What is it and what do we use it for?
Hard disk drives: a hard disk drive is commonly known as the ‘C drive’ on a computer. It is the most significant, and usually largest, storage device in a computer. The hard disk drive is most often where the operating system, many software titles and most other files are stored.
USB flash drives: Universal Serial Bus flash drives, commonly known as USBs, are portable hard drives that are used to store data. They are small, lightweight storage devices, with the capability of storing files including music, documents, pictures and small sized videos.
How is it a part of our multimedia world?
Hard disk drives: hard disk drives have become a part of our multimedia world, today they now have the capability of storing, not only the operating system and most software, but audio files and videos as well. If there was no such thing as a ‘C Drive’, many computers would not be able to function as they do today. As hard disk drives are essential components of a computer they have become a part of our multimedia world. This is because computers can now be used to download and play audio files and videos.
Are there different types? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?
USB flash Drives: The different types of USBs each come with their own storage capacities/memory sizes, sizes, colours and designs. Storage capacities include 2GB, 8GB, 16GB and more. The designs of USBs include colours such as red, silver, black and more, while the actual designs include food shaped flash drives, bottles, clothes, hearts and even accessories such as bracelets and rings.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| · Resistant. USBs are likely to last longer than other secondary storage devices as they are much more resistant to scratches unlike CDs and floppy disks · Convenience. USBs are compatible with almost every types of computer and laptop · files can be stored on USBs and then accessed, so long as the USB is connected, through other devices · USBs are portables and take up little space when being carried around · Come n a variety of sizes, colours and designs | · As they are small, USBs can easily be lost, forgotten or damaged · USBs can be corrupted, by things such as viruses. These viruses can then spread onto other devices that the USB has connected to. · If ejected incorrectly USBs can be damaged or the data stored on the USB can be lost · |
Hard disk drives: The four main types of hard disk drives are
· ST506. This hard disk drive was the very first of its kind for personal computers. It was created by Seagate technologies during the 1980’s. The ST506 hard disk drive had a capacity of 5MB and costed around $3000. It was the only hard disk drive available that could have supported the IBM computer.
· ESDI (Enhanced Small Device Interface). This hard disk drive was first promoted in 1983 by a company known as the Maxtor Corporation. It improved data transfer speeds as many controller functions were moved directly onto the actual hard disk drive. Due to there expensive prices and advancements affecting drive technologies, these hard disk drives became outdated fairly quickly.
· IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics).This hard disk drive first came about during the early 1990’s. The IDE drive costed much less than the past hard disk drives and was produced with much more improvements. These advancements included increased storage data as well as the support of other storage devices and hard disk drives with capacities larger than 528MB.
· SCSI (Small Computer System Interface). This hard disk drive was first introduced to the world during the mid 1970’s and is still being used today, making it one of the longest lasting forms of hard disk drives. SCIS hard disk drives are highly popular amongst network stations and high-performance work stations.
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
| · A lot of storage capacity, meaning quite a few items can be stored on Hard disk drives · It stores and opens up data much faster than most second storage devices · Data cannot be lost if computer is switched off/restarted · Hard disk drives cannot be misplaced as they are usually fixed inside the computer/laptop · Can be replaced and upgraded whenever necessary | · Hard disk drives eventually stop working. When this happens the computer will be unable to function · Dropping/smashing the computer regularly will cause damage to the surface of the hard drive disk. As a result data stored in the C drive could be lost · Hard disk drives are fixed inside of computers, this makes it extremely hard to transfer the storage device to another computer/laptop |
A simple explanation of how it works
Hard disk drives:
USBs: USBs work fairly similar to hard disk drives, in terms of the types of data that they are capable of storing. However for USBs to record processes and save data, the user must physically saved the file/document to the particular second storage device.
A rough indication of the cost of the device by itself.
Hard disk drives: most hard disk drives come within a computer already, however they can also be purchased separately. The prices of hard disk drives differ, and range from at least $95 to approximately $230.
USBs:USB prices differ depending on the brands, designs, storage capacity, etc. The price range for USBs can start as low as $1.00 and reach up to $60, and in some cases even more!
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