 53,400-word book, 11 JPG files, and a JavaScript program.
Now that the concept has been proven, what manufacturers are trying desperately to figure out is how to package it in a
cost-effective way before bringing it to market.
The excitement in the community is palpable because when the product matures, it can solve a lot of the current data management bottlenecks. It has a dense data storage capacity. The current magnetic tape standard takes up a lot of space. DNA can store more data in a microscopic scale. The lifespan of DNA should also beat magnetic tape. Current Hard Drives and SSDs are only usable for 5 years if used heavily and maybe up to 10 if used infrequently. DNA can potentially hold data for much longer.
There are various proofs of concept already done on this from small independent labs to companies as huge as Microsoft. The only problem now is cost. Sequencing DNA is already an expensive endeavor, developing and manufacturing usable casings for them is another story. So for now, this will remain as something to look forward to instead of a usable alternative.
File Compressors
File compression still won't let you transfer that 2GB movie via email. But, it can definitely make the process a whole lot easier. And, in some cases, even more efficient.
It's not the most intuitive thing at first. Shrinking files seem like you're leaving some possibly useful data out. Or, if you're transferring videos, the quality may be the first thing compromised.
The answer is quite simple, though. ZIP and RAR compression standards essentially break the files down into smaller pieces and packs them into a zipped folder. Then, at a later date, you can unpack the file into a fully readable state. In its smaller state, transferring it should be a lot faster as the smaller file size are a lot easier to move.
If you're moving huge files, it's advisable to compress them first to avoid possible data corruption.