100 DVDs On One Disk? It Could Happen
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The people at G.E. will be announcing a new technology that will allow the storage of 100 DVDs on a single disk. Though the new technology is only in the laboratory stages, there is a possibility we will be seeing this new technology some time in our future. This could impact those in business and also the consumer market since it will increase the amount of information that can be stored on a single disk. How about all of your hard disk info. on one disk instead of spanning many?
In the N.Y. Times article it states that:
“This could be the next generation of low-cost storage,” said Richard Doherty, an analyst at Envisioneering, a technology research firm.
The promising work by the G.E. researchers is in the field of holographic storage. Holography is an optical process that stores not only three-dimensional images like the ones placed on many credit cards for security purposes, but the 1’s and 0’s of digital data as well.
The data is encoded in light patterns that are stored in light-sensitive material. The holograms act like microscopic mirrors that refract light patterns when a laser shines on them, and so each hologram’s recorded data can then be retrieved and deciphered.
In addition to the advances in the amount of storage that will become available, this new technology will help in keeping the U.S. a leader in new technology. This should go to show us that we can conqueror any thing that stands in our way and that technology will lead us into a better future.
Comments welcome.
5 Comments
rob snell
April 27th, 2009
at 8:30am
I’ll need a good index if I put everything on one disc, plus keep it away from the kids and the dog…
gnimsh
April 27th, 2009
at 1:37pm
Meh. Storage. Let me know when they make a holodeck!
TRS 80
April 28th, 2009
at 12:08pm
When this idea comes to light, what kind of read/write times will we be looking at? This is important specs that GE did not mention.
Not to sound negative, but by the time this new technology comes out, USB flash drives will hold more and cost way less. You can purchase 32GB USB flash drives for $20 on the net.
Right now, I’d rather write 8.4GBs to a USB flash drive, than a slow Dual Layer DVD-RW. in fact I’ve never purchased a dual layer DVD, since all I can read/write WAY faster on my USB 2.0 flash drives. I share data files with friends via USB flash drives. More portable, and durable.
Markus Zeller
April 28th, 2009
at 10:39pm
When this is getting cheap, then it will be absolutely great. But still some questions are open: Speed, Rewritable (if yes, how often), expected lifetime, sensitivity on sun light.
Ron Schenone
April 29th, 2009
at 4:31am
Markus- good points.