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Microwires Can Replace The DVD-ROM

neutron_p writes "A former Soviet Union military development finds its use in modern technology and still remains fascinating." The development comes in the form of a flexible microwire, 10 micrometers thick and 10cm long, with a metal body and a glass coating, which the linked article says "can store 10 Gigabytes of information. It is possible thanks to their magnetic properties. Anyway, it's not that easy. Researchers say that the greatest difficulty will be with the reading of information."

45 of 416 comments (clear)

  1. Isolinear chips by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    Star Trek geek in me coming out... :)

    1. Re:Isolinear chips by k96822 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Hey, that's old Trek! They're using bio-mimetic gel packs now. Sheesh, you're so 24th century. :-)

    2. Re:Isolinear chips by Kippesoep · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's "bio-neural gel packs", actually. Do I get modded down for being too Trekkie (especially considering that's ST:VOY)?

    3. Re:Isolinear chips by Rod+Beauvex · · Score: 2, Funny

      I was unaware -1; funny was even possible...

  2. What military purposes? by winkydink · · Score: 4, Funny

    3 or 5 times thinner than a human hair, these fine threads were invented in the old Soviet Union for military purposes... Data wig? What?

    --

    "I'd rather be a lightning rod than a seismometer." -Ken Kesey

    1. Re:What military purposes? by UWC · · Score: 2, Funny

      And the reading device can be disguised as a Flowbee!

    2. Re:What military purposes? by glenebob · · Score: 2, Funny

      If exposed to bleach, much of the information will be lost. Interestingly, the information that is retained is invariably about such things as hair spray, boys, and that one bitch who always wears stuff from totally last week, oh my gawd!

  3. Write Only Memory by sjbe · · Score: 5, Funny

    the greatest difficulty will be with the reading of information

    Is the long anticipated write-only memory here at last? Huzzah!

    1. Re:Write Only Memory by serutan · · Score: 4, Funny

      Because of course, in Soviet Union, flexible microwire reads you.

      heh-heh, I crack myself up!

  4. Truly "Write Once Read Never" by vivin · · Score: 2, Funny

    Researchers say that the greatest difficulty will be with the reading of information.

    Excellent! Now my Perl scripts will truly become Write Once Read Never!!

    --
    Vivin Suresh Paliath
    http://vivin.net

    I like
  5. No way by CDOS_CDOS+run · · Score: 3, Funny

    [tinfoilhat]I am sticking to my 5.25" floppy, it's the only reliable way to backup data.[/tinfoilhat]

    1. Re:No way by escher · · Score: 4, Funny

      Let me guess: You then attach all your floppies to a whiteboard with magnets?

      Well, how else is he supposed to keep all the bits from falling off?

  6. Reading the information? by nobuzz · · Score: 5, Funny

    Researchers say that the greatest difficulty will be with the reading of information.

    How the hell can they tell it's there if they can't even read it?

    1. Re:Reading the information? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Elaine: Can it cut that thin?

      Kramer: Oh, I've cut slices so thin, I couldn't even see them.

      Elaine: How did you know you cut it?

      Kramer: Well, I guess I just assumed.

  7. Great. Just great. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I'm already going batty trying to not lose these fucking tiny cartriges for the Nintendo DS. Now I'm going to have to keep track of a 10cm molecular-width wire and find myself losing them like pencils as they fall out of my pocket.

    I have seen the future and it is inconvenient

    1. Re:Great. Just great. by That's+Unpossible! · · Score: 2, Funny

      No no no, what they are gonna do is get a big handful of these things and melt them down into a flat, round shaped disc, probably around 12cm in diameter, with a hole in the center... so you can hold it on your finger.

      --
      Ironically, the word ironically is often used incorrectly.
  8. Sounds like my backup strategy. by Trigun · · Score: 5, Funny

    Backup is easy! The restore is the tricky part.

  9. It's probably quantum. by Scrameustache · · Score: 5, Funny

    How the hell can they tell it's there if they can't even read it?

    If 10GB of MP3s are written on a wire, and there is no reader to play it. Does it make a sound?

    --

    You can't take the sky from me...

    1. Re:It's probably quantum. by Smidge204 · · Score: 5, Funny

      No, but the RIAA will sue you anyway!

      =Smidge=

    2. Re:It's probably quantum. by gahzinia · · Score: 2, Funny

      If 10gb of pr0n is on there, and there is no viewer capable, is it still an issue to hide it from your mom?

  10. Re:i predict that there will be by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    In soviet russia, thousands predicted your statement.

  11. I have unlimited storage! by erroneus · · Score: 3, Funny

    I just save everything to /dev/null and I never have a problem with storage space.

  12. HEY! There should be an... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    "In former Soviet Russia" joke by now. What gives - are you people sleeping or something ?!?

  13. Southern Hickese: Awww that's nuthin'! by eno2001 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Hyuk!! I got me a storage dee-vice that exists on every Unix system in the world and it's got In-Fi-Night capacity!!! It's called /dev/nul and that sucker seems to have more storage in it than the ocean has water! Of course, like these microwires, I need to figure out how to recover the data from it too.

    [No Offense meant to southerners unless you voted for Bush]

    --
    -"...bad old ideas look confusingly fresh when they are packaged as technology" - Jaron Lanier (Digital Maoism on Edge.o
  14. Who writes this stuff? by Tibor+the+Hun · · Score: 2, Funny

    It is possible thanks to their magnetic properties. Anyway, it's not that easy. Researchers say that the greatest difficulty will be with the reading of information.

    L. Ron Hubbard?
    What, do they also use renegades?

    --
    If you don't know what AltaVista is (was), get off my lawn.
  15. Information Storage by SeanTobin · · Score: 4, Funny

    I prefer to store all my information by sending it into a black hole. As with the microwires, reading it tends to be a bit difficult.

    --
    Karma: SELECT `karma` FROM `users` WHERE `userid`=138474;
  16. Hair Club by MikeA · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'll cancel my appointment with the Hair Club for Men till this is perfected. Just think how much data my flowing locks will store.

  17. Re:Uh... basic mistake. by Gulik · · Score: 4, Funny

    Frankly, I'm not horribly impressed.

    But, he's got technology that, once he gets it to work, will be very nearly useless! How can you not be impressed?

  18. Floppy? I think NOT sir! by TiggertheMad · · Score: 2, Funny

    [tinfoilhat]I am sticking to my 5.25" floppy, it's the only reliable way to backup data.[/tinfoilhat]

    Fool. Using this untested, so called 'floppy disk' will only lead to data loss. The only tested, and reliable storage meidum is the punch card. Don't trust these new fangled gadgets until they have been proven to be more than some mad scientist's pipe dream.

    --

    HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
  19. Change of Venue Requested by Stanistani · · Score: 4, Funny

    This innovation should have been covered in Wired .

  20. Re:Would you trust someone who... by operagost · · Score: 3, Funny

    Pure crap. I have proven through experimentation that CDs are magnetic. I took a recently-written CD-R and rubbed the bottom vigorously for ten minutes with a permanent magnet. Sure enough, it became unreadable. Not only that, but the bottom isn't shiny anymore.

    --

    Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
  21. Finally WORN drives at last! by DanielMarkham · · Score: 4, Funny

    I, for one, have been waiting for the Write-Once, Read Never drives.

    Let's face it: half the stuff on your drive you're never going to use again anyway. Might as well save it on a data hair so it will not be there when you don't need it.

    And these things will be easy to design to follow moore's law. Every 18 months, just put a new label on the package.

  22. Moving from 2D to 1D to... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Following on the heels of the breakthrough of microwires, researchers have announced success in storing data on individual particles. This zero dimensional technology involves selectively magnetizing microscoping grains. So far, researchers admit that there are some difficulties in reading back information. Said a spokesman for the group, "We considered affixing them to a sheet or disc of some kind, but then we would lose all of the benefits of non-dimensionality." When asked what those benefits were the interview was forcibly ended after said spokesman began throwing bar magnets at the press.

  23. Sounds like my dating strategy! by commodoresloat · · Score: 4, Funny

    Finding women is easy! Talking to them is the tricky part.

  24. let me add... by thegnu · · Score: 2, Funny

    DVD-WOM

    ha!

    --
    Please stop stalking me, bro.
    1. Re:let me add... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      DVD-WOM? Why, that's my favouwite stowigde media! Ehuhuhuh...

    2. Re:let me add... by ThJ · · Score: 2, Funny

      Sssh! Be vewy vewy quiet! I'm buwning my powno!

  25. Re:The Horror! by narcc · · Score: 3, Funny

    What next...vacuum tubes?

    You bet! Except they'll be nanovacuum tubes -- The problem, of course, is changing them when they burn out...

  26. Ah, W.M.R.N.. by adeyadey · · Score: 2, Funny

    Or to give it its acronym, the long-awaited "Write Many, Read Never" drive is here..

    You know, kinda like those 5 cent DVD-Rs you get down the market..

    --
    "You lied to me! There is a Swansea!"
  27. Re:Since when did CD's store data MAGNETICALLY?! by David+Horn · · Score: 3, Funny

    I've got an even better idea - why don't we take several of these new magnetic CDs and stick them in a small metal box that you have permanently inside the computer?

    Excuse me, I'm off to the patent office...

    --
    PocketGamer.org - For the gamer on the go!
  28. Sweet. by haelduksf · · Score: 2, Funny

    Excellent. I've always wanted to garotte someone with the full text of Gone With The Wind. My dream finally comes true!

  29. I can store ten gazillion bytes in /dev/null by samuel4242 · · Score: 2, Funny

    The difficulty is reading it.

  30. Re:Heinlein came up with this... by gnuman99 · · Score: 2, Funny
    Measure A/B, convert the resulting fraction into a hexadecimal string, and there's your data. Only problem is that your microscope has to be really good.

    They better turn on their Heisenberg Compensators!

  31. Zillions of terabytes memory. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    My Linux box already has a storage feature large enough you can use to write every byte of data on the planet into... if you never intend to read it back out.

    It's called "/dev/null"

  32. Re:In other words by The+Other+White+Meat · · Score: 2, Funny

    (Tape storage started with metal-wire recorders, but esentially they're the same idea, only it's harder to strangle someone with magtape.)

    Well clearly, you just aren't properly motivated.

    Wait until your department head deletes the shared workgroup directory a couple of times, and magtape garroting becomes surprisingly easy...

    --

    --- Generation X: The first generation to have SIG lines inferior to their parents... ---