It has been more than 60 years since the birth of mechanical hard disks. In the course of these decades, the size of hard disks has become smaller and smaller, while the capacity has become larger and larger. The types and performance of hard disks have also been constantly innovating. In the last century, when the first hard drive came out, it was as big as a refrigerator and weighed about 1 ton, but now the top hard drive is only the size of a coin. So what is the development history of the hard disk? How did it shrink from a bulky size to one that fits in the palm of your hand?

In the early days of the development of storage technology, people have been using punched cards and magnetic tapes to store data. However, because these storage products use sequential access technology, it is very difficult to find certain data on the storage medium, and it often takes several hours of time.

In 1956, the world’s first mechanical hard drive was born. Technicians at IBM Labs announced the development of a product that will have a significant impact on the global computing field, that is, Random Access Method for Accounting Control (RAMAC). This commercial disk storage system is RAMAC 305, as wide as two refrigerators, is composed of 50 24-inch platters, weighs about 1 ton, and can store an “amazing” 5 million characters (5MB) at the time.

The time turned to 1980, and the size of the hard disk finally changed again. The world’s first 5.25-inch hard drive ST-506, as the first hard drive for desktops, its appearance is bound to have special significance. For many computer players in the 1980s, most of the first computer hard drives they came into contact with started at 5.25 inches. Compared with the IBM 350 RAMAC decades ago, although the capacity is the same, the volume is correspondingly much smaller.

With the continuous expansion of the notebook computer market and the rapid upgrading of handheld mobile devices such as digital cameras, MP3 players, and high-end mobile phones, people’s requirements for mobile storage devices are also getting higher and higher. Large capacity and small size have become the development trend of mobile storage devices. Today, common HDDs are only 2.5 inches in laptops, 3.5 inches in desktops, and micro hard drives can even be as small as 1 inch or less. The current mainstream storage hardware – SSD, has a 4K random read and write speed that is tens or hundreds of times higher than that of a mechanical hard drive.

It is believed that with the development of technology, there will be more and more high-quality and cost-effective products to meet the needs better. If you have any questions about choosing a storage type for your touch solutions, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us! TouchDisplays provides excellent service and outstanding devices to meet all your needs for intelligent touchscreen products. 

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As a producer with extensive industry experience, TouchDisplays develops comprehensive intelligent touch solutions. Established in 2009, TouchDisplays expands its worldwide business in manufacturing Touch All-in-one POS, Interactive Digital Signage, Touch Monitor, and Interactive Electronic Whiteboard.

With the professional R&D team, the company is devoted to offering and improving the satisfying ODM and OEM solutions, providing first-class brand and product customization services. 

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