3 Answer the following questions.

1. When is it necessary to use a storage device?

2. What 3 categories are storage devices divided into?

3. What storage devices are referred to magnetic ones?

4. What optical storage devices do you know?

5. What can disk damage be caused by?

6. What factors have to be taken into account when comparing storage devices?

Supplementary Reading

In electronics, a multi-level cell (MLC) is a memory element capable of storing more than a single bit of information. MLC NAND flash is a flash memory technology using multiple levels per cell to allow more bits to be stored as opposed to SLC NAND flash technologies, which uses a single level per cell. Currently, most MLC NAND stores four states per cell, so the four states yield two bits of information per cell. This reduces the amount of margin separating the states and results in the possibility of more errors. Multi-level cells which are designed for low error rates are sometimes called enterprise MLC (eMLC).

Flash memory stores data in individual memory cells, which are made of floating-gate transistors. Traditionally, one bit of data was stored in each cell in so-called single-level cells, or SLC flash memory. SLC memory has the advantage of faster write speeds, lower power consumption and higher cell endurance. However, because it stores less data per cell, it costs more per megabyte of storage to manufacture. Due to faster transfer speeds and longer life, SLC flash technology is used in high-performance memory cards.

TEST 5

Match each word from column A (1-35) with its partner from column B (a-ii) to make a computing term definition from Basic English for Computing Units 7-8

A	B
1 printer	a) a material used for storing programs and data
2 dot-matrix printer	b) a device that supplies motive power for some other device with moving parts
3 refresh rate	c) a rigid non-removable magnetic disk with a large data storage capacity
4 laser printer	d) the distance between the holes or slots in the filter screen inside a monitor
5 dot pitch	e) a printer that prints by spraying ink onto paper
6 aperture grill pitch	f) A printer that prints using toner powder and laser light on a photosensitive drum
7 inkjet printer	g) the distance between the dots on a monitor screen
8 resolution	h) a storage device for reading from and writing to a disk
9 dye sublimation printer	i) a common output device used for printing the output of a computer on paper
10 floppy disk drive	j) a DVD used in a computer for displaying data. It is used as a read-only optical memory device for a computer system.
11 read/write heads	k) a printer that prints by hammering pins onto an inked ribbon
12 sealed case	l) a storage device in the form of a disk that uses laser light to store data
13 magneto-optical disk	m) to store a copy of data on a storage device to keep it save
14 DVD-ROM	n) a measure of the quality of a display screen in terms of the amount of graphical information that can be shown on the screen. This partly depends on the number of dots which make up the image
15 floppy disk	o) a thermo-graphic type of a printer with dye sublimation under high temperatures
16 fixed hard disk	p) a removable magnetic storage device in the form of a plastic disk that can hold about 712 kilobytes of data
17 high density floppy disk	q) a storage device that uses a combination of magnetism and laser light to store data
18 removable hard disk	r) produced using the technology that doesn’t provide internal expansion slots available for final users
19 double density floppy disk	s) the mechanism inside a disk or tape drive that is used for reading from and writing to the storage media
20 drive motor	t) a magnetic storage device in the form of a small plastic disk (also known as a diskette)
21 magnetic tape	u) having no variation in the brightness of the display of a monitor screen
22 hard disk drive	v) a common magnetic storage device that reads and writes data on metal disks inside a sealed case
23 run	w) a magnetic storage medium in the form of a thin plastic ribbon wound on a reel or a cassette. It is commonly used for backing up data
24 workstation	x) a computer program or data stored on a storage device
25 flicker-free	y) a disk that can easily be moved from its place or position
26 flowchart	z) a system of getting access to any location in a storage area in any order
27 output	aa) the frequency at which the image is re-drawn on a display screen
28 file	bb) a small unit of storage capacity/one of the eight binary digits that make up a byte. The term comes from an abbreviation of binary digits
29 back up	cc) a common magnetic storage device that reads and writes data on a floppy disk
30 disk drive	dd) to execute a program, i.e.to get a program to process the data
31 bit	ee) a removable magnetic storage device in the form of a plastic disk that can hold about 1.4 megabytes of data, i.e. twice as much as a double density floppy disk
32 optical disk	ff) can only be read from and not written to
33 random access	gg) a desk area used for working with a computer system
34 storage medium	hh) a kind of diagram used by programmers to show the logical steps in a program
35 read-only	ii) data brought out of a system/to bring data out of a system

UNIT 9