GE Announces 500GB Optical Discs

*zapionics<alt>* · 04-29-2009, 01:34 AM

...GE researchers have successfully demonstrated a threshold micro-holographic storage material that can support 500GB of storage capacity in a standard DVD-size disc...

...Holographic storage is different from today’s optical storage formats like DVDs and Blu-ray discs. DVDs and Blu-ray discs store information only on the surface of the disc; holographic storage technology uses the entire volume of the disc material...

Read the story here

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*PeterT* · 04-29-2009, 08:12 AM

***Ozzie*** · 04-29-2009, 09:23 AM

I'm really liking this idea...local backups would take on a new ability to free up my hard drive space.

**k0NG0** · 04-29-2009, 02:57 PM

Who wants to bet 500GB HDDs will be cheap enough to compete with this by the time this gets to market.

Seriously, with a HDD all you need is a USB port, no burner. No scratches. Less degradation over time.

I'd be willing to bet this is a dead product already. Unless you're looking to get rid of a tape robot or two, but probably not then either.

StarTraveller · 04-29-2009, 05:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by k0NG0

Who wants to bet 500GB HDDs will be cheap enough to compete with this by the time this gets to market.

Seriously, with a HDD all you need is a USB port, no burner. No scratches. Less degradation over time.

I'd be willing to bet this is a dead product already. Unless you're looking to get rid of a tape robot or two, but probably not then either.

I'm partial to the same opinion.

I've tried a lot of different storage solutions over the years and some of them actually turned out to be both worse-performing and more expensive than HDD's in the long run. As much as it seems counter-intuitive to shelve a perfectly good HDD once it's been filled with data, it's something that I've been considering more and more as the prices of HDD's have dropped drastically.

These media does hold one advantage over the HDD, though, and that is that you don't have to worry about the media being able to start so to speak. A HDD that's been shelved for a long time has a relatively big risk of not being able to start - especially if it was only started and stopped very few times in its active life.

**k0NG0** · 04-30-2009, 01:02 AM

That's true about the no-start problem. But then again, with 500GB on a 12cm plastic disc, even modest degradation may mean error correcting codes are toothless. This being "holographic" indicates to me that it's more delicate than simple lands/grooves in a substrate. I don't know that for a fact, but I do suspect it.

I don't find myself requiring to shelve a HDD for a long time as backup. I'm more of a "spread the love around" kind of backup person. RAID5 on the main rig, an external drive, an iPod, etc. I think that's the only reasonable solution these days. Couple that with an encrypted Internet-based storage solution and I think you're pretty well off.

StarTraveller · 04-30-2009, 05:35 AM

I think that the holographic media must be at least as durable as CD/DVD's to be accepted by the industry and marked - and my "suspicion" would be that durability at a certain capacity point is one of the targets they have reached now that they're talking about a milestone.

Oh, and one reason for shelving a HDD would be to save power if you don't need the data anyway. Maybe there could be a market for a HDD (physical) storage box sold together with an easy to use USB/FireWire adapter (i.e. easier than un/installing the drive in a traditional USB external HDD case).

*zapionics<alt>* · 04-30-2009, 06:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by k0NG0

... This being "holographic" indicates to me that it's more delicate than simple lands/grooves in a substrate. ...

I was thinking it must be as conceptually simple as layered levels of surfaces that can be burned at different intensities of laser light...

bajo · 05-14-2009, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by k0NG0

Who wants to bet 500GB HDDs will be cheap enough to compete with this by the time this gets to market.

Seriously, with a HDD all you need is a USB port, no burner. No scratches. Less degradation over time.

I'd be willing to bet this is a dead product already. Unless you're looking to get rid of a tape robot or two, but probably not then either.

Yup, ssd will become cheap too... !

04-29-2009, 01:34 AM	#1
zapionics<alt> <unknown level> Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: AUSTRALIA Posts: 3,890	GE Announces 500GB Optical Discs ...GE researchers have successfully demonstrated a threshold micro-holographic storage material that can support 500GB of storage capacity in a standard DVD-size disc... ...Holographic storage is different from today’s optical storage formats like DVDs and Blu-ray discs. DVDs and Blu-ray discs store information only on the surface of the disc; holographic storage technology uses the entire volume of the disc material... Read the story here __________________ * Please note: any advertising within this post has been placed there by the site owner and NOT by me! * "To Boldly Go..." Last edited by zapionics<alt>; 04-29-2009 at 01:41 AM..
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04-29-2009, 08:12 AM	#2
PeterT CUSL2...GA-EP45-UD3P...? Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Sunny Florida, USA Posts: 2,935	Re: GE Announces 500GB Optical Discs wow. __________________ Proud Member: Team-CUSL2 - 'The Old School Crew' Asus Eee PC 1000HE, 1x2GB Corsair DDR2 667 GA-EP45-UD3P, Q9550, 4x2GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800, EVGA 9800GTX+ 512MB GA-EP45-DS3L, E7200, 4x2GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2 800, Asus EAH4850 TOP 512MB GA-EP45-UD3P, E6600, 4x1GB Crucial Ballistix DDR2 1066, EVGA 8800GTS 512MB P5B-D in a box at the moment P4P800-D, P4 2.4C, 4x512MB Mushkin DDR 400, ATI AIW X800XT 256MB TUSL2C, P3-S 1.4, 2x256MB Corsair XMS150, ATI 9800PRO 128MB, TB Santa Cruz CUSL2, P3 1.0, 1x256MB & 2x128MB Corsair PC133, Asus V7700D 32MB, SB Live! * Please join ABXZone and participate *
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04-29-2009, 09:23 AM	#3
*Ozzie* CRS Designee Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Apple Valley, MN Posts: 10,509	Re: GE Announces 500GB Optical Discs I'm really liking this idea...local backups would take on a new ability to free up my hard drive space. __________________ Have you supported your forum today? Change is the only constant in life
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04-29-2009, 02:57 PM	#4
k0NG0 Remembering TQ Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Sweden Posts: 13,749	Re: GE Announces 500GB Optical Discs Who wants to bet 500GB HDDs will be cheap enough to compete with this by the time this gets to market. Seriously, with a HDD all you need is a USB port, no burner. No scratches. Less degradation over time. I'd be willing to bet this is a dead product already. Unless you're looking to get rid of a tape robot or two, but probably not then either. __________________ Use Firefox - "the one that blocks all the schmutz" Feeling multicore elation? Remember this correlation: Amdahl's Law.
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04-30-2009, 01:02 AM	#6
k0NG0 Remembering TQ Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Sweden Posts: 13,749	Re: GE Announces 500GB Optical Discs That's true about the no-start problem. But then again, with 500GB on a 12cm plastic disc, even modest degradation may mean error correcting codes are toothless. This being "holographic" indicates to me that it's more delicate than simple lands/grooves in a substrate. I don't know that for a fact, but I do suspect it. I don't find myself requiring to shelve a HDD for a long time as backup. I'm more of a "spread the love around" kind of backup person. RAID5 on the main rig, an external drive, an iPod, etc. I think that's the only reasonable solution these days. Couple that with an encrypted Internet-based storage solution and I think you're pretty well off. __________________ Use Firefox - "the one that blocks all the schmutz" Feeling multicore elation? Remember this correlation: Amdahl's Law.
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04-30-2009, 05:35 AM	#7
StarTraveller Retired Modder Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Cloud Nine Posts: 6,494	Re: GE Announces 500GB Optical Discs I think that the holographic media must be at least as durable as CD/DVD's to be accepted by the industry and marked - and my "suspicion" would be that durability at a certain capacity point is one of the targets they have reached now that they're talking about a milestone. Oh, and one reason for shelving a HDD would be to save power if you don't need the data anyway. Maybe there could be a market for a HDD (physical) storage box sold together with an easy to use USB/FireWire adapter (i.e. easier than un/installing the drive in a traditional USB external HDD case). __________________ MSc at last! Read all about my highly acclaimed thesis (in Danish) about a method for evaluating teaching. An English version of the web site is also available. StarTraveller.net - see Computers for current setup! Well, it used to be current... Right now, my primary computer is a ThinkPad T43p 2668-H7U upgraded to 2 GB RAM Motto: If it is worth doing then it is worth doing right! Caution: The light at the end of a tunnel may be an oncoming train...
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