Revision Notes

Storage devices

Bits (Binary Integers)

Magnetic Storage

Magnetic storage media is one of the most common forms. It works by altering
the level of magnetisation in a different region of the storage device in order to
represent the data it is storing.

How does a Magnetic Storage work?

It works by having a spindle of magnetic plates know as a platter. These

platters are split into billions of tiny areas that can be magnetised or
demagnetised to represent the 1’s and o’s that computer store data in. The
platter can spin and are read or written to as they pass by the read/written
heads.

Advantages

 They offer huge storage capacity.

 It is cheap.

Disadvantages

 They can be fragile though and won’t stand up too long many knocks
and bangs.
 They are also much slower to read from and write to.
Optical Storage Media

Optical storage media is a form of storage that is usually used for its
portability. Common types include CDs (fixed storage size of approx.700Mb),
DVDs (fixed storage size approx. 5 – 10 GB) and Blue-Ray Disk. Data is stored
on the disks by making the disk surface using a laser. This is known as
“burning”.

Advantages

 Easily portable as disks can be transferred between the drives of

different computers.

Disadvantages

 Storage capacity is low compared to others forms of storage

 Read/write speeds are slow

Solid State Media

 SSD – (Solid State Drive) – e.g. hard drive in a PC – can be internal or

external and is small and compact thin.
 SD cards – e.g. a memory card in a digital camera
 USB memory stick – Portable storage device

Automated Systems

An automated system is a system that can complete task without human

intervention. They are popular for manufacturing & construction tasks because
they are:

 Fast
 Safe
 Accurate

Hardware & Software

Automated systems don’t just reply on hardware like robots for construction,
they need software too. For example, on a production line:

 CAM software gives instructions to machinery for building a product.

 Machinery puts together components to construct the product.

Data Capture Devices

Automated Systems will often rely on specialist input device for capturing data
that you wouldn’t normally use on a home computer system.

Magnetic Strip Reader

Magnetic strip readers will read the strip on a card, such as credit card. The
strip is known as a magistrate.

Optical Character Reader (OCR)

OCR will read characters (text) and convert them into digital text. Simple OCR
will convert printed text into digital text. More sophisticated OCR can read
handwriting and convert it into a digital text.

Optical Mark reader (OMR)

OMR will read marks on a pre-printed sheet. It is used for surveys, multiple
choice forms and lottery tickets.

Radio Frequency Identification System (RFID)

An RFID tag attached to clothing triggers an alarm when passed through

scanners near the exit of shops.

Barcode scanner

When the barcodes on products in a supermarket are scanned, the unique

patterns are turned into a product code which is found in their database of
products.
Barcode readers

A device that can read printed to a computer system. These are commonly
used on products in shops to look up item prices on the stock database.

Magnetic Strip Readers

A device that read the encoded data stored on a magnetic strips. This is
commonly used on credit cards, loyalty cards & membership cards.

Optical Character readers

A device that can read text from paper and translate it into an electronic
document that then can be edited by a computer. Commonly used for
scanning a report for editing in word processing software.

Optical Mark Readers

A device that can read marked areas (such as checkboxes) on a pre-printed

form. This is commonly used for surveys, quizzes and lottery tickets.

RFID

An input system where an RFID tag contains information that is transmitted by

radio waves and can be read wireless by an RFID reader. It is commonly used
for shop alarms systems where doors have RFID readers to detect products
with RFID tags.