A microtape, data card, data solid or tape, was an element of computer information storage technology used, among others, by the Federation and Starfleet in the 2260s decade.
History and specifics[]
Record tape.
The data card was a computer storage medium used by various races and governments between the 21st through 23rd centuries. Data cards were later replaced by isolinear chips and isolinear rods.
In the year 2267 Pavel Chekov delivered a report on the Tenkaran planet and government. This report included graphs, charts and photos. (TOS - Constellations short story: "Official Record")
The biomagnetic recording of the planet Styra was stored on tapes as part of Project Atlas. (TOS comic: "The Hijacked Planet")
In 2268 Lieutenant Stephen Klisiewicz gave a yellow data card and a red data card to Starfleet Intelligence agent Bridget McLellan. The yellow card was to be used to copy the sensor logs from the Orion freighter Treana and the red card contained a computer worm that would be used to erase the memory banks of the freighter. Unfortunately the Klingon Imperial Intelligence agent Goloth had arrived on the Treana first and made two copies of the sensor data on an encrypted data card. McLellan had to track Goloth to the Klingon safe house on the Gorn Hegemony planet of Seudath and retrieve the data card. (VAN - Declassified novella: The Stars Look Down)
In 2269, Albar Exar stored an incomplete record of his genetic research on tape. (TOS - The New Voyages short story: "Ni Var")
Lyndra Dean holds a microtape.
Used data solids were usually incinerated after they expired, but Harb Tanzer found out that Naraht enjoyed them as a snack. (TOS novel: Spock's World)
Appendices[]
Connections[]
| Computer data storage | |
|---|---|
| Portable media | compact disc • data card • data record • flash drive • floppy disk • isolinear chip • isolinear rod • memory unit • microtape • microtape disk • optolythic data rod |
References[]
- TOS episode & Star Trek 3 novelization: The Doomsday Machine
- TOS episode: "Where No Man Has Gone Before"
- TOS episode: "The Corbomite Maneuver"
- TOS episode: "Charlie X"
- TOS episode: "The Cage"
- TOS episode: "The Menagerie"
- TOS episode: "Tomorrow is Yesterday"
- TOS episode: "And the Children Shall Lead"
- TOS episode: "The Lights of Zetar"
- TOS episode: "Obsession"
- TAS episode: "The Survivor"
- ENT episode: "In a Mirror, Darkly, Part II"
- TOS novel: Spock, Messiah!
- TOS novel: Prime Directive
- TOS novel: The Weight of Worlds
- TOS novel: Child of Two Worlds
- TOS novel: Foul Deeds Will Rise
- TOS novel: No Time Like the Past
- TNG video game: Birth of the Federation
External link[]
- Microtape article at Memory Alpha, the wiki for canon Star Trek.
- Data card article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
- Magnetic tape article at Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.