microtape

	This is the JargonFile ^(V4.00) entry for microtape - Next: middle-endian, Prev: Microsloth Windows
:microtape: /mi:kroh-tayp/ /n./ Occasionally used to mean a DECtape, as opposed to a macrotape. A DECtape is a small reel, about 4 inches in diameter, of magnetic tape about an inch wide. Unlike those for todays macrotapes, microtape drivers allowed random access to the data, and therefore could be used to support file systems and even for swapping (this was generally done purely for hack value, as they were far too slow for practical use). In their heyday they were used in pretty much the same ways one would now use a floppy disk: as a small, portable way to save and transport files and programs. Apparently the term microtape was actually the official term used within DEC for these tapes until someone coined the word DECtape, which, of course, sounded sexier to the marketroids; another version of the story holds that someone discovered a conflict with another companys microtape trademark.
* (text is auto-included via JargonExtension by mutante using jargon with VERSION 4.0.0, 24 JUL 1996 - JargonFile by Eric S. Raymond is in the public domain)