Memory technologies and innovative computer designs questions and answers
Q1. What are the four key areas where change has happened relating to storage devices?
A1. Storage, speed, cost and power.
Q2. Explain what is meant by a device’s ‘access time’.
A2. This is the time that it takes to read something from the device or write something to it. Different devices have different access times.
Q3. Where does a solid state device get the power it needs to run itself?
A3. From the device it is plugged into.
Q4. What is the unit of storage when talking about computing storage devices?
A4. Byte.
Q5. What is meant by the phrase 'cost per byte'?
A5. It's how much each byte of data costs. You can compare the relative storage costs using this method and answer questions like, 'Is it cheaper to buy a device that stores 2 Gigabyes for £3.67 than a device that stores 3 Gigabytes for £4.60?'
Q6. What is an SD card?
A6. This is a solid state storage device that is about the size of a small stamp. It's often used in laptops and other devices.
Q7. What is a micro SD card?
A7. This is a smaller solid state storage device that is about a quarter of the size of a small stamp. It's often used in cameras, GPS units and phones to extend the storage.
Q8. What is meant by 'flash' storage?
A8. slash storage is any device that uses solid state technology to store data.
Q9. Why can we store more data on smaller devices now compared with 10 years ago?
A9. Technological advances have made this possible.
Q10. What are the three types of storage technology used today?
A10. Magnetic, optical and solid state.