IBM Systems Magazine, Power Systems Edition - April 2011 - 18

Data Display Visualizing technology I nformation, of course, has no mass. This makes it hard to visualize the difference between a kilobyte of data and two terabytes, especially since different storage media hold data in such different densities. To help, use something familiar, like a paperclip, to represent one byte of data. If a byte were a paperclip, it would weigh one gram. On the same scale, IBM’s 1971 8-inch floppy disk—with a formatted storage capacity of 79.7 KB—would have held 79.7 kilograms, the mass of 10 cats. A 16-GB thumb drive would hold 15.75 long tons, about the mass of the Japanese WWII cruiser Chokai. 18 APRIL 2011 ibmsystemsmag.com/power

IBM Systems Magazine, Power Systems Edition - April 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of IBM Systems Magazine, Power Systems Edition - April 2011