128-bit architechture | The Coffeehouse

Dodo
I'm your creativity creator™ :)

Yeah, the thing is just, you have to take into account that you're also using resources to create the storage element, to create the storage technology and to create the pattern itself. The fact that the researchers placed molecules (and thus complex multi-atom structures) onto the storage device (the electrolytic copper plate) means that the storage density has to be calculated by dividing the number of bits by the number of elements used to store that bit. I'm fairy certain this is smaller than 1 bit/atom. If you can just place a single atom on a surface, it doesn't mean you have a storage capacity of 1 bit/atom, because the surface your placing the atoms on is also made of atoms, atoms you forgot to count.

exoteric
I : Next<I>

In reply to Dodo

#Oct 14th @ 9:53 PM

Of course. But the idea (I'm sure) is to share the same surrounding infrastructure for more than just electron, otherwise the whole thing would be somewhat pointless.

Dodo
I'm your creativity creator™ :)

In reply to exoteric

#Oct 15th @ 1:14 PM

No, the idea is research. Figuring out what we can do by advancing technology. The purpose is therefore purely scientific education. Using equipment the size of a football field to store (and read) data on surfaces as tiny as possible does not provide any advantage over previously existing storage technology. There is also no business perspective about increasing storage density if that also requires to enlarge the I/O device and its power requirement significantly.

exoteric
I : Next<I>

Take a look at these two groups within Microsoft Research

Extreme Computing Group (XCG) and as part of that the Cloud Computing Futures group.

The Cloud Computing Futures work begins with a key concept: the data center is a computer, and it must be designed and programmed as an integrated system. This means examining all aspects of data centers from first principles.

The eXtreme Computing Group (XCG) was formed in June of 2009 with the goal of developing radical new approaches to ultrascale and high-performance computing hardware and software, an area of research that the U.S. government has identified as critical for the future. The group's research activities include work in computer security, cryptography, operating system design, parallel programming models, cloud software, data center architectures, specialty hardware accelerators and quantum computing.

Simply put, our charter is to rethink the nature of computing at extreme scale, from alternative, quantum computing models, through the transformative effects of manycore parallelism on programming systems and architectures, through massive cloud computing infrastructure designs that drive consumer, business and social applications. As the name suggests, “extreme” computing focuses on moving beyond the current limits of computing and reshaping our fundamental assumptions and practices. It also includes aggressively engaging academia and government agencies on Microsoft technologies for research and production, as well as selected government policy engagement.

Big ideas on the table. Less incremental thinking (that's what the competitors do) (or maybe incremental thinking alongside radical thinking). Looking forward to Channel 9 in the next 5-10 years

Smiley