Civil Rights
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
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Explore the people, places, events, achievements, struggles and stories that shaped our journey.
Movements, leaders, victories and the continuing fight for equality.
Innovation, patents, science, technology and world-changing contributions.
Pioneers, champions, Negro Leagues, records, activism and excellence.
Meet the people whose lives, choices and achievements shaped the journey.
Black towns, communities, institutions and places where history happened.
Moments that changed communities, movements, institutions and the nation.
Katherine Johnson’s mathematical calculations helped guide some of America’s most important early space missions while she confronted the racial and gender barriers faced by Black women in twentieth-century America.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
Paper data storage refers to the use of paper as a data storage device. This includes writing, illustrating, and the use of data that can be interpreted by a machine or is the result of the functioning of a machine. A defining feature of paper data storage is the ability of humans to produce it with only simple tools and interpret it visually. Though now mostly obsolete, paper was once an important form of computer data storage as both paper tape and punch cards were a common staple of working with computers before the 1980s.
Cauzin Softstrip was a two-dimensional barcode format intended for paper data storage, allowing magazines to distribute computer programs by printing a barcode which stored the program. The barcodes were printed initially in BYTE's October 1985 issue as a "printing experiment" and later publicly introduced in November 1985 at COMDEX. Softstrip barcodes encoded less than a thousand bytes per square inch, a result being that large files would occupy a large surface area in a magazine. The barcodes didn't work well if the magazine ink was smeared; and the reader hardware was relatively expensive at around $200. In addition to publishing Softstrips in magazines, Cauzin distributed software to retailers across the US via standalone Softstrip cards under the name StripWare.
In computing, a removable media is a data storage media that is designed to be readily inserted and removed from a system. Most early removable media, such as floppy disks and optical discs, require a dedicated read/write device (i.e. a drive) to be installed in the computer, while others, such as USB flash drives, are plug-and-play with all the hardware required to read them built into the device, so only need a driver software to be installed in order to communicate with the device. Some removable media readers/drives are integrated into the computer case, while others are standalone devices that need to be additionally installed or connected. Examples of removable media that require a dedicated reader drive include: Optical discs, e.g. Blu-rays (both standard and UHD versions), DVDs, CDs Flash memory-based memory cards, e.g. CompactFlash, Secure Digital, Memory Stick Magnetic storage media Floppy and Zip disks (now considered obsolete) Disk packs (now considered obsolete) Magnetic tapes Paper data storage, e.g. punched cards, punched tapes (now considered obsolete) Examples of removable media that are standalone plug-and-play devices that carry their own reader hardwares include: USB flash drives Portable storage devices Dedicated external solid-state drives (SSD) Enclosured mass storage drives, i.e. modified hard disk drives (HDD)/internal SSDs Peripheral devices that have integrated data storage capability Digital cameras Mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets and handheld game consoles Portable media players Other external or dockable peripherals that have expandable removable media capabilities, usually via a USB port or memory card reader USB hubs Wired or wireless printers Network routers, access points and switches Using removable media can pose some computer security risks, including viruses, data theft and the introduction of malware.
Data storage is the recording (storing) of information (data) in a storage medium. Handwriting, phonographic recording, magnetic tape, and optical discs are all examples of storage media. Biological molecules such as RNA and DNA are considered by some as data storage. Recording may be accomplished with virtually any form of energy. Electronic data storage requires electrical power to store and retrieve data. Data stored in a digital, machine-readable medium is called digital data. Computer data storage is one of the core functions of a general-purpose computer. Electronic documents can be stored in much less space than paper documents. Barcodes and magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) are two ways of recording machine-readable data on paper.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Shirley Chisholm, elected in 1968.