can someone please explain to me the basic principle of how this device acts as a memory storage. as is obvious from the image there is an obvious similarity to a compact disc, but i can't readily identify a laser diode so im a bit confused.
Looks like a fairly standard hard disk drive to me.
Moving to "Bar sport"
tnx i guess i never thought to open one up before and id removed the labels and misplaced them hence the imbarassment of revealing i dont know what a hard drive looks like
LOL -- yeah, I was looking for the non-obvious answer, since I've known what the guts of a hard disk looks like for years upon years. But I guess no one is born with that knowledge, so everyone has their first gee-whiz moment of seeing how they actually work. Pretty cool stuff, especially if you watch while it's powered on.
...and if you want to see an earlier form of a "moving head disk drive" - a really great one is the Bryant Model 2 Disc Files from 1965:
http://www.computerhistory.org/collections/catalog/102646212
cr0sh:
...and if you want to see an earlier form of a "moving head disk drive" - a really great one is the Bryant Model 2 Disc Files from 1965:Bryant large disk drive | 102646212 | Computer History Museum
A computer lab technician friend of mine has a 30" dia. by 1/2" thick steel disk from a similar drive in his office. I'd hate to have been around one of those if the bolts holding it in place sheared...
cool thanks heaps guys yep i have a low level of computing knowledge for sure links very much appreciated