'Burning' is the act of destructively writing (or burning, since you permanently burn the 1s into 0s on the medium) data to a read-only medium, such as a PROM or later also optical media.
The term seems to have changed since, since you often also 'burn' RW-DVDs even though you really only write, so I wouldn't call it too far fetched to also 'burn' RW-PROMs (aka. EPROMs, or FLASH).
Before you had optical media, you had cable matrices where you could 'write' the matrix once by overloading individual cables, thereby blowing/burning them like a fuse.
Every media is writable at least once, but some media is erasable/re-writable a finite number of times (eg. RW-CDs can be rewritten some 10-100 times and flash can be rewritten some 10000 times).
Since the process of writing to read-only storage is destructible, and since you tended to burn the individual cables in the cable matrix, it became known as 'burning'.
Originally, it had nothing to do with lasers or optical media.
Actually, you do quite literally burn NAND /flash memory (used in thumb drives and SSDs) continually every time you write to it because of damage to the oxide layer, you’re essentially burning the silicon dioxide (glass).
Millennials aren’t the only ones to burn media. Your phone is probably doing it right now.
You’re welcome.
All long-term memory storage methods involve violence against a physical medium. Fite me.
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7 Comments
wreckedcarzz@lemmy.world · 43 pts · 175d
You don't burn files to a flash drive through, that only applies to optical media.
Yes, I'm the life of every party, why do you ask?
dis_da_mor@anarchist.nexus · 14 pts · 174d
ekky@sopuli.xyz · 8 pts · 174d
'Burning' is the act of destructively writing (or burning, since you permanently burn the 1s into 0s on the medium) data to a read-only medium, such as a PROM or later also optical media.
The term seems to have changed since, since you often also 'burn' RW-DVDs even though you really only write, so I wouldn't call it too far fetched to also 'burn' RW-PROMs (aka. EPROMs, or FLASH).
ekky@sopuli.xyz · 4 pts · 174d
Before you had optical media, you had cable matrices where you could 'write' the matrix once by overloading individual cables, thereby blowing/burning them like a fuse.
Every media is writable at least once, but some media is erasable/re-writable a finite number of times (eg. RW-CDs can be rewritten some 10-100 times and flash can be rewritten some 10000 times).
Since the process of writing to read-only storage is destructible, and since you tended to burn the individual cables in the cable matrix, it became known as 'burning'.
Originally, it had nothing to do with lasers or optical media.
voodooattack@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 174d
Actually, you do quite literally burn NAND /flash memory (used in thumb drives and SSDs) continually every time you write to it because of damage to the oxide layer, you’re essentially burning the silicon dioxide (glass).
Millennials aren’t the only ones to burn media. Your phone is probably doing it right now.
You’re welcome.
Evil_Shrubbery@thelemmy.club · 4 pts · 174d
Not if you burn it in the surface of the media & read from there ... :|
spicehoarder@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 140d
Thanks, I'll burn it to memory
CanadaPlus@futurology.today · 8 pts · 174d
Inshallah, you will appreciate Shakespeare more than I did.