Re: Where is IBM?

[Hans Boldt <boldt@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Shields, Ken wrote:
> -----Original Message-----
> <snip>
>
> Having lots of cheap RAM and disk have interesting consequences that 
> have yet to play out. Some researchers propose doing away with 
> databases on hard disks and keeping gigabytes of data in RAM memory. 
> The rationale seems to be the impedence mismatch between objects and 
> database rows. By keeping everything in memory, you can maintain the 
> data more easily in an object model. This also meshes nicely with 
> the single level store model. But then again, you still have to 
> address the issue of communicating with other systems and saving the 
> objects to persistent store for backup purposes.
> <end snip>
> 	Hans, I believe the next quantum leap of technology will be the 'diskless' system.
> 	Not an easy task, but as you alluded to in your write up, the cost of memory is dropping so dramatically
> 	I can envision a computer, with perhaps 20 tera bytes of memory, and no disk.
> 	Impossible you say...isn't that what makes technology so attractive, overcoming the impossible...
> Ken

I don't think the "diskless" system is too far off. Consider Compact 
Flash (CF) memory cards. You might find it hard to believe that, 
although photography is perhaps my oldest hobby, I still haven't 
bought myself a digital camera. I've wanted to for a while, but the 
right mix of features and affordability has eluded me (at least up 
until recently). A year ago I was considering a 5 megapixel camera 
along with a 1G microdrive. But now you can buy a 2G CF card! OK, it 
costs about as much as the 5 megapixel camera I want, and 3 times as 
much as a comparable 1G card. But you know the price is going to 
drop over time, along with larger capacities. A 1G CF card is now 
cheaper that the 1G microdrive, so why bother with disk storage at 
all in that particular domain? And laptop systems can't be too far 
behind.

Cheers! Hans