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As hard drives on new computers push past nine gigabytes of storage capacity, it seems increasingly odd that the disks many programs are supplied on still hold only 1.44 MB. With this in mind, removable storage has been all the rage lately, with more and more companies joining an ever crowded scene. With that in mind, I decided to write about the past, present, and future removable storage technologies, and which ones will likely win out.
The Past: MO Technology
Remember in the '80s when magneto-optical drives seemed to be the storage media of choice? Well, remember, because it seems MO's glory days are behind it.
Although MO has some tantalizing advantages, it is hampered by one huge disadvantage: up-front cost. Even today, MO drives are usually priced well over $1,000, a price which can buy an entire computer these days.
Still, the advantages may be worth it. After the up-front cost, MO media costs as little as three cents a megabyte, and comes in sizes all the way up to 4.6 gigabytes. Reading is near hard-disk speed, and writing is a little slower. MO media is good for backup because (if you buy it in a nonereasable format) it is durable and almost impossible to erase. Finally, MO drives, unlike other removable storage options, have built-in backward compatibility. That is, a 230-MB drive will still be able to read older 128-MB media. Try reading Zip media on a Jaz drive - you get the idea.
That said, the high up-front costs of MO technology put it out of reach of most people, but institutions may find it an interesting choice for near bulletproof backup.
The Present: Zip and the Rest of the Pack
It was simply a matter of good timing with the release of the Zip from Iomega. The 3.5-inch Zip disks hold 100 megabytes of data at 13 cents a cartridge. The Zip drive is not the fastest, the most economical, or the most portable, but it has the best combination of the three out of the removable drives currently on the market. And with 11 million installed users, the Zip is the closest you'll get to a de facto standard in removable storage.
The Zip was widespread and easy to use, but it was slow, and held less data than most removable storage solutions. Iomega's answer to that was the Jaz, a 1-GB drive based on conventional Winchester technology. It has since released a 2-GB Ultra-SCSI version.
