Researchers at GE at work to create 500gb optical discs for next generation data storage using holograms.

Published: NY Times online
April 26, 2009

General Electric says it has achieved a breakthrough in digital storage technology that will allow standard-size discs to hold the equivalent of 100 DVDs…“This could be the next generation of low-cost storage, ”said Richard Doherty, an analyst at Envisioneering, a technology research firm…Holographic storage has the potential to pack data far more densely than conventional optical technology, used in DVDs and the newer, high-capacity Blu-ray discs”
….When Blu-ray was introduced in late 2006, a 25-gigabyte disc cost nearly $1 a gigabyte, though it is about half that now. G.E. expects that when they are introduced, perhaps in 2011 or 2012, holographic discs using its technology will be less than 10 cents a gigabyte — and fall in the future. More

With medical imaging data sets growing exponentially, look for this technology to first find its way into storage solutions for GEs healthcare line of CT and PET and 3D scanning technology. Eventually this technology could ultimately end up as a successor to blueray and in consumers hands as an affordable way to archive high definition video and personal data. For more information head over to the full article

**techwaredist is not affiliated with GE or GE Healthcare.