What did early computers use for fast read/write storage? Surprisingly, drum memory–a similar technology to a modern hard drive–first appeared in 1932 for use with punched card machines.

The 305 was a character-oriented variable word length decimal (BCD) computer with a drum memory (also using magnetic recording) rotating at 6,000 RPM that held 3,200 alphanumeric characters and a ...

Core memory was invented in the early '50s, but it did not replace magnetic drums (and volatile vacuum tube storage) until the '60s when it became cheap enough to manufacture. While magnetic-core ...

For memory, it combined a small, fast Williams-Kilburn tube store with a larger magnetic drum backing store. The system operated with a basic clock speed of about 1 kHz, and its drum memory could ...