Applications ´90: peripherals

Advances in computer peripherals during 1989 are reviewed. Storage peripherals gained density, packing more information into smaller sizes with quicker retrieval. Perpendicular recording appeared in commercial products for the first time. An expanding range of storage types (including floppy diskettes, magnetic hard-disk drives, write-once and erasable optical disks, and magnetic tape) in a variety of forms offered users a broad range of storage options, each with differing densities, costs, and sizes. Much of the momentum was provided by advances in media, with cobalt chromium perpendicular thin films, cobalt-nickel oxide thin-film tapes, barium ferrite particulate media, and magneto-optic reversible thin films used for different applications. Also noteworthy was the arrival of color thermal printers.<>