Today, some people take computer memory for granted. Not many people understand that memory is a very useful and important part of our computer. Computer storage enables it to run more efficiently. For instance, if you had very little memory in your computer, it would run much slower. The amount of memory can affect the speed of your computer. Computer storage is much more important than you think. Computers could not even run without storage. The computer is in fact completely useless without memory. Our computers contain fifty to one hundred fifty gigabytes of memory. We, of course had much less computer storage before than we have today. A long time ago computer memory was started using punched tape and paper which was not very efficient and sometimes got stuck in the computer drive. Next we moved on to floppy disks with magnetic tape which contained about one megabyte of computer storage memory. Today, we use many different types of memory. For example, we use CD's, DVD's, USB flash drives, memory sticks, SD cards MicroSD cards and more.
Just like the area and the perimeter of a shape, computers also have their own units of storage memory. A bit is the smallest unit of computer memory. Eight bits equal a byte. It consists of a zero or a one. Bits are only used in encryptions like a password. One thousand, twenty four bits equal a kilobit. One kilobit also equals to one hundred, twenty eight bytes (bites). Next is a megabyte. Some memory sticks contain two hundred fifty six to five hundred twelve megabytes. Then it moves on to gigabytes. A megabyte equals one million, forty eight thousand, five hundred seventy six bytes. A gigabyte is what most people use today. It is a great amount of memory. Today's portable memory devices contain about one to two hundred fifty gigabytes of storage memory. One thousand, twenty four megabytes equal a gigabyte. The largest unit of memory is a terabyte which is one thousand, twenty four gigabytes. Terabytes are only used in computer servers.
Computer storage has come a long way since it was first invented. We have learned to minimize our technology so it becomes more portable and holds larger amounts of storage capacity at affordable prices. For instance, USB flash drives are smaller than before and they can hold much more amounts of memory. They are also more reliable compared to hard drives because they contain no moving parts. The hard drives in the past were physically much larger than today's hard drives. The flash drives were also larger and bulkier in size so they weren't as portable. Computer storage technology has improved a lot since the early 40's when only punched tape & paper was available. Now you can get portable hard drives that contain one hundred twenty to two hundred fifty gigabytes that you can hook up to your computer with just a USB cable so you will not need to plug in an external power source. Computer storage plays a very critical role in our computers today.
