#CHIPS: "Racetrack Memory Aims to Replace Flash/HD"

IBM is perfecting a solid-state memory technology that, like flash memory chips, is intended to replace hard disk drives with devices that have no moving parts. And even better than flash, IBM's racetrack memory does not wear out no matter how many times you read, write or erase it. Look for racetrack memories, and a whole array of others, to rival flash and hard disks by the end of the decade. R. Colin Johnson @NextGenLog


IBM has demonstrated all the component parts of its racetrack memory, which moves magnetic bits along a stationary nanowire "track" that stores hundreds of times more information than even the densest hard disk.

Here is what my Ziff-Davis' Smarter Technology story says about racetrack memories: Magnetic memory technologies—notably hard disk drives—can be read, written and erased any number of times, since the only changes made are in the orientation of the magnetic material on its surface, which does not fatigue. Unfortunately, solid-state memories like flash will never completely replace hard disks because they fatigue and wear out after about 10,000 read/write cycles...
Full Text: http://bit.ly/NextGenLog-hKcp