Texas Instruments TI-99/4A - Page 163

Texas Instruments Disk Memory System
DISK DRIVES
A disk drive can replace a cassette recorder for
storing programs and information. Byadding a
disk drive to your system, you gain considerably
higher performance at a moderate increase in
cost.
The first difference that you will notice when us
ing a disk drive will be speed: a cassette recorder
takes from one to five minutes to load software,
and a disk drive can do it in seconds. A disk drive
operates efficiently to find infomation, too. It
stores information using a technique known as
"random access"—rapidlyscanning the surface
of the magnetic "floppy" disk and quickly locat
ing the required information. A cassette record
er, by contrast, provides information to the com-
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