I've used every storage format in this video. This tape was quite a trip! We had an IBM mainframe in college. Software and data were stored on punch cards. Big programs and data required boxes of cards. My first year in semiconductor manufacturing, one of the oldest platforms on the test floor used paper tape. They rolled the programs up like a roll of stamps, pretty cool. There were also systems using a format that was very similar to a cassette tape and a that needed frequent service. The "more modern" test equipment used MAG tape for storage. It was the most reliable format but not perfect, the tape would screw up or tape reader needed cleaning too often. PIA.
I've used every storage format in this video. This tape was quite a trip!
We had an IBM mainframe in college. Software and data were stored on punch cards. Big programs and data required boxes of cards. My first year in semiconductor manufacturing, one of the oldest platforms on the test floor used paper tape. They rolled the programs up like a roll of stamps, pretty cool. There were also systems using a format that was very similar to a cassette tape and a [Dicom](https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_dicomDicomTapeSystemOperationandInterface197002_3768318/page/n11/mode/2up) that needed frequent service. The "more modern" test equipment used MAG tape for storage. It was the most reliable format but not perfect, the tape would screw up or tape reader needed cleaning too often. PIA.
(post is archived)