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From: roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith)
Newsgroups: comp.arch,comp.periphs
Subject: Re: optical disks
Message-ID: <2507@phri.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 18-Nov-86 14:19:58 EST
Article-I.D.: phri.2507
Posted: Tue Nov 18 14:19:58 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 19-Nov-86 06:10:21 EST
References: <1256@hoptoad.uucp> <13679@amdcad.UUCP> <102@rb-dc1.UUCP>
Reply-To: roy@phri.UUCP (Roy Smith)
Organization: Public Health Research Inst. (NY, NY)
Lines: 30
Summary: phased arrays -- sci-fi or engineering breakthrough?
Xref: mnetor comp.arch:42 comp.periphs:19

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!"