NYTimes: IBM's Nanotech Punchcards

Wow. In A New System for Storing Data: Think Punch Cards, but Tiny, we get a clear description of IBM research in persistent molecular memory that may offer storage densities 25 times that available in today's magnetic hard disks.

160GB hard drives now go for under $250. What happens when 4 terabyte drives are available for the same price? That's the equivalent of 210 double-sided, double-layered DVDs, or 840 DVD-quality 2-hour movies, or around 5,000 almost-DVD-quality Divx-encoded 2-hour movies. In a single desktop drive. Perhaps by about 2010, it will be possible to wear a complete copy of all music ever recorded as a piece of jewelry, perhaps a bracelet or an oversized earring.

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