Holographic storage - did you know it was available?

[Ummon]

I didn't. Pre-tty nifty. Too bad it's not rewritable...although there's this:

Data density is theoretically unlimited. By varying the angle between the reference and illumination beams - or the angle of the media - hundreds of holograms can be stored in the same physical area.


http://blogs.zdnet.com/storage/?p=313

[SavannahLion]

I've been hearing that holographic storage is the 'next great thing' for at least 20 years.  File this one with nano-tech and cold fusion.

+1 I'm sure the technology will be useful some day. I just don't care about it now because it doesn't do me any good right now.

About ten years ago, my friends and I used to hang out with this guy that pretty much had everything computing related. He was the first on the block to go wireless, the first to go Gigabit on his network, the first to go water cooled on the PC, Peltzier, etc. etc. Of the pack, he and I were the only ones working in any computing field. I was starting out and he, supposedly, was at the end of his journeyman. I think it was all of about two months of listening to his crap before I slotted him in the same ---That which is odiferous and causeth plants to grow--- category as Steve Gibson. We once got into an argument about CD/DVDs. His claim was that CD "understanding" was false. Each "track" actually held the equivalent of three tracks. The laser is cantilevered at three different degrees (L/C/R) reading each "ring" three times before moving to the next ring. A three-beam player cuts the work in 1/3 reading three rings three times and dumping into a buffer ad nauseum.

His explanation on DVD's is about on par to holographic storage and that the industry absolutely did not want anyone to know how the technology really works for fear it would be stolen....

For six months I put up with his ---That which is odiferous and causeth plants to grow--- nonsense because we shared the same friends. Finally decided it was better to tell him to ---fudgesicle--- off and lose a few moronic friends than to continue losing precious brain cells from his inane crap.

[danny_galaga]

why was she holding up a VHS cassette?

[Ed_McCarron]

why was she holding up a VHS cassette?

Really.  BETA was much better.

[drventure]

It's cool, but they're really going to have to
1) shrink the media
2) shrink the reader (jeez that things huge)
3) shrink the price +lots+

before it becomes mainstream

They'll also have to license the hell out of it, which seems unlikely.

My prediction....

InPhase, the company, dies out within 5 years, but other companies develop similar tech that avoids patent entanglements, cross license it and decent products eventually come out.

Magnetic media just seems so... last century