1. Topic 4: Computers
Storing Data

2. Where Data is Stored
Data can represent anything, from characters to sounds
However, all data needs to be stored
We can commonly store data in two places
On a device we own
On the ‘cloud’
We’re going to look at how both work

3. Storing Data Locally
When storing data locally (on a device we own), we have a few options
Internally on the computer
Externally on a USB stick, hard-drive, or optical disk
No matter what, the formats of storage are the same, and can be split into three categories
Magnetic
Optical
Electrical

4. Magnetic Storage All forms of magnetic storage work off the same base
Magnetic dots
These magnetic dots can have two different polarities
For 1 and 0
These polarities can be written and read using some mechanism (like a play head)

5. Magnetic Storage There are quite a few examples of magnetic storage
Internal hard-drives
External hard-drives
Floppy disks

6. Optical Storage Optical storage works off light/visuals
A disk can contain small dark pits (burned onto it by a write head)
A dark pit represents 1
No pit represents 0
Often optical media cannot be written to twice

7. Optical Storage
Examples of optical storage include
CDs
DVDs
Blue-Rays

8. Electrical Storage Electrical storage works off of electricity
Like a computer
Certain electrical signals can be saved in transistors, even when not powered on
This is EEPROM
Examples include
Solid-State Drives
USB Flash Drives

9. Cloud Storage
If we don’t want to store our data locally, we can store it on the ‘cloud’
Colloquialism for storing data on an external server
The base idea of storing data is the same
Data is still stored on some form of magnetic or electrical storage
However, the data is stored not on our computer, but a company’s computer

10. Cloud Storage There is one big benefit of storing data on the cloud
It is accessible from anywhere with Internet access
Data is stored on a separate computer
So you don’t need access to your local computer to get that data
In modern times, in this Internet connected world, it is the preferred way of storing data

11. Cloud Storage
Lots of companies offer cloud storage solutions these days
Some even let us keep cloud-stored data synced to local-stored data
This means changes we make on our computer are automatically ‘backed up’ to an external computer