Computer data storage
hideComputer data storage, often called storage or memory, refers to computer components, devices, and recording media that retain digital data used for computing for some interval of time. Computer data storage provides one of the core functions of the modern computer, that of information retention. It is one of the fundamental components of all modern computers, and coupled with a central processing unit (CPU, a processor), implements the basic computer model used since the 1940s.
In contemporary usage, memory usually refers to a form of semiconductor storage known as random access memory (RAM) and sometimes other forms of fast but temporary storage. Similarly, storage today more commonly refers to mass storage - optical discs, forms of magnetic storage like hard disks, and other types slower than RAM, but of a more permanent nature. Historically, memory and storage were respectively called primary storage and secondary storage.
The contemporary distinctions are helpful, because they are also fundamental to the architecture of computers in general. The distinctions also reflect an important and significant technical difference between memory and mass storage devices, which has been blurred by the historical usage of the term storage. Nevertheless, this article uses the traditional nomenclature.
For more information about Computer data storage, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with memory device
Intel Reports Breakthrough in Stacked, Cross Point Phase Change Memory Technology
Oct 29, 2009 |
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Intel Corp. and Numonyx today announced a key breakthrough in the research of phase change memory (PCM), a new non-volatile memory technology that combines many of the benefits of today's various memory types.
A Billion Year Ultra-Dense Memory Chip (w/Video)
Jun 04, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Berkeley Lab researchers have created a unique ultra-high density memory storage medium that can preserve digital data for a billion years.
Flexible memristor: Memory with a twist (w/Video)
Jun 02, 2009 |
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Electronic memory chips may soon gain the ability to bend and twist as a result of work by engineers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. As reported in the July 2009 issue of IEEE Electron Device Letters,* the en ...
New memory material may hold data for one billion years
Nanotechnology / Nanomaterials
May 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Packing more digital images, music, and other data onto silicon chips in USB drives and smart phones is like squeezing more strawberries into the same size supermarket carton. The denser you ...
Fujitsu Develops Secure USB Memory Device Featuring Automatic Data-Erase Function
Apr 17, 2009 |
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Fujitsu Laboratories today announced the development of two new technologies designed to prevent the unwanted disclosure of data from lost universal serial bus (USB) memory devices and prevent uploads to file-sharing ...
New, Unusual Semiconductor is a Switch-Hitter
Jan 30, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- A research group in Germany has discovered a semiconducting material that can switch its semiconducting properties -- turning from one type of semiconductor to another -- via a simple change in temperature. ...
Hitachi Unveils Digital Signatures on Stand-Alone Memory Chips
Sep 25, 2008 |
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Hitachi announced today the development of a mechanism for attesting the authenticity of memory chips using highly secure digital signatures in a worldwide breakthrough. Since the mechanism requires neither a CPU nor a computational ...
