by James Walsh
There may be several people at the same time as Wells, but they did not want to speak up on whatever they felt were too far-fetched. No invention has happened out of its context, i.e. there were many people in different parts of the globe, thinking about the same thing at the same time, and trying to look for a solution as quickly and as feasibly as possible. So 20 scientists may have been thinking about the steam engine, but only one researcher could hit upon the perfect combination of time, luck and perseverance. The same sets of rules apply to all developments in the field of digital storage media as well.

Holographic Memory

Laser technology has been used in various contexts — both successful and unsuccessful. The LD had not been a market-friendly format and was ousted as an intermediate technology device. The optical storage disks that we have now, i.e. CD and DVD — all write the bits of information on the surface of the disk. But in holographic memory, the volume of the disk will also be utilised. This means that the data will be ‘written’ in a 3D format instead of a 2D layout. The implications are clear — more data will be stored in a smaller space — saving costs and improving data reproduction quality. Let us look at some attractive details about this format:

• This is no sudden invention. The holographic memory disk has been waiting in the wings for decades now. The first holographic storage device was developed as early as the 1960s.
• Holographic memory will allow 1 Terabyte of data to fit in easily into the confines of a tiny crystal. The physical space saving possibility is nothing less than remarkable.
• The technology is precision-based and delicate. This has disadvantages, but also the inherent advantage of allowing very little user-generated error — a major problem with most of the popular digital devices now.
• The projected speed for an HDSS — which is a holographic desktop storage system — would be good enough to copy a fully written DVD in 30 seconds flat. This speed will only be improved over time.
• The holographic memory disk would be having 27 times more storage than an average DVD of 4.7 GB. Once again, when the logistics fall in place, this would be improved upon.

Molecular Memory

Molecular memory has been not only in the developing stage, but also in the news for a long time now. However, there is no doubt that there is much left to be done yet, and the parameters are not yet worked out clearly. The technology is based on the spin of the atoms inside a molecule. As long ago as 2002, there were concrete reports (including a news flash on BBC) of how a single molecule can store up to 1000 bits of information. A group of scientists accomplished this on a test basis with a crystal molecule and demonstrated that it is possible to use the spinning atoms inside a molecule to store some 1,024 bits of data. Over the years, this capacity has improved, and the technology has overcome some of the constraints that these scientists had faced. But this technology is not yet at the stage of holographic memory, and it will be sometime before this format can be launched.

MRAM Memory

MRAM stands for magneto-resistive random access memory. The odd sounding name is actually self-explanatory — instead of the usual DRAM technology, magnetic technology will be used in MRAM formats. Toshiba Corporation, which has been working on this format for several years now, very recently announced that they have been able to achieve a read and write speed of 200MB per second with this new technology. This speed will improve further, since the MRAM forks the paths of read and write separately along two routes over its improved circuitry, thereby achieving an impressive speed, efficiency and resolution quality. Once again, physical size matters. At a miniscule 78.7 square mm, a chip of MRAM, as it stands now, can offer more space within a tinier confine. However, all researchers on MRAM, including the above-mentioned group of developers with Toshiba agree that it will take some time before the technology is standardised enough to be launched in the market.

James Walsh is a freelance writer and copy editor. For more information on computer crime and Computer Forensics see http://www.fieldsassociates.co.uk

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