Old IBM magnetic media
Chuck Guzis
cclist at sydex.com
Sat Feb 1 15:32:01 CST 2020
On 2/1/20 8:23 AM, Donald via cctalk wrote:
> I was also wondering what old mainframe magnetic media cost back in the day.
> 2311, 2314, 3330 packs. 2314 Data Cell and a 3850 MSS cartridge. And a 7340
> tape cassette.
Half-inch tape (7 or 9 track) was the lingua franca medium used most
widely. It was comparatively cheap, purchased by the truck- or
pallet-load, depending on the size of the operation. The pre-1980s
floppy disk equivalent.
I've often wondered what the total consumption of 1/2 inch tape by the
US Internal Revenue Service was during the time that it was used. I
suspect that it runs well into 8 figures. Bear in mind that corporate
tax returns were also submitted on the medium.
--Chuck
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