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somebody was kind enough to post the http://www.cmruk.com/cmrKHD.html URL which appears to have a more detailed paper on the technology.

If anyone actually sees this through all the crud - I was just wondering where I could go for a more technical discussion or nerdly discussion on the merits of what is being proposed here.

The 10TB leap would be a huge one, and it appears that they're using a single mode 5 micron fibre and able to read/write with a 0.1 micron spot size - so my guess that the signal is somehow modulated to reflectively hit different areas of the MO - but at current levels of fibre transfer (100MB/s) it would take roughly 125 days (sustained) to fill the 10.8TB .. of course then you could have the entire Library of Congress ..

Is there anybody who knows more details about the signalling, or is there a more intelligent discussion elsewhere on some of these issues?

http://www.cmruk.com/cmrKHD.html
which is a more informative link - or at least its full of more technobabble

v

http://www.cmruk.com/cmrKHD.html

Apparently someone is serious about it...

From a quick look at the abstract, the whole "new compression" thing is as it applies to laying data down onto the media. And from the looks of it, the big deal is it is using a hybrid of silicon and MO for a "3d" memory using the above mention "compression scheme".

I'm sure others can look at this and shoot it down for the rest of us

If anyone bothered to look around their university website, you'd've noticed a link to cmruk.com which provides more details:

http://www.cmruk.com/cmrKHD.html is a somewhat detailed (but very dry) technical paper on the proposed technology.

Don't ask me what it says, tho; I'm no solid state engineer.

present day... present time.... hahahahahahahahahaa

Their press release states they have achieved...

"An increase in transmission bandwidth capacity of 8 times, obtained by using the new KHD compression system - which works on top of, and in addition to all existing compression techniques. The effect is to compress the binary code itself by a factor of eight." (my emphasis) and
"An increase in processor speeds of up to 8 times when processing data streams due to the effects of the KHD binary compression system - a 1.5 GHz chip emulates the output of a 12 GHz chip."

That sounds like they're saying they can take previously compressed data and squeeze it down still further by a factor of 8 (oh really? I think not), and all this "an xMHz chip emulates an 8xMHz one" sounds like purest undiluted nonsense.

I remember seeing this last year, when then said it was three plus years off. So at least it is keeping up with projections.

Here are a couple of stories from The Register on this:

ONE - UK boffins reckon they can cram 10,800GB of data on a PC card
Monday, 9 October 2000

TWO - UK boffins unveil $35 '2300GB on a PC Card' RAM breakthrough
Monday, 9 August 1999

Note that the original stories said that the figures were in the thousands of gigabytes - this means TERABYTES

Cavendish Management Resources (CMR)seems to be an investment company. Keele University also seems legit, although the Cavendish website seems under the weather.

So it looks like they are making it through the vaporware stage, and approaching the heavy fog stage, before we a watch it materialize.

Bottom line for me is that I do not think I will hold my breath waiting, but I would love it to happen.

Here is some more info I got from Google's cache for http://www.cmruk.com/cmrKHD.html

KEELE HIGH DENSITY LTD

UPDATE - November 2000 During 1999 Keele High Density Ltd. (KHD) announced that it had developed a very high density memory system capable of holding 2.3TB of memory in the space of a credit card. Further work since then has resulted in some significant upward changes to both the capacities previously stated and to the applications the KHD technology addresses. Some of this work is continuing, and there are further patent applications to be filed. The information available publicly is necessarily restricted until those patents have been filed. The very high data densities are achieved through a combination of many different factors - some relating to the physical properties of the recording media, and some to the way of processing and handling data. The physical memory system is a hybrid combination of magneto-optics and silicon. The KHD memory system is applicable to both rotating and fixed media, and is not dependent on the laser-based media-addressing system used. Following the work undertaken since last year, the following data capacities are achievable: a) For rotating media, at DVD size, a single-sided capacity of 245 GB using a red laser. b) For fixed media, a single-sided capacity of 45 GB/cm, giving a total capacity of 3.6 TB on the surface area of a credit card, double-sided and using a red laser. Using a violet laser (now being introduced), the capacity at credit card size will be 10.8 TB. In last year's announcement from KHD the primary focus was on the fixed media application, which with a novel form of laser addressing, could be described as 'near solid state' - involving no moving parts in the conventional sense. However, this aspect of the technology will require some further R&D work to bring it to a mass-production scale - although it is believed that this will not present insurmountable difficulties. These constraints do not apply to existing rotating media applications (for example, DVD), using conventional laser systems, and there are no reasons why the KHD technology cannot be implemented within a short timescale - measured literally in months. A major development arising out of KHD's work over recent months, is that the technology achieving these very high data density figures has application not just for memory systems, but will also produce significant enhancements for the transmission and processing of data generally. This means that KHD's technology can achieve an effective increase in bandwidth capacity, because the very high data density properties, which are in addition to those from conventional compression methods, allow so much more data to be transmitted over a given bandwidth. The same advantages are also felt in terms of processing speeds. Work on this aspect of KHD's technology is continuing, but the current calculations show that an effective eight-times increase in bandwidth capacity and processor speed can be achieved. KHD's development represents a fundamental advance in computing technology, with the benefits being felt across many industry areas. Following completion of the patenting position, KHD will be looking to license the technology to companies for mass-production, and for the ongoing R&D work needed to make the 'solid-state' memory commercially viable. The technology has been developed by Professor Ted Williams at Keele University, Staffordshire, England, over a period of thirteen years. PROFILE: Ted Williams is Professor Emeritus of Optoelectronics at Keele University, Staffs, England, and visiting Professor of Electronic Engineering at South Bank University, London. Professor Williams was Director of Research with Sir Godfrey Hounsfield, Nobel Prizewinner, working on the invention and creation of the first NMR Scanner at Hammersmith Hospital, London. He has also held directorships with major international companies. His main focus over the last thirteen years has been the research and development of 3-dimensional magneto-optical recording systems. KHD's licensing and funding arrangements are managed by Mike Downey, Managing Director of Cavendish Management Resources. CMR is a venture capital and executive management company, based in London. CMR has supported the development of this technology. Further information from: Mike Downey Managing Director CMR, 31 Harley Street, London W1N 1DA Tel: +44-(0)20-7636-1744 Fax: +44-(0)20-7636-5639 Email: cmr@cmruk.com Web: www.cmruk.com

Here is some more info I got from Google's cache for http://www.cmruk.com/cmrKHD.html

KEELE HIGH DENSITY LTD

UPDATE - November 2000 During 1999 Keele High Density Ltd. (KHD) announced that it had developed a very high density memory system capable of holding 2.3TB of memory in the space of a credit card. Further work since then has resulted in some significant upward changes to both the capacities previously stated and to the applications the KHD technology addresses. Some of this work is continuing, and there are further patent applications to be filed. The information available publicly is necessarily restricted until those patents have been filed. The very high data densities are achieved through a combination of many different factors - some relating to the physical properties of the recording media, and some to the way of processing and handling data. The physical memory system is a hybrid combination of magneto-optics and silicon. The KHD memory system is applicable to both rotating and fixed media, and is not dependent on the laser-based media-addressing system used. Following the work undertaken since last year, the following data capacities are achievable: a) For rotating media, at DVD size, a single-sided capacity of 245 GB using a red laser. b) For fixed media, a single-sided capacity of 45 GB/cm, giving a total capacity of 3.6 TB on the surface area of a credit card, double-sided and using a red laser. Using a violet laser (now being introduced), the capacity at credit card size will be 10.8 TB. In last year's announcement from KHD the primary focus was on the fixed media application, which with a novel form of laser addressing, could be described as 'near solid state' - involving no moving parts in the conventional sense. However, this aspect of the technology will require some further R&D work to bring it to a mass-production scale - although it is believed that this will not present insurmountable difficulties. These constraints do not apply to existing rotating media applications (for example, DVD), using conventional laser systems, and there are no reasons why the KHD technology cannot be implemented within a short timescale - measured literally in months. A major development arising out of KHD's work over recent months, is that the technology achieving these very high data density figures has application not just for memory systems, but will also produce significant enhancements for the transmission and processing of data generally. This means that KHD's technology can achieve an effective increase in bandwidth capacity, because the very high data density properties, which are in addition to those from conventional compression methods, allow so much more data to be transmitted over a given bandwidth. The same advantages are also felt in terms of processing speeds. Work on this aspect of KHD's technology is continuing, but the current calculations show that an effective eight-times increase in bandwidth capacity and processor speed can be achieved. KHD's development represents a fundamental advance in computing technology, with the benefits being felt across many industry areas. Following completion of the patenting position, KHD will be looking to license the technology to companies for mass-production, and for the ongoing R&D work needed to make the 'solid-state' memory commercially viable. The technology has been developed by Professor Ted Williams at Keele University, Staffordshire, England, over a period of thirteen years. PROFILE: Ted Williams is Professor Emeritus of Optoelectronics at Keele University, Staffs, England, and visiting Professor of Electronic Engineering at South Bank University, London. Professor Williams was Director of Research with Sir Godfrey Hounsfield, Nobel Prizewinner, working on the invention and creation of the first NMR Scanner at Hammersmith Hospital, London. He has also held directorships with major international companies. His main focus over the last thirteen years has been the research and development of 3-dimensional magneto-optical recording systems. KHD's licensing and funding arrangements are managed by Mike Downey, Managing Director of Cavendish Management Resources. CMR is a venture capital and executive management company, based in London. CMR has supported the development of this technology. Further information from: Mike Downey Managing Director CMR, 31 Harley Street, London W1N 1DA Tel: +44-(0)20-7636-1744 Fax: +44-(0)20-7636-5639 Email: cmr@cmruk.com Web: www.cmruk.com

There's a small update from their venture capital firm:

Keele High Density Computer Memory: we have now started licensing negotiations with some of the world's largest computer companies - so far it all looks promising, but we have many important barriers to get over - at any one of these the project could fall-apart - but so-far-so-good! Additional patents are being filed now which moves the maximum capacity at credit card size to 10.8 TB

No date by this blurb but the overall page was last updated 4/7/00, and the blurb above it references July 13... so probably posted sometime early this year.

IBM's patent database shows they have filed for an obtained 2 patents in Great Britain but the only data online is they are both for "High Density Storage Systems" ($3 each for copies)

There's also contact info. so you could try to get some news straight from the source.

There's a small update from their venture capital firm:

Keele High Density Computer Memory: we have now started licensing negotiations with some of the world's largest computer companies - so far it all looks promising, but we have many important barriers to get over - at any one of these the project could fall-apart - but so-far-so-good! Additional patents are being filed now which moves the maximum capacity at credit card size to 10.8 TB

No date by this blurb but the overall page was last updated 4/7/00, and the blurb above it references July 13... so probably posted sometime early this year.

IBM's patent database shows they have filed for an obtained 2 patents in Great Britain but the only data online is they are both for "High Density Storage Systems" ($3 each for copies)

There's also contact info. so you could try to get some news straight from the source.