Pocket-Sized Disks Store All (NAPSA)—Ludwig Mies van der Rohe may not have been referring to computers when he pro- claimed, “less is more,” but in the field of electronics, his words have taken on great significance. Even as computers take up less and less space, they are able to do more and store more information. At one time, we stored informatien on bulky tape reels-—now an entire laptop’s worth of information can fit on a disk the size of a credit card. Consider the evolution of storing computer files: Information was originally stored on reel-to-reel tape which couldn’t hold very much informatien, and required a lot of time to find specific pieces of data. With the advent of personal computers came cassette glorage drives. A little more convenient, perhaps, but just as slow and limited in capacity. * The first disk drives, which =@ An entire laptop’s worth of information can now be stored on a portable disk the size of a credit card. drives slide into the side of a lap- top, and have revolutionized the way we think of storing computer files. This powerful PC Card fits in the palm of your hand, yet holds 3,700 floppy disks worth of used 64” floppy disks, sped up the process immensely and increased information. storing large chunks of information or programs with lots of bells and whistles. * The next “floppies” were the 3%” disks still commonly used today. Again, more convenient, but incapableof storing large programs or graphic files without breaking thera up onto multiple disks. Compact discs have really raised the bar, holding information from hundreds offloppies on a single CD. Truly a versatile medium, CDs can be usedto store computer files and play rausic on your PC and in your car and home weighs less than a pager. The powerful and hghtweight design makes it a terrific “bridge” device for sharing data between systems capacity, but were impractical for stereos. Another powerful storage option comes in a disk the size of a credit card. Tiny 1.8” removable Toshiba’s new PC card packs a ton of information on a disk that such as two notebooks, a notebook and a digital camera, or other dig- ital gear. These devices makeit easy to store huge files, such as photos, MP3s and presentations. Used in any Type-II PC card slot, Toshiba’s 1.8-inech harddisk drive eliminates the hassle of carrying data from multiple diskettes or CDs while on the road, in the office or at home. Available in both 2GB and 5GBcapacities, the drives start at $299 with a one-year warranty and can he purchased through distributors or online at www. barddrives.tashiba.com.
