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Did you Know?

In 1956, 5 megabytes (5MB) of data weighed a ton It was 1956 when IBM launched RAMAC, the first computer with something like a hard drive that we use today. By hard drive, we mean something that used magnetic disks - a moving head was used to access and write that data. At the time, it was considered a massive leap in massstorage technology because it signified a shift: from punch cards and magnetic tape (which stored data sequentially) to randomly accessible hard drives. RAMAC itself stood for Random Access Method of Accounting & Control. The whole cabinet weighed over 1000kg and the 5MP data was spread over 50 huge aluminium disks, coated with magnetic iron oxide. The disks rotated at a speed of 1200rpm and the machines were leased for $3,200 per month back in the day.

Also Did you Know?

QWERTY was designed to slow you down There are actually two theories to this. The first one starts to make sense when you look at manual typewriters. If someone typed too fast, the keys would jam. QWERTY placed common alphabets at a distance from each other and slowed typists down. Another theory is that telegraph operators designed the QWERTY layout because it was easier (and faster) to decipher Morse code. Either way, there was no reason to keep using the layout, but it stuck and there was resistance to change. You can actually change your keyboard layout to the faster Dvorak layout in the language settings (or just buy a new Dvorak keyboard).