A mass storage device can be defined as: Any device used to provide relatively inexpensive storage for large amounts of data. A sort of jukebox for optical discs or tape cartridges. A mass storage drive can automatically load any disk or tape into its library to provide quick access to large amounts of information. (Computing Dictionary, Third Edition by Donald Spence, Camelot Publishing) The text written for this article will use several kilobytes of storage space. Several images are included in this document. The images will use several hundred kilobytes of storage space. The finished document will use about a megabyte of storage space, almost an entire 3.5-inch floppy disk. But there is a lot of space on the hard drive. Or yes? This image (from: www.storage.ibm.com/storageadsmhome.htm) illustrates typical amounts of storage used by common files. The increased demand for storage affects many people, from individuals (e.g. a student at Robert Morris College) to businesses (e.g. USX). The solution for the student is simple. Purchase and install a larger hard drive. Or perhaps consider deleting those files from the Speech Communications 2 class. The company will approach this issue differently than the student. One possible option is the use of mass storage. Four types of mass storage technologies will be discussed: hard drives, optical disks, tape systems, and the idea of ​​HSM. The main idea of ​​all these technologies is to get additional storage space, especially hard drive space. Hard disk storageHard disk technologies could be compared to a personal computer's hard disk or floppy disks. Data and programs are stored on magnetically coated disks. Hard drives are fast, but they are expensive. The capacity of hard drives is increasing. Computer Shopper magazine recently featured a 50-gigabyte hard drive. Additionally, the price of hard drive storage has dropped. But continually purchasing additional hard drive space may not be the most efficient business choice. Older files can have great value. Deleting them to free up more space may not be an option. You can use removable hard drives to free up space on your hard drive. A Zip drive can hold 250 megabytes of data. A Jazz Drive can hold up to 2 gigabytes. You can also increase your storage space using RAID technology. RAID stands for Redundant Array of Independent Disks. RAID is a storage device that can contain and control multiple hard drives.