3 "Big Darn Deals"

Chapter 6--The 3 "Big Darn Deals" I found interesting in this chapter are the following:

Cloud Storage-- I have never heard of Cloud Storage until I read it in our text book. I found it interesting that my email is stored in my provider's cloud environment. I was not surprised to hear that Facebook, Google, Yahoo and a variety of others were Cloud Storage providers. I was surprised to find out that if the law needs to read a person's emails all they need to do in some cases is contact the company that owns the cloud, not the user.

Hard Disks--I have often wondered how the hard drive disk works in the computers. I did not realize that the hard disk is protected in a sealed case within the unit, which makes sense. The distance between the read/write head and platter is only two millionths of one inch. I can't even imagine what two millionths of one inch is. I am also impressed at the storage on a hard disk. According to the book one terabyte can store 285,000 pictures. I take alot of pictures so it is nice to know that my computer may have enough room to store them, until I am able to move them to a different form of storage.

Microfilm and Microfiche--Years ago, I remember transfering files to a microfiche for the college I was attending. I had assumed with our new technology of computers, that microfilms and microfisches would be obsolete. Microfilm is inexpensive, reduces paper and turns out it has the longest life expectancy listed. According to the time chart, microfilm life expectancy is 100 to 500 years, where as our optical discs have a 5 to 100 year life expectancy. This short article was pretty impressive.