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Windows Has a Future In RAM: AgigaTech Samples DDR3+Flash DIMM
An anonymous reader writes "AgigaTech appears to be the first company to produce a non-volatile SDRAM DIMM — an SDRAM memory module that retains its contents even without power supply. The modules combine DDR2/3 SDRAM with NAND Flash as well as a data transfer controller and an ultracapacitor-based power source to support a data transfer from the SDRAM to Flash and vice versa. If this memory makes it into production, this is something that I instantly will want and will stand in line for."
What's windows got to do with it?
Apple has "Mac vs PC", Microsoft has "Laptop Hunters", Linux has recession
This will require essentially the same software infrastructure as normal suspend to RAM.
The system still has to go through the steps:
Check to see if any critical tasks are running - if so, pause suspend, and ask user.
Same with any communications tasks that may be interrupted.
Stop tasks.
Save state from all hardware to RAM.
Suspend to RAM.
Just capturing an image of the running system does not result in a system that will resume.
It's not a case of put one of these magical DIMMs in, and you're fine for power cuts.
Is it possibly interesting - sure.
But in real life, it may have very little advantage over a seperate flash device, for main memory.
Now, as a super-fast SSD - truly awesome.
Also - WTF - this should never be patentable.
This is not an invention worthy of patent.
It does nothing novel that is not implicit in the problem statement.
'I want a non-volatile RAM'.
Okay, I've broken the Slashdot rule and read the article.
Can anyone tell me why ...
No, because we didn't break the damned rule! Now, do you see why we have it?
I remember some 40 years ago using a PDP-7. When I got tired at about 4am I would note the accumulator and program counter and switch the machine off. Coming back later I restored these and continued the program - it having remained in the core memory that the machine had.