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Magnetic tape was introduced for computer data storage on the UNIVAC I in 1951

UNISERVO tape drives replaced heavy punched card stacks with flexible magnetic media

In 1951, the UNIVAC I computer introduced the UNISERVO magnetic tape drive, which recorded data onto half-inch wide nickel-plated bronze tape strips. A single reel of magnetic tape stored as much data as thousands of paper punched cards while permitting faster read speeds. Magnetic tape remains widely used today for high-capacity offline data archival.

RCA’s sound tape cartridge, not the standard Philips compact audio cassette
Marcin Wichary · CC BY 2.0 · licence · source

Where this comes from

Computer History Museum

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Tags: storage, magnetic-tape, univac

Magnetic tape was introduced for computer data storage on the UNIVAC I in 1951: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?
UNISERVO tape drives replaced heavy punched card stacks with flexible magnetic media. The figure is taken from Computer History Museum, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
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