Magnetic Tapes CS 3050, Spring /7/2007 Dr Melanie Martin Compiled by Dr. Megan Thomas

Magnetic Tapes News “IBM researchers set world record in magnetic tape data density” San Jose 16 May 2006 “IBM researchers have demonstrated a world record in data density on linear magnetic tape, a dramatic indication that one of the computer industry's oldest and still most affordable data storage technologies has the potential to provide increased capacity for years to come.” “... packed data onto a test tape at a density of 6.67 billion bits per square inch - more than 15 times the data density of today's most popular industry standard magnetic tape products...”

New Laws Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 Both require businesses to keep information... lots and lots of information May never use it. But need to keep it for the day those auditors come around... Tapes are 1/5 to 1/10th the cost of disk drives (And, when not in use, use no power.)

Tape library (2006). Storage tape library and tape retrieval robot at the Feynman Computer Center at Fermilab. Source: Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory Tape storage unit (1964). Input magnetic tape unit of the 473L command-and-control computer system in the Air Force Command Post at the Pentagon. Source: General Precision and National Museum of American History