Computer Data Storage Through the Ages — From Punch Cards to Blu-Ray

“IBM Punch Card
Data storage no longer grows on trees, but that hasn’t always been
the case. We have to set our DeLorean for the 18th century to
witness the birth of punch cards, which consisted of hard card
stock with punched holes to represent data. In 1881, Herman
Hollerith, who would later form IBM, designed a paper punch machine
to tabulate census date. It had taken the U.S. Census Bureau eight
years to complete the 1880 census, but thanks to Hollerith’s
invention, that time was reduced to just one year. The format
really came into its own as a data processing technology in the
1900s, and by 1937, IBM was churning out up to 10 million punch
cards each day. The paper-based storage medium remained prominent
up until the 1970s before giving way to magnetic tape.

“Paper Tape
Similar to punch cards, paper tape contained patterns of holes to
represent recorded data. But unlike its rigid counterpart, rolls of
paper tape could feed much more data in one continuous stream, and
it was incredibly cheap to boot. The same couldn’t be said for the
hardware involved. In 1966, HP introduced the 2753A Tape Punch,
which boasted a blistering fast tape pinch speed of 120 characters
per second and sold for $4,150. Yikes!

IBM Magnetic Tape
Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, and magnetic tape all rose to
prominence in the 1950s, and it was the latter that helped shape
the recording industry. Magnetic tape also changed the computing
landscape by making long-term storage of vasts amount of data
possible. A single reel of the oxide coated half-inch tape could
store as much information as 10,000 punch cards, and most commonly
came in lengths measuring anywhere from 2400 to 4800 feet. The long
length presented plenty of opportunities for tears and breaks, so
in 1952, IBM devised bulky floor standing drives that made use of
vacuum columns to buffer the nickel-plated bronze tape. This helped
prevent the media from ripping as it sped and up and slowed
down.”

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