What do you picture when you think of ‘the cloud’? Fluffy white formations floating in a blue sky?
Let me ask you a question: What do you picture when you think of ‘the cloud’? Fluffy white formations floating in a blue sky? Or perhaps a digital realm where your data goes to hibernate?
I bet you didn’t think of a sheet of glass, did you?
Microsoft’s Project Silica could change how data is stored in the cloud. It’s been four years since we first heard about this game-changing initiative. Back then, they managed to squeeze the entire 1978 Superman movie onto a piece of glass no bigger than a drink coaster.
Fast forward to today, and they’re not just storing superhero flicks. This technology can now hold a huge 7TB of data. That’s around 3,500 movies or 1.75 million songs. Enough entertainment to last you over half a year or keep you humming along for 13 years.
But it’s not just about storing your favourite tunes or films. Microsoft is repositioning Project Silica as a revolutionary cloud storage solution. Unlike our current magnetic media that has a finite lifespan (and isn’t too kind on the environment), this glass storage is resilient, sustainable, and designed to last 10,000 years.
Data is written onto the glass using a laser system and read back using a quick-moving microscope and AI decoding. It’s even got a hi-tech robot to fetch and retrieve the glass panels when needed.
There’s still work to be done before Project Silica is ready for the big leagues. But just imagine the possibilities: A world where your data is stored not in some intangible cloud, but on a tangible, resilient piece of glass. A world where data storage is not just efficient, but also sustainable.
Think this could be revolutionary? Or dangerous in the wrong pair of (slippery) hands?
#ProjectSilica #CloudStorage #SustainableTech