Archive 360TB of data on a coin sized 5D quartz disc - for eternity

[HEXUS]

Scientists based at the University of Southampton say they can do it.

Read more.

[outwar6010]

Safe until someone drops and shatters it.....

[abaxas]

Yay, cartridge gameing is back! wohoooo

[azrael-]

How many "coins" will be needed to store all the content on Facebook. Because, clearly, that's what we need to save for posterity. That, and cat pics'n'vids...

[Jenstmar]

And BAM - due to privacy concerns, the term "keep the change" has been forever phased out.

[ik9000]

Being that small now it's even easier to lose your backup - only physically rather than due to drive failure.

And it's only useful as long as your reader still works of course. Anyone remember micro-fiche? The number of public archive records I've tried to view recently where some of the slides have gone missing. It doesn't matter how good the longevity - you still have to store the stuff, archive it in such a way it can be easily searched and retrieved, and also have a system so muppets can't lose/steal/misplace it!

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Interesting but until a common longterm format for digital data archival exists,the main issues are going to be media lifetime and the ability to read them.

[ValkyrieTsukiko]

At last a medium that can forever immortalize my animes!

[crossy]

Cue the arguments as to whether the "coin sized" discs are patterned on the Euro or the Pound (Sterling)... [topical reference] And don't get me started on Dollar sized (for US use).

(Bad) Joke aside, this sounds like a great idea IF the readers are cheap to produce. I'm not so bothered about the writing aspect since I think that a bureau style arrangement could be used for those, similar to ye olde style copy shops. The "5D" aspect though does strike me as a little marketing/PR department led.

[this_is_gav]

Finally! I don't need to span my porn stash any more.

[lumireleon]

what is the read and write speed of the 360TB OPTICAL DISCK (4k, Iops etc)??

[zaph0d]

I'm more interested in the ability to read/write the data without 20 grands worth of equipment and whether the discs are re-writeable.

[EvZ_2]

What are the read/write speeds though? If it can store that much, one would hope it is fast, and what device do you need to read/write - AND when is this likely to come to consumers? (if ever?)

[scaryjim]

Do people even bother reading the actual article anymore?

I'm more interested in the ability to read/write the data without 20 grands worth of equipment and whether the discs are re-writeable.

what device do you need to read/write

The discs are written by a high powered laser fusing the structure of the quartz glass. I highly doubt that they're rewriteable at that point As the linked press release from Soton says, the discs can be " read by combination of optical microscope and a polariser", so the read equipment isn't particularly expensive (although presumably you would need a computer and suitable software to decode the data).

what is the read and write speed of the 360TB OPTICAL DISCK (4k, Iops etc)??

What are the read/write speeds though? If it can store that much, one would hope it is fast ... AND when is this likely to come to consumers? ...

Read and write speeds are basically irrelevant; this is ultra-long-term archive storage. It's most likely use (again from the linked story at Soton) is in digitising library/museum/archival collections - this isn't a regular computer storage medium.

[EvZ_2]

Thanks for the info, it's just so over my head, I was just getting too excited with the possibility of it ha ha I can't wait for the larger capacity SSDs so something like this is mind-blowing!

[OilSheikh]

That is an amazing feat.