Although magnetic tape sitting in slots in a tape library uses very little energy data latency is high, spinning magnetic disk drives have lower latency but they can use up a fair amount of energy.

FORBES: Pumping Iron and Keeping Cool

In addition to a higher storage capacity than past LTO generations, LTO 5 also offers new architecture features such as the LTFS file system that turn magnetic tape into a directly addressable data source, like a hard disk drive.

FORBES: Magnetic Tape Turns 60

It is also a vital component of high-voltage wires, magnetic coatings for high-density hard disk drives, fiber optics, fiberglass, catalytic converters and spark plugs.

FORBES: Gold Is Good, These Five Metals May Be Better

In a report last week tech tracker iSuppli found that rising sales of tablet computers are hurting notebook PC sales, resulting in a decline in sales of traditional hard disk drives which rely on spinning magnetic disks.

FORBES: Apple's iPad Behind $4.3 Billion Disk Drive Deal