Computer Science Even before the first computer was conceptualized, data had already been stored on hard copy medium and used with a machine. As early as 1801, the punched card was used as a control device for mechanical looms. One and one-half centuries later, IBM joined punched cards to computers, encoding binary information as patterns of small rectangular holes. Today, punch cards are rarely used with computers. Instead, they are used for a handful of train …showed first 75 words of 793 total…

…showed last 75 words of 793 total…invention of the computer, and magnetic medium is predominantly used today. Electronic medium is used by every computer system, and is used to store instructions or temporarily hold data. Finally, optical storage medium utilizes lasers to read and write information to a disk that lasts indefinitely. Each type of medium is suitable for certain functions that computer users require. Although they use differing technologies, they all have equal importance in the modern personal computer system.