- Image by brandon shigeta via Flickr
If you had asked someone working with the first computer — a room-sized monster — whether computers would one day be small enough to hold in your hand, what would his answer have been? Technology has come so far so fast that people are left with heads spinning and eyes filled with amazement. Many of these advancements have taken place in computer hardware.
Hard drives continue to decrease in size but increase in the holding capacities, while flash drives continue to grow in their ability to hold data while going down in price. Apple’s recent debut of the iPad seems like a glimpse into a future where book-sized computers are the commonality.
While technological advances in the hard drive industry have been amazing, it seems like hard drives may become a thing of the past. Instead of hard drives, future technology, called solid state drives (SSDs), may be the futuristic means of storing data. SSDs are like really large flash drives in that they have no moving pieces. Currently, SSDs are expensive and don’t have the abilities that hard drives do.
As with all technological advancements, a time will come when SSDs can hold more data and be much less expensive. This major shift is needed to increase speed and decrease heat within the CPUs of the future. SSDs have a higher rate of speed due to the lack of moving discs and arms inside the computer searching for and reading files. The lack of moving parts generates much less heat and noise inside the computer, and SSDs don’t wear out as easily as hard drives.
With raised awareness of environmentalism, it’s only natural that the computing industry would be expected to get a little greener. In Europe, the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive is being instituted, hoping to save the ecosystem from any detrimental substances inside computers and other electronic devices.
If current trends continue, the hard drive will become obsolete.
