roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith) (11/18/86)
In article <102@rb-dc1.UUCP> bissell@rb-dc1issell.UUCP (jack bissell) writes: > Since one of the problems with a fast optical disk is the movement of > a heavy arm and head mech. would be to not move the arm but to move > the data. [did I miss something there? RHS] I suppose this is a bit off the wall, but how about using a phased array to steer a laser beam over the face of a stationary data surface. I'm not 100% sure how you would read the data, and my field theory is so rusty that I have no idea if this is even plausable, but it sure could be fast. No moving parts either. I remember reading an article about phased-array radars sometime in the past year or two. Probably either IEEE Spectrum or Sci. Am. (How's that for a precise reference :-)). I'll have to go re-read the article. On a totally different note, I saw an ad recently for what I thought was the cleverest new disk idea I've seen in a long time. A 20 Mbyte hard disk for an IBM-PC where the HDA was so small it was mounted right on the controller card! No muss, no fuss, no more cables hanging out the back of your machine. Not push-back-the-limits-of-technology stuff, but an elegant engineering solution regardless. Cost was $300-something. I'm still kind of freaked out by the idea that you can buy a 20 Mbyte disk for about the same price as dinner for 4 in a high-class restaurant. RK-05's anyone? -- Roy Smith, {allegra,cmcl2,philabs}!phri!roy System Administrator, Public Health Research Institute 455 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016 "you can't spell deoxyribonucleic without unix!"
srp@ethz.UUCP (11/21/86)
In article <2507@phri.UUCP> roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith) writes: > I suppose this is a bit off the wall, but how about using a phased >array to steer a laser beam over the face of a stationary data surface. >I'm not 100% sure how you would read the data, and my field theory is so >rusty that I have no idea if this is even plausable, but it sure could be >fast. No moving parts either. > > I remember reading an article about phased-array radars sometime in >the past year or two. Probably either IEEE Spectrum or Sci. Am. (How's >that for a precise reference :-)). I'll have to go re-read the article. Maybe not a phased array alone (yes, normally used in radar constuction, atmosphereic research etc.), but *with* a piezoelectric device used in the driving of fast mirrors ( I worked on a proposal for a starwars laser/fast mirror combo) Although I know something about phased array radar (my father's thesis) I'm not sure how well they work at short distances and to what accuracy/resolution they operate. If this combonation was an implicit assumption, my apologies... I just started watching this discussion. -- ----------- Scott Presnell Eidgnoessische Technische Hochschule, Zuerich (ETH-Zentrum) Labor Fuer Organische Chemie Universitaetsstrasse 16 CH-8092 Zuerich Switzerland. uucp: ...seismo!mcvax!cernvax!ethz!srp (srp@ethz.uucp) earn/bitnet: Benner@CZHETH5A
eugene@pioneer.arpa (Eugene Miya N.) (08/25/87)
In article <420@astroatc.UUCP> johnw@astroatc.UUCP (John F. Wardale) writes: >>> RAM vs disk stuff > . . . (stuff removed) >As I look into my crystal ball, I see RAM and optical (WO) disks >replacing magnetic memory within 5 years...(say, ~~~ 30% of total, >and 90% of new systems/designs) I won't hold my breath. I heard that 10 years ago (back then you added bubble memory as well). We started waiting 4 years ago for optical disks "in 2 years." Sure there are some small WORM (Write Once Read Many) systems and some custom systems. But largely, WORM systems will get abused and I don't see the I/O rates vastly improving for ODs. I should have put $100 down like Alan Karp did a few years ago.... From the Rock of Ages Home for Retired Hackers: --eugene miya NASA Ames Research Center eugene@ames-aurora.ARPA "You trust the `reply' command with all those different mailers out there?" {hplabs,hao,ihnp4,decwrl,allegra,tektronix,menlo70}!ames!aurora!eugene