computing nostalgia

[Jay West]

Just got back from another out of town jaunt, and am trying to catch up on 
email. This one was sent to another list I am on, and I thought people here 
would appreciate it. See below.

Jay
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>From http://www.ypsidixit.com/blog/archives/2005/08/remember_punch.html

August 01, 2005

"Remember 80-column punch cards?

"Just think of the concept--the data is made up out of thin air!  The
card is just there to organize the holes"

How many cards would it take to encode a 3-minute mp3?    Answer:

"Assuming a non-Hollerith encoding with eight bits per column, and an
MP3 file encoded at 128kbps CBR, there would be 36,864 cards in that
deck, and the card reader would need a throughput of 205 cards per
second. It might be wise to include an 8-column sequence number,
however, so that a misordered deck can be repaired by a card sorter;
with 72 data columns per card, the total is precisely 40,960 cards
(40K cards), requiring a 228 card/second throughput." The 21 boxes of
cards needed would by 5 feet 9 inches tall. That such a huge leap in
technology is well within living memory is astonishing.