New answers tagged storage
0
You could use cassette. GWBASIC still supports the cas: device.
In essence, its output was as in a modem, but the thing was recorded onto ordinary cassettes. The files were stored sequentially, so you had to wait for the tape to go through.
Then floppy disks came along, and you could store stuff on that, using microsoft's innovative fat5 (6.2 names).
39
In practice, 5.25" drives equalled or exceeded the capacity of 8"
drives when 5.25" floppy drives started using HD media.
The Evolution of 5.25" Drive Systems
There are only two different recording media that were ever
commonly used in floppy drives: the original media (often called "DD") and
the later HD media. Note that when ...
2
In contrast to the answers posted earlier, I will disagree:
There is no technical reason they did not use Bell 103, it was purely an issue of timing and history.
To start with, there is much verbiage in previous posts about having two channels and this means... something. However, both standards are FSK, so technically a tape is nothing more than one half of ...
4
In 1977, the available 8" formats were SSSD at ~250 kB, DSSD at 500 and DSDD at 1 to 1.2 MB.
The first 1976 5.25" was 98 but quickly moved to 113 in a SSDD. The Apple II used these same mechanisms but increased storage to 140. Tandon introduced a DSDD format in 1978 at 360 kB. This ultimately topped out at 720 in later models.
So 8" was larger ...
9
TL;DR:
Three reasons:
A cassette interface only needs to fit a single transmission channel at a time, while a modem needs to hold two.
Cassette tape is made for a different (broader) frequency range than the phone network.
It's all about easy separation of whatever signals are present and suppressing everything else.
Number of Channels
A cassette ...
19
They are different because they are meant for different use cases so they both work well for what they are meant for. One is suitable for real time data transmission between two distant equipment over phone lines or radio or similar, and the other is suitable for storing data on cheap cassette tapes.
It would be useful to use the tape interface as the modem, ...
5
Modems were made to transfer data over a distance measured in kilometers.
Cassette interfaces were made to transfer the data a couple of meters at most.
Modems were made for industrial use. Robustness (of data and equipment) was a key factor. Price wasn't so much.
Cassette interfaces were made for home use. Price was the main factor. Robustness was made as ...
5
The cheapest ways for storage of data are the ones that are high-volume, off-the-shelf products that are not specifically produced for the computer market - and operate on high-volume consumer electronics. The compact cassette player (a cheap consumer device, not an expensive specialized computer manufacturer product) that could be had for less than $20. The ...
6
The cheapest mechanism was paper. The storage method was printing it out. The entry method was typing it in. This is a tried and true technique that flourished into the 90s and is arguably still used today, save it's now known better as "cut and paste".
Most every type of mechanic was used in the past to widely distribute software and data, paper ...
6
Punch cards were the cheapest storage medium for small data sets. Remote Job Entry terminals such as used by Control Data Corporation included a card reader and line printer. The initial member list for 3PBS-FM was stored on punch cards then membership lists could be produced by printing the deck at no cost. Cards could be punched at no cost. So Punch Cards ...
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