half-inch tape
The width of the digital magnetic tape that became popular in the 1950s. Much more convenient and holding more data, half-inch self-threading tape cartridges began to replace open reels in the mid-1980s (see tape cartridge).Although storage capacity was limited to little more than a couple hundred megabytes per reel, a few legacy information systems using open reel tapes survived into the 21st century. See open reel, magnetic tape and track.
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| The Half-Inch Open Reel |
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| Practically extinct today, half-inch open reels were the common means of computer storage from the 1950s to the 1980s. |
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