To understand where I am coming from, most university students in Nigeria don't have a personal computer. It's either too expensive or they're not aware of the value (Most access the web on their smartphones).
I never bothered to dig deeper into the understanding of the terms; HDD--Hard Disk Drive, Memory and RAM. I mention them, but deep down, I don't understand what they mean and how it affect me as a new computer owner, back then and now.
I started to frequent mobility.com.ng, hang out with geeks and developers, but still did not probe the meaning of those terms. Then tonight, I read something from guardian.co.uk saying; it is dumb to think that Memory and Storage is the same. Huh? I said to myself. That means I am dumb, no?
I decided I won't stay dumb. I logged on to twitter and tweeted; "What is the difference between MEMORY and STORAGE? Please."
I have wonderful friends on twitter, two people responded with a link, while one person responded with an answer. I realised that, our friends--those we know and who know us--are better resources, than search algorithms.
I should have learned the different between those terms, but I thought it was stress and then not a relevant information. I am glad, I know now, plus it has opened my mind to other information.
What I found out after reading, in my own words:
HDD - Hard Disk Drive is the magenetic device in your computer that stores information parmanently. It is where the operating system and other system files, music, video et'al, are stored. The data in the HDD is preserved even when power is off.
RAM - is simply Memory. It is a temprary storage for information that the computer is using at the moment. Whenever power goes off, any information stored in the RAM--Random Access Memory--is gone. (that's why you lose unsaved numbers and call history when you remove your battery from your phone. Aha! I never knew)
So, I thought to myself, aha! This is the reason we hibernate our computer sometimes. I do hibernate my computer too, but never knew why. Now I know. If power goes of, all the work I am working on that are not saved parmanently in the HDD is lost. But if I hibernate, power doesn't go off, so I would have my current work saved temporarily on the RAM. Ding dong!!!
I am so excited at this discovery. Thanks to Beth Granger, Tobi and Funmi for comming to my rescue on twitter ;-)
That's my little strory. I think it's the way geeks work. They are curious people. They find answers. I may well be on my way of becoming a geek :D
I can build on this knowledge in the future. I have thus learned that; one knowledge opens the door for another. Seek knowledge and beceome wise.
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I actually also like asking friends of terms i do not know. Especially on forums but whenever i need intensive information i just Google it! Or use wikipedia.org.