Storage Media Matrix

To kick off QMUG/LA’s November 1999 “Burn Your Own CDs” presentation, we briefly reviewed the different kinds of storage media. Here is that matrix.

Media	Capacity	Cost/1	Cost/MB	Cost/Drive
5 1/4"	360K-720K	~$0.60-$0.90	~$1.80	N/A
3 1/2"	400K, 800K, 1.4MB	~$0.50	~$0.50	~$80 (USB)
Zip	100MB-250MB	~$9-$18	~$0.07-$0.09	~$100-$180
SuperDisk	120MB	~$8	~$0.07	~$150
Magneto-Optical	128MB-5.2GB	~$8-$110	~$0.02-$0.06	N/A
CD	650MB	~$1-$2	<$0.01	~$280-$450
Jaz	1GB-2GB	~$80-$125	~$0.06-$0.08	~$160-$350
DAT	1.3GB-70GB	~$4-$90	<$0.01	~$1,250
Orb	2.2GB	~$40	~$0.02	~$280
DVD-RAM	2.6GB-5.2GB	~$25-$50	<$0.01	~$500-$700

Source. This information was gathered from various Mac, PC and Office Supply mail order catalogs. We were able to find 5 1/4" and Magneto-Optical disks, but no drives. As of 11/99, we were not able to find any Syquest disks or drives.

Universal. Of all these media, only floppy and CD are truly universal, meaning the vast majority of computers, Macs or PCs, have one or both of these. And if your computer lacks one of these, external USB floppy drives and SCSI CD-ROM drives (not burners) are less than $100 each.

Economical. Of all these media, only CD is truly economical, the least expensive all-around. At $1 per disk, you can easily buy 20, 50, 100 at a time, unlike Zip or Jaz disks. At less than one penny per megabyte, it compares favorably against DAT and DVD-RAM disks whose drives cost between $500 and $1,200!

Durable. Of all these media, only CD is truly durable. Take a CD and slam it face down on the table -- no damage to the data on the CD because no moving parts. Now do that w/ any of the others. And being so thin, you can easily slip it in a padded envelope and mail it anywhere or run it through metal detectors w/o fear of damage to the data on the CD.

Aside. What is also amazing is that over time, complete operating systems used to fit on the earlier media, 5 1/4", 3 1/2", and Zip. Now, a clean Mac OS 9 takes ~180MB, but once you add 3rd-party control panels, extensions, preference files, etc., it easily slips over 250MB.