When you think of a computer, chances are good that you imagine the case; the computer as a whole. However, what you identify as the most important part of your computer? Do you want to point to the motherboard? Perhaps one could say that the processor is the most important part of a computer.
While these are certainly vital aspects to an operating computer, the disk drive is equally important. Over the years, they have undergone numerous changes and have evolved considerably. The first hard drives are technically "external devices", because you are sitting outside of the case, contained inside the protective covers. However, these would hardly qualify as a hard disk for modern users, their capacity was measured at only 5 MB.
The earliest units "outside"
The very first external hard drives are for all intents and purposes. This is because they have not been mounted inside the computer chassis. These devices debuted in the late 1950s, could store 5 MB of data and shipped with the first IBM systems available on the market. Over the next few decades, things do not change much, as the use of computers has been largely relegated to commercial interests and the home PC was yet to be invented.
Nearly 30 years after the debut of these systems, IBM brought out the first disc gigabytes. This device was the size of a household refrigerator, and it was a separate unit from the computer. It 'sold for a whopping $ 40,000.
The intervening years
Between the debut of the personal computer and the release of what modern consumers would recognize as an external hard drive, there were several innovations. However, most of these were strictly for the indoor units, such as the need of an external drive was not particularly large with the first systems.
One of the first systems to use an external hard drive was Apple. Their computers often had drive bays that were difficult to access, and some had no hard drive inside of them at all. In an age when consumers began to ask for more secure storage for your data, this may not work. Therefore, Apple introduced the profile in 1983. It worked for connection to a special port on the back of the Apple II. This hard drive offered 5 MB of disk space, although a 10 MB was offered later as an upgrade.
It was during this period that the indoor units have begun to take their standard form factors. In fact, the hard drive form arrested soon change with the development and standardization of IDE technology, with a size and shape that any modern consumer would recognize. The most popular form factors included 5.25 ", 3.5", the factors 2.5 "and 1" consumer form.
In addition, any of these units can be configured as an external disk, as long as power and data cables are able to be connected to the outside of the computer case. Of course, these were not what most people would consider "removable media" in the sense of modern external hard drives, flash drives and other storage devices.
1998 and beyond
The year was 1998 and the revolution was brewing in the computer industry. This was the time when the USB interface has been introduced to computers. This innovative technology enabled any type of device to connect directly with a computer from outside, using the same type of interface. Previously, the hard disks made use of a 40-pin connector and a power cable (internal types and most external). However, with the advent of USB technology, this was to change.
This single technology allowed different hard drive models to proliferate outside. It 'also allowed the emergence of other removable media, such as the flash drive (thumb drive). Of course, the first external USB drives were bulky things, thanks to the technology available in 1998. However, as the new century approached, the technology has become better and better.
As power sources and more efficient cooling solutions have been developed, the size of external drives has reduced. Once awkward and cumbersome, these units have become slim and small. Today, you can find a myriad of different formats on the market. The most popular type (for consumers, anyway) is a bit 'bigger than a paperback book thickness. However, these solutions are not intended to be portable. Manufacturers designed these for backup and archiving in which the unit stays in one place, and may contain several terabytes of data.
portable external drives were soon to hit the market. These offered to hundreds of gigabytes storage capacity, if they do not compete with larger units in terms of storage. portable drives have become extremely popular, especially with those who have used the unit at work, at home, as well as with students who needed their data available to them on several computers in different locations.
An interesting development that has coincided with the growth of the home network is the ability to store data on an external drive connected to the network. These units must be connected to your home network router, but they must not be connected to a computer to function. The router acts as a gateway, which enables the transfer of data between computers and other devices within a home and the hard drive. This is an excellent solution for homes where the media is heavily used, and many units are specific servers built-in to the different types of media, including iTunes, games and movies.
A look at the future
In the future, it is expected that the external hard drive to increasingly assume a central role in the use of home computers. As computing devices shrink and "tablet" and netbooks come to the fore as the preferred technology, external drives will be available for immediate access to stored data and to provide immediate backup, as well. Consumers will come to demand that these devices are able to integrate with their network, and new advances in technology likely to provide some innovative solutions. Some examples include integrated hard disk drive of the router /, as well as the hard drive / central server solutions for media and entertainment purposes.
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