IBM Announces 1TB Milestone

IBM announced that last month it recorded 1TB of data to linear digital-tape cartridge, storing almost 10 times more than currently available on linear-tape cartridge. IBM announced the feat to correspond with the company's 50th anniversary of magnetic-tape storage. In May 1952, IBM introduced its first magnetic-tape storage system. Based on magnetic tape that 3M introduced in 1947, IBM's Model 726 tape drive stored 1.4MB of data on a movie reel over 12" in diameter.

IBM's 1TB initiative has been under way in its Almaden Research Center in San Jose, California, and IBM storage product development laboratories in San Jose, Tucson, Arizona, and Yamato, Japan. FujiFilm provided the media used in the demonstration. IBM stored the data on a cartridge small enough to fit in a pocket (4" x 5" x 1").

In the near future, IBM plans to release part of the technology in drives that can support 200GB cartridges. The company expects to ship 1TB cartridge-capable drives in the next few years.

http://www.storage.ibm.com