1.3 Input, Output & Storage Flashcards
What are some examples of input devices?
keyboard
mouse
webcam
magnetic stripe reader (card reader)
barcode reader
What are some examples of output devices?
speakers
monitors
printers
headphones
What are 3 categories of storage?
optical
magnetic
flash/solid state
What is optical storage?
Storage that is read from and written to using lasers. Recessed areas called PITS scatter light to represent 0. Flat portions called LANDS reflect light to represent 1.
What are 3 types of optical storage?
CDs
DVDs
blu-ray discs
What does CD stand for and what do they typically store?
compact discs used for storing songs, images and text
What are the advantages of CDs?
small/thin/light - portable
cheap
What are the disadvantages of CDs?
very low capacity
easily damaged by scratches
slow read/write speeds
What is the difference between DVDs and CDs?
DVDs have higher storage capacities so they are typically used for storing videos/movies.
What is the advantage of blu-ray?
Good for high resolution films as has up to 5 times the storage space of traditional DVDs.
What is magnetic storage?
Devices that represent binary information using 2 magnetic states: polarised and unpolarised (1 and 0).
Polarised magnetic material contains aligned magnetic poles whereas unpolarised material has poles pointing in scattered directions.
What are 3 types of magnetic storage?
hard disk drives
magnetic tape
floppy disk
What are the advantages of HDDs?
high capacities
cheap per gb
What are the disadvantages of HDDs?
slower read/write speeds than solid state storage
less portable
easily damaged because of moving parts
What are the advantages of magnetic tape?
high storage capacity
durable
cheap per gb
What are the disadvantages of magnetic tape?
slower access speeds
only accessed sequentially
heavy
noisy
sensitive to physical damage
What is magnetic tape used for?
audio files
video files
What are the advantages of floppy disks?
very small
portable
cheap
good for storing text documents
What are the disadvantages of floppy disks?
lack of durability
low capacity
What are the 2 main flash storage devices?
solid state drives
USB sticks
What are the advantages of USB sticks?
fast read/write
reliable
portable
good price
What are the disadvantages of USB sticks?
easy to lose
low capacity
What are the advantages of SSDs?
light and portable
can have high capacities
no moving parts - durable
fast read/write speeds
reliable
What is the main disadvantage of SSDs?
more expensive per gb than HDD
What is the difference between secondary storage and RAM
Secondary storage is non-volatile so it retains its content without power.
RAM is volatile so it can’t retain its content without power.
What are the 2 types of memory?
RAM random access memory
ROM read only memory
What is the purpose of RAM?
Temporarily stores data and programs that are currently in use.
What is the purpose of ROM?
Stores fixed sequences of instructions such as a computer’s bootstrap routine. (startup program)
What is virtual storage?
Storing information remotely so that it can be accessed by any computer on the system over the internet or in a network.
Which is volatile and which isn’t out of RAM and ROM?
ROM is non volatile like secondary storage whereas RAM is volatile.
What are 2 examples of virtual storage?
Cloud storage services like google drive
Networked storage used for offices and schools
What are the advantages of virtual storage?
don’t need to buy hard drives for each computer
convenient to access and share files
What are the disadvantages of virtual storage?
high cost of cloud storage warehouses
performance limited by user’s network speed
