We live in a crazy world of advanced technology that continues bewilder the mind every passing day like a laser the size of a flashlight that is so strong the International Space Station can see it or a weapon that can fire a projectile seven times the speed of sound with only magnets. However, everything now leaves a digital record such as the 1.8 trillion gigabytes of data generated in 2011 alone, so we need to find better ways of storing all of those industrial projects, market statistics and lolz cats (computerworld.com).
Our commercial computers and servers run on the traditional hard disk drive (HDD) that essentially acts like a record player that can operate tens of thousands of times faster and more complicated, but nonetheless the same principles apply (makeuseof.com). Thankfully, those loveable, whacky scientists and engineers have been working hard to bring us storage devices that could hold an unimaginable amount of data in unbelievable means.
A popular video game series, Assassin’s Creed, uses a make believe technology of extracting memory from a person’s ancestors to uncover secrets about the past, well, that has more or less become reality. A team at European Bioinformatics Institute has discover a means of using the molecules of DNA to record all 154 of Shakespeare’s sonnets, a digital photo of their lab, a PDF of the 1953 study that described the structure of DNA, and a 26-second sound clip from Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech (rt.com). However awesome this idea of using DNA is, you will not be able to use it (at this point) unless you have $30,000 lying around and are looking to put over 50 million of hours of HD video away for the next 500 to 5,000 years. I thought not; until then try out the new solid-state drives (SSD).
Chances are that you already own an SSD and use it every day. Essentially, SSDs are the big brother of USB flash drives (finally something relatable) because they both use flash memory. This kind of memory storage uses direct electrical currents that recycle through the device, which allows for the memory unit to not be affected by the power being turned on/off (explainthatstuff.com). The advantages of SSD to HDD is that SSD requires no moving parts, needs a fraction of the power, and operates six times faster; thus making SSD an attractive alternative (auslogics.com).
Yes, it does cost a bit more than HDD and a more limited capacity, but those are short-term issues with any new technology. Imagine no more melting motherboards or worrying about a fall off the countertop aside from a busted screen. On a more serious note, medical implants that use wireless communication and data storage can be exponentially safer and smaller. We could barely fathom 50 years ago the kind of infrastructure that we have today, and any plans we make for the future will depend upon these data storage technologies because secure information transfer is the lifeblood of our society.
Finding new methods of storing and protecting our digital existence will shape the course of our society. Just think about our journey from cave paintings, the invention of writing on clay tablets, paper, electric tape, CDs, and now writing with quantum mechanics and very structure of life. Every advancement in data storage ushered in a new era of society, and we are standing on the edge of the next great leap.
Grant Vargas
Viewpoints Editor
Hadrian’s Wall