A data storage device is a device for recording (storing) information (data). Recording can be done using virtually any form of energy, spanning from manual muscle power in handwriting, to acoustic vibrations in phonographic recording, to electromagnetic energy modulating magnetic tape and optical discs.

A storage device may hold information, process information, or both. A device that only holds information is a recording medium. Devices that process information (data storage equipment) may either access a separate portable (removable) recording medium or a permanent component to store and retrieve information.

Electronic data storage is storage which requires electrical power to store and retrieve that data. Most storage devices that do not require vision and a brain to read data fall into this category. Electromagnetic data may be stored in either an analog or digital format on a variety of media. This type of data is considered to be electronically encoded data, whether or not it is electronically stored in a semiconductor device, for it is certain that a semiconductor device was used to record it on its medium. Most electronically processed data storage media (including some forms of computer data storage) are considered permanent (non-volatile) storage, that is, the data will remain stored when power is removed from the device. In contrast, most electronically stored information within most types of semiconductor (computer chips) microcircuits are volatile memory, for it vanishes if power is removed.

With the exception of barcodes and OCR data, electronic data storage is easier to revise and may be more cost effective than alternative methods due to smaller physical space requirements and the ease of replacing (rewriting) data on the same medium. However, the durability of methods such as printed data is still superior to that of most electronic storage media. The durability limitations may be overcome with the ease of duplicating (backing-up) electronic data.

Noun

memory (countable and uncountable; plural memories)

1. (uncountable) The ability of an organism to record information about things or events with the facility of recalling them later at will.

   Memory is a facility common to all animals.

   • (Can we date this quote?) Albert Schweitzer

     Happiness is nothing more than good health and a bad memory.

2. A record of a thing or an event stored and available for later use by the organism.

   I have no memory of that event.

3. (computing) The part of a computer that stores variable executable code or data (RAM) or unalterable executable code or default data (ROM).

   This data passes from the CPU to the memory.

4. The time within which past events can be or are remembered.

   in recent memory; in living memory

• (ability to recall): recall
• (stored record): recall, recollection
• (RAM or ROM): core (old-fashioned)

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• OptiStor Technologies
  optistortech.com
  Full service solutions provider, offering SAN and NAS solutions.
• Dicoll Tape Broker
  dicoll.co.uk
  Buys, sells and repairs data storage back up devices, both in the tape and optical markets.
• Bretanix Limited
  bretanix.co.uk
  Offers SANs, servers, NAS, data backup and rescue.

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