Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ncrlnk!ncrcae!ece-csc!mcnc!xanth!nic.MR.NET!hal!cwjcc!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!uccba!uceng!dmocsny
From: dmocsny@uceng.UC.EDU (daniel mocsny)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Re: NeXT's BIG 3.5" mistake.
Summary: How much storage do you really need?
Message-ID: <344@uceng.UC.EDU>
Date: 26 Oct 88 16:47:57 GMT
References: <0XMtqn087E-0A14EYk@andrew.cmu.edu>
Organization: Univ. of Cincinnati, College of Engg.
Lines: 35

In article <0XMtqn087E-0A14EYk@andrew.cmu.edu>, rg20+@andrew.cmu.edu (Rick Francis Golembiewski) writes:
>  (I don't know anyone really needs more then
> 500MEGS of storage for personal usage)

I don't know anyone who ``really needs'' a computer, for that matter :-)
Seriously, though, I don't think 500 MB is at all out of line for a
serious information worker, though current user-interface technology might
restrict your ability to use it to its potential. Just look at all the
paper piled around you. A few filing cabinets add up to ~1 GB, and a 
sizable library runs into the terabyte range. If we ever hope to get
on top of our information-handling mess, we're going to need _lots_ of
storage. Until we have some rational way to make sure that once question
X gets answered anybody who needs that answer gets it immediately, we
can hardly imagine we have enough storage. However, storage is only
one piece of the puzzle. If other factors limit its effectiveness (lack
of standards, lousy displays, societal disorganization), then I suppose
that just throwing more storage at the problem won't help.

Maybe nobody ``needs'' 500 MB, but one thing is sure: everybody I know
wants more than they have right now. That's because computer storage
makes information more available, and hence more useful, than it is
in paper form. Thus if more storage becomes available, people find
ways to profitably use it. I could certainly benefit from having all
the research literature in my field on-line. It certainly wouldn't
fit in 500 MB, either. Even though I won't directly use _all_ of it,
I can't predict exactly which of it I might need. The only safe solution
is to make sure I have all of it.

People who can use >500 MB right now include people doing graphics work,
as well as musicians and composers. This is not just to handle their
literature needs, but to save and distribute their output.

Dan Mocsny

Paper: the Curse of the Pharaohs.