ROM - Read Only Memory - chips were once memory chips in the first home computers Commodore C64 and Commodore Amiga. They contained the operating system and the programming language BASIC of the C64 and parts of the operating system of the Amiga. These memory chips do not lose their content when the computer is switched off (in contrast to RAM components). This way the C64 was ready for use immeditaly after it was switched on, even if the loading of the individual programs still took quite a while due to the slow speed of the floppy disks.

Today, ROM components appear as Flash ROMs, but they are not Read Only Memory anymore, according to it's origanl meaning, because content can be updated. Range of application is amongst others: firmware of CD-ROM drives etc.






ROM im deutschen Lexikon
ROM in het nederlandse encyclopedie