Data storage device

A data storage device is a device for recording (storing) information (data). Recording can be done using virtually any form of energy. People have been storing data for thousands of years, by pictures and writing. Modern storage device may hold information, process information, or both. Most often the term is used with computers. Data storage devices can permanently hold data, like files.
Electronic data storage is storage which requires electricity to store and get back that data. Most storage devices that do not require visual optics to read data fall into this category. Electronic data may be stored in either an analog or digital signal format.
Terminology
An organic brain may or may not be considered a data storage device.
All information is data. However, not all data is information.
Data storage equipment
Any input/output equipment may be considered data storage equipment if it writes to and reads from a data storage medium. Data storage equipment uses either:
portable methods (easily replaced),
semi-portable methods requiring mechanical disassembly tools and/or opening a chassis, or
inseparable methods meaning loss of memory if disconnected from the unit.
The following are examples of those methods:
Portable methods
Hand crafting
Flat surface
Printmaking
Photographic
Fabrication
Textile
Cylindrical accessing
Memory card reader/drive
Tape drive
Mono reel or reel-to-reel
Compact Cassette player/recorder
Disk accessing
Disk drive
Floppy disk
Cartridge accessing/connecting (tape/disk/circuitry)
Peripheral networking
Flash memory devices
Semi-portable methods
Hard disk drive
non-volatile RAM
Inseparable methods
Volatile RAM
Neurons
Recording medium
A recording medium is a physical material that holds data expressed in any of the existing recording formats. With electronic media, the data and the recording medium is sometimes referred to as "software" despite the more common use of the word to describe computer software.
Ancient and timeless examples
Optical
Any object visible to the eye, used to mark a location such as a, stone, flag or skull.
Any crafting material used to form shapes such as clay, wood, metal, glass, wax.
Quipu
Any branding surface that would scar under intense heat (chiefly for livestock or humans).
Any marking substance such as paint, ink or chalk.
Any item that would hold a marking substance such as, papyrus, paper, skin.
Chemical
RNA
DNA
Pheromone
Modern examples by energy used
Chemical
Dipstick
Thermodynamic
Thermometer
Photochemical
Photographic film
Mechanical
Pins and holes
Punch card
Paper tape
Music roll
Music box cylinder or disk
Grooves (See also Audio Data)
Phonograph cylinder
Gramophone record
DictaBelt (groove on plastic belt)
Capacitance Electronic Disc
Magnetic storage
Wire recording (stainless steel wire)
Magnetic tape
Drum memory (magnetic drum)
Floppy disk
Optical storage
Photo paper
X-ray
Hologram
Projected transparency
Optical disc
Magneto-optical disc
Holographic versatile disc
3D optical data storage
Electrical
Semiconductor used in volatile RAM microchips
Floating-gate transistor used in non-volatile memory cards
Modern examples by shape
A typical way to classify data storage media is to consider its shape and type of movement (or non-movement) relative to the read/write device(s) of the storage apparatus as listed:
Paper card storage
Punched card (mechanical)
Tape storage (long, thin, flexible, linearly moving bands)
Paper tape (mechanical)
Magnetic tape (a tape passing one or more read/write/erase heads)
Disk storage (flat, round, rotating object)
Gramophone record (used for distributing some 1980s home computer programs) (mechanical)
Floppy disk, ZIP disk (removable) (magnetic)
Holographic
Optical disc such as CD, DVD, Blu-ray Disc
Minidisc
Hard disk drive (magnetic)
Magnetic bubble memory
Flash memory/memory card (solid state semiconductor memory)
xD-Picture Card
MultiMediaCard
USB flash drive (also known as a "thumb drive" or "keydrive")
SmartMedia
CompactFlash I and II
Secure Digital
Sony Memory Stick (Std/Duo/PRO/MagicGate versions)
Solid-state drive
Related pages
Archive
Computer data storage
Data vault
Library
Multimedia
References
Bekenstein, Jacob D. (2003, August). Information in the holographic universe. Scientific American.
Bibliography
Other websites
Historical Notes about the Cost of Hard Drive Storage Space