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Heat or dots? The question is dividing the hard drive industry as it prepares for a major product overhaul.Perpendicular hard drive technology, which started appearing last year, currently lets manufacturers increase drive density, or the amount of data stored, by around 50 percent annually. But that pace of progress will likely sputter in about four to five years.
To keep progress going, the first disks based on new technology will need to enter the market around 2011. Competitors differ, however, on how and when ideas for revamping drives should become reality.
The Future of Hard Drives [news.com.com]
An interesting article. Heat-assisted magnetic recording, patterned media, or flash-based. And claims of 50 to 100 terabits of data per square inch - that's phenominal!
I'd guess the folks at Microsoft, et al, just need to find better ways to help us organise the massive amounts of data stored on these new disks.
It's speed that's going to make a difference in the future. Volume is already quite ridiculous unless you're planning on digitizing a years worth of television.
