https://phys.org/news/2026-02-glass-square-future-storage.html
Scientists at Microsoft Research in the United States have
demonstrated a system called Silica for writing and reading
information in ordinary pieces of glass which can store two
million books' worth of data in a thin, palm-sized square.
In a paper published today in Nature, the researchers say
their tests suggest the data will be readable for more than
10,000 years.
The new system, called Silica, uses extremely short flashes
of laser light to inscribe bits of information into a block
of ordinary glass.
. . .
-a Well, it's not "ordinary" glass ... closer to a
-a high-silica Pyrex.
-a Anyway, looks like they can internally etch the glass
-a in many layers using a laser. Data capacity should be
-a very high.
-a Of course the plates CAN be physically broken ... not
-a sure they'd hold up so well for 10,000 years unless
-a stored in a hardened box.
-a Clay tablets, albeit low-density, DO last at least
-a 5,000 years if conditions are fair. There's a huge
-a library of Sumerian texts on such tablets and not
-a all have been decoded.
c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-glass-square-future-storage.html
Scientists at Microsoft Research in the United States have
demonstrated a system called Silica for writing and reading
information in ordinary pieces of glass which can store two
million books' worth of data in a thin, palm-sized square.
In a paper published today in Nature, the researchers say
their tests suggest the data will be readable for more than
10,000 years.
Try obtaining a new 8", 5.25" or 3.5" floppy disk mechanism today in
2026. And, assuming you found one (new old stock maybe?) try finding a reasonably recent computer to which you can attach it (floppy ports
have disappeared too).
And it has not been 10,000 years yet since all three of those sizes of
"data storage media" were readily available.
The problem will *all* these claims of "this chunk of glass/quartz/etc.
will store your data for 10,000 years" has always been: "yes, but in 7
years the market will have shifted and no one will be making
reader/writer machines anymore".
Having a palm-sized square of glass holding two million books (odd measurement there, but...) is not worth much if you can no longer find
any working machines that will actually read any of the two million
books off the palm-sized square of glass.
The new system, called Silica, uses extremely short flashes
of laser light to inscribe bits of information into a block
of ordinary glass.
Sounds similar to those laser etched artworks in glass where small
bubbles are created in the right pattern to make a 3d image of
something appear inside the glass/plastic block.
c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-glass-square-future-storage.html
Scientists at Microsoft Research in the United States have
demonstrated a system called Silica for writing and reading
information in ordinary pieces of glass which can store two
million books' worth of data in a thin, palm-sized square.
In a paper published today in Nature, the researchers say
their tests suggest the data will be readable for more than
10,000 years.
Try obtaining a new 8", 5.25" or 3.5" floppy disk mechanism today in
2026. And, assuming you found one (new old stock maybe?) try finding a reasonably recent computer to which you can attach it (floppy ports
have disappeared too).
On 22/02/2026 19:26, Rich wrote:
c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:Plenty of 3.5" around. Not so may 5.25...
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-glass-square-future-storage.html
Scientists at Microsoft Research in the United States have
demonstrated a system called Silica for writing and reading
information in ordinary pieces of glass which can store two
million books' worth of data in a thin, palm-sized square.
In a paper published today in Nature, the researchers say
their tests suggest the data will be readable for more than
10,000 years.
Try obtaining a new 8", 5.25" or 3.5" floppy disk mechanism today in
2026. And, assuming you found one (new old stock maybe?) try finding a
reasonably recent computer to which you can attach it (floppy ports
have disappeared too).
Plenty second hand tho
And it isn't hard if you *really* want to, to reproduce the mechanism
I still have a machine with a 5 1/4-inch drive and a network interface.
I also have an IMSAI with a pair of 8-inch drives, but unfortunately its
boot ROM has rotted. Assuming I could find a listing of the ROM, I'm
back to the issue of finding appropriate hardware, i.e. something that
will burn a 2708.
c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-glass-square-future-storage.html
Scientists at Microsoft Research in the United States have
demonstrated a system called Silica for writing and reading
information in ordinary pieces of glass which can store two
million books' worth of data in a thin, palm-sized square.
In a paper published today in Nature, the researchers say
their tests suggest the data will be readable for more than
10,000 years.
Try obtaining a new 8", 5.25" or 3.5" floppy disk mechanism today in
2026. And, assuming you found one (new old stock maybe?) try finding a reasonably recent computer to which you can attach it (floppy ports
have disappeared too).
And it has not been 10,000 years yet since all three of those sizes of
"data storage media" were readily available.
The problem will *all* these claims of "this chunk of glass/quartz/etc.
will store your data for 10,000 years" has always been: "yes, but in 7
years the market will have shifted and no one will be making
reader/writer machines anymore".
Having a palm-sized square of glass holding two million books (odd measurement there, but...) is not worth much if you can no longer find
any working machines that will actually read any of the two million
books off the palm-sized square of glass.
The new system, called Silica, uses extremely short flashes
of laser light to inscribe bits of information into a block
of ordinary glass.
Sounds similar to those laser etched artworks in glass where small
bubbles are created in the right pattern to make a 3d image of
something appear inside the glass/plastic block.
On 2/22/26 11:26, Rich wrote:
c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-glass-square-future-storage.html
Scientists at Microsoft Research in the United States have
demonstrated a system called Silica for writing and reading
information in ordinary pieces of glass which can store two
million books' worth of data in a thin, palm-sized square.
In a paper published today in Nature, the researchers say
their tests suggest the data will be readable for more than
10,000 years.
Try obtaining a new 8", 5.25" or 3.5" floppy disk mechanism today in
2026.-a And, assuming you found one (new old stock maybe?) try finding a
reasonably recent computer to which you can attach it (floppy ports
have disappeared too).
-a-a-a-aFloppy ports = USB ports --a 5.25 and 3.5 devices should be available and some
of the 3.5 interfaces can be transfered to 8 inch drives. <https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=8+inch+floppy+disk+drive&_sop=12>
-a-a-a-aNot cheap.
On 2026-02-22, The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
On 22/02/2026 19:26, Rich wrote:
c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:Plenty of 3.5" around. Not so may 5.25...
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-glass-square-future-storage.html
Scientists at Microsoft Research in the United States have
demonstrated a system called Silica for writing and reading
information in ordinary pieces of glass which can store two
million books' worth of data in a thin, palm-sized square.
In a paper published today in Nature, the researchers say
their tests suggest the data will be readable for more than
10,000 years.
Try obtaining a new 8", 5.25" or 3.5" floppy disk mechanism today in
2026. And, assuming you found one (new old stock maybe?) try finding a
reasonably recent computer to which you can attach it (floppy ports
have disappeared too).
Plenty second hand tho
And it isn't hard if you *really* want to, to reproduce the mechanism
I still have a machine with a 5 1/4-inch drive and a network interface.
I also have an IMSAI with a pair of 8-inch drives, but unfortunately
its boot ROM has rotted. Assuming I could find a listing of the ROM,
I'm back to the issue of finding appropriate hardware, i.e. something
that will burn a 2708.
On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 01:07:37 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
I still have a machine with a 5 1/4-inch drive and a network interface.
I also have an IMSAI with a pair of 8-inch drives, but unfortunately its
boot ROM has rotted. Assuming I could find a listing of the ROM, I'm
back to the issue of finding appropriate hardware, i.e. something that
will burn a 2708.
https://github.com/trevor-makes/avr-eeprom-programmer
I built a prgrammer for the Osborne 1. It had a 8255 for the supposed Centronics printer port but being CP/M you could do all sorts of strange things with it. Obsorne officially supported using it as a GPIB port.
Computers were a lot more fun when you could directly mess with the
hardware. The 4 voltage (+5, -5, +12, +26) 2708 would require a little
more work.
On 2/22/26 11:26, Rich wrote:
c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-glass-square-future-storage.html
Scientists at Microsoft Research in the United States have
demonstrated a system called Silica for writing and reading
information in ordinary pieces of glass which can store two
million books' worth of data in a thin, palm-sized square.
In a paper published today in Nature, the researchers say
their tests suggest the data will be readable for more than
10,000 years.
Try obtaining a new 8", 5.25" or 3.5" floppy disk mechanism today in
2026. And, assuming you found one (new old stock maybe?) try finding a
reasonably recent computer to which you can attach it (floppy ports
have disappeared too).
Floppy ports = USB ports - 5.25 and 3.5 devices should be
available and some
of the 3.5 interfaces can be transfered to 8 inch drives. <https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=8+inch+floppy+disk+drive&_sop=12>
Not cheap.
bliss
And it has not been 10,000 years yet since all three of those sizes of
"data storage media" were readily available.
The problem will *all* these claims of "this chunk of glass/quartz/etc.
will store your data for 10,000 years" has always been: "yes, but in 7
years the market will have shifted and no one will be making
reader/writer machines anymore".
Having a palm-sized square of glass holding two million books (odd
measurement there, but...) is not worth much if you can no longer find
any working machines that will actually read any of the two million
books off the palm-sized square of glass.
The new system, called Silica, uses extremely short flashes
of laser light to inscribe bits of information into a block
of ordinary glass.
Sounds similar to those laser etched artworks in glass where small
bubbles are created in the right pattern to make a 3d image of
something appear inside the glass/plastic block.
Small drill kits. for example Dremel, were used to created 3D images inside plastic blocks. I don't know about the images in glass.
This was promoted as a hobbyist pastime quite a while back.
bliss
On 2026-02-22, The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
On 22/02/2026 19:26, Rich wrote:
c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:Plenty of 3.5" around. Not so may 5.25...
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-glass-square-future-storage.html
Scientists at Microsoft Research in the United States have
demonstrated a system called Silica for writing and reading
information in ordinary pieces of glass which can store two
million books' worth of data in a thin, palm-sized square.
In a paper published today in Nature, the researchers say
their tests suggest the data will be readable for more than
10,000 years.
Try obtaining a new 8", 5.25" or 3.5" floppy disk mechanism today in
2026. And, assuming you found one (new old stock maybe?) try finding a
reasonably recent computer to which you can attach it (floppy ports
have disappeared too).
Plenty second hand tho
And it isn't hard if you *really* want to, to reproduce the mechanism
I still have a machine with a 5 1/4-inch drive and a network interface.
I also have an IMSAI with a pair of 8-inch drives, but unfortunately
its boot ROM has rotted. Assuming I could find a listing of the ROM,
I'm back to the issue of finding appropriate hardware, i.e. something
that will burn a 2708.
On 2/22/26 20:07, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2026-02-22, The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
On 22/02/2026 19:26, Rich wrote:
c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:Plenty of 3.5" around. Not so may 5.25...
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-glass-square-future-storage.html
Scientists at Microsoft Research in the United States have
demonstrated a system called Silica for writing and reading
information in ordinary pieces of glass which can store two
million books' worth of data in a thin, palm-sized square.
In a paper published today in Nature, the researchers say
their tests suggest the data will be readable for more than
10,000 years.
Try obtaining a new 8", 5.25" or 3.5" floppy disk mechanism today in
2026.-a And, assuming you found one (new old stock maybe?) try finding a >>>> reasonably recent computer to which you can attach it (floppy ports
have disappeared too).
Plenty second hand tho
And it isn't hard if you *really* want to, to reproduce the mechanism
I still have a machine with a 5 1/4-inch drive and a network interface.
I also have an IMSAI with a pair of 8-inch drives, but unfortunately
its boot ROM has rotted.-a Assuming I could find a listing of the ROM,
I'm back to the issue of finding appropriate hardware, i.e. something
that will burn a 2708.
-a Good luck .....
-a Tech is more perishable than raw fish
-a on a summer day.
-a Now there MIGHT be some small companies
-a that COULD burn you new ROMs - but the
-a fee would be very high.
Now if you had
-a some insider in a tech-heavy college
-a computer lab, they probably HAVE all the
-a needed stuff in a closet somewhere and
-a would see it as an academic challenge ...
-a as a fun/educational project.
On 2/22/26 20:07, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2026-02-22, The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
On 22/02/2026 19:26, Rich wrote:
c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:Plenty of 3.5" around. Not so may 5.25...
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-glass-square-future-storage.html
Scientists at Microsoft Research in the United States have
demonstrated a system called Silica for writing and reading
information in ordinary pieces of glass which can store two
million books' worth of data in a thin, palm-sized square.
In a paper published today in Nature, the researchers say
their tests suggest the data will be readable for more than
10,000 years.
Try obtaining a new 8", 5.25" or 3.5" floppy disk mechanism today in
2026. And, assuming you found one (new old stock maybe?) try finding a >>>> reasonably recent computer to which you can attach it (floppy ports
have disappeared too).
Plenty second hand tho
And it isn't hard if you *really* want to, to reproduce the mechanism
I still have a machine with a 5 1/4-inch drive and a network interface.
I also have an IMSAI with a pair of 8-inch drives, but unfortunately
its boot ROM has rotted. Assuming I could find a listing of the ROM,
I'm back to the issue of finding appropriate hardware, i.e. something
that will burn a 2708.
Good luck .....
Tech is more perishable than raw fish
on a summer day.
Now there MIGHT be some small companies
that COULD burn you new ROMs - but the
fee would be very high. Now if you had
some insider in a tech-heavy college
computer lab, they probably HAVE all the
needed stuff in a closet somewhere and
would see it as an academic challenge ...
as a fun/educational project.
On 23/02/2026 05:24, c186282 wrote:
On 2/22/26 20:07, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2026-02-22, The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
On 22/02/2026 19:26, Rich wrote:
c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:Plenty of 3.5" around. Not so may 5.25...
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-glass-square-future-storage.html
Scientists at Microsoft Research in the United States have
demonstrated a system called Silica for writing and reading
information in ordinary pieces of glass which can store two
million books' worth of data in a thin, palm-sized square.
In a paper published today in Nature, the researchers say
their tests suggest the data will be readable for more than
10,000 years.
Try obtaining a new 8", 5.25" or 3.5" floppy disk mechanism today in >>>>> 2026.-a And, assuming you found one (new old stock maybe?) try finding a >>>>> reasonably recent computer to which you can attach it (floppy ports
have disappeared too).
Plenty second hand tho
And it isn't hard if you *really* want to, to reproduce the mechanism
I still have a machine with a 5 1/4-inch drive and a network interface.
I also have an IMSAI with a pair of 8-inch drives, but unfortunately
its boot ROM has rotted.-a Assuming I could find a listing of the ROM,
I'm back to the issue of finding appropriate hardware, i.e. something
that will burn a 2708.
-a Good luck .....
-a Tech is more perishable than raw fish
-a on a summer day.
-a Now there MIGHT be some small companies
-a that COULD burn you new ROMs - but the
-a fee would be very high.
In the UK -u12...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143674610911
Now if you had
-a some insider in a tech-heavy college
-a computer lab, they probably HAVE all the
-a needed stuff in a closet somewhere and
-a would see it as an academic challenge ...
-a as a fun/educational project.
What you need is the code.
I think this may be it
https://github.com/bhall66/IMSAI-8080
ASM, LST and HEX fileds for the boot and basic ROMS.
Hmm, how many even REMEMBER what a Centronics port was ?
I once found some notes about how to wire up a 2716 to look like a 2708;
it might be easier to find a 2716 programmer (where "easier" is
relative, of course).
Mind you, those notes are probably filed away somewhere near a round
tuit that I can't get either.
Yes, it's a very similar tech. However it looks like the 'bubble'
density is vastly higher and the 'glass'
is somewhat superior.
On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:31:56 -0500, c186282 wrote:
Hmm, how many even REMEMBER what a Centronics port was ?
And 25 or 9 pin RS-232 connectors for that matter?
You probably can find 20-somethings that wouldn't believe
laptops had CD drives.
I had a laptop that had interchangeable drives. Want to read a CD?
Plug in the CD drive. Want to read a floppy? Plug in the 5 1/4-inch
drive.
I also have an IMSAI with a pair of 8-inch drives, but unfortunately
its boot ROM has rotted. Assuming I could find a listing of the ROM,
I'm back to the issue of finding appropriate hardware, i.e.
something that will burn a 2708.
On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 22:33:31 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
I had a laptop that had interchangeable drives. Want to read a CD? Plug
in the CD drive. Want to read a floppy? Plug in the 5 1/4-inch drive.
Did it also have a PCMCIA slot?
On 23/02/2026 05:24, c186282 wrote:
On 2/22/26 20:07, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
On 2026-02-22, The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
On 22/02/2026 19:26, Rich wrote:
c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:Plenty of 3.5" around. Not so may 5.25...
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-glass-square-future-storage.html
Scientists at Microsoft Research in the United States have
demonstrated a system called Silica for writing and reading
information in ordinary pieces of glass which can store two
million books' worth of data in a thin, palm-sized square.
In a paper published today in Nature, the researchers say
their tests suggest the data will be readable for more than
10,000 years.
Try obtaining a new 8", 5.25" or 3.5" floppy disk mechanism today in >>>>> 2026.-a And, assuming you found one (new old stock maybe?) try
finding a
reasonably recent computer to which you can attach it (floppy ports
have disappeared too).
Plenty second hand tho
And it isn't hard if you *really* want to, to reproduce the mechanism
I still have a machine with a 5 1/4-inch drive and a network interface.
I also have an IMSAI with a pair of 8-inch drives, but unfortunately
its boot ROM has rotted.-a Assuming I could find a listing of the ROM,
I'm back to the issue of finding appropriate hardware, i.e. something
that will burn a 2708.
-a-a Good luck .....
-a-a Tech is more perishable than raw fish
-a-a on a summer day.
-a-a Now there MIGHT be some small companies
-a-a that COULD burn you new ROMs - but the
-a-a fee would be very high.
In the UK -u12...
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143674610911
-a-a-a Now if you had
-a-a some insider in a tech-heavy college
-a-a computer lab, they probably HAVE all the
-a-a needed stuff in a closet somewhere and
-a-a would see it as an academic challenge ...
-a-a as a fun/educational project.
What you need is the code.
I think this may be it
https://github.com/bhall66/IMSAI-8080
ASM, LST and HEX fileds for the boot and basic ROMS.
On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 00:31:56 -0500, c186282 wrote:
Hmm, how many even REMEMBER what a Centronics port was ?
And 25 or 9 pin RS-232 connectors for that matter? You probably can find 20-somethings that wouldn't believe laptops had CD drives.
On Sun, 22 Feb 2026 23:46:59 -0500, c186282 wrote:
Yes, it's a very similar tech. However it looks like the 'bubble'
density is vastly higher and the 'glass'
is somewhat superior.
Call it anything but bubble... Some of us remember bubble memory as the
next big thing.
I still have a machine with a 5 1/4-inch drive and a network interface.
I also have an IMSAI with a pair of 8-inch drives, but unfortunately
its boot ROM has rotted. Assuming I could find a listing of the ROM,
I'm back to the issue of finding appropriate hardware, i.e. something
that will burn a 2708.
On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 23:17:10 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:
On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 22:33:31 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
I had a laptop that had interchangeable drives. Want to read a CD? Plug
in the CD drive. Want to read a floppy? Plug in the 5 1/4-inch drive.
Did it also have a PCMCIA slot?
My Compaq Concerto had two.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compaq_Concerto
I did have an external CD and I think an Iomega Zip 100 drive. Man 100 MB, that was class in a glass.
Anyway, if you need to read odd formats, look up local garage sales.
For five or ten bucks you can get a C64 with tape and floppy units,
an Apple-II, and old DOS/2K/XP compatible PC with 5.25 floppies ....
On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 23:17:10 -0000 (UTC), Lawrence DrCOOliveiro wrote:
On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 22:33:31 GMT, Charlie Gibbs wrote:
I had a laptop that had interchangeable drives. Want to read a CD? Plug
in the CD drive. Want to read a floppy? Plug in the 5 1/4-inch drive.
Did it also have a PCMCIA slot?
My Compaq Concerto had two.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compaq_Concerto
I did have an external CD and I think an Iomega Zip 100 drive. Man 100 MB, that was class in a glass.
Anyway, a lot of old tech has gone away. Always wanted an S-100 bus
computer. I think they made them all the way up to the 68020.
On 2026-02-23, Charlie Gibbs <cgibbs@kltpzyxm.invalid> wrote:
I still have a machine with a 5 1/4-inch drive and a network interface.
I also have an IMSAI with a pair of 8-inch drives, but unfortunately
its boot ROM has rotted. Assuming I could find a listing of the ROM,
I'm back to the issue of finding appropriate hardware, i.e. something
that will burn a 2708.
ROM burners are still available--per a recent discussion in the ET-3400
group (about the Heathkit ET-3400 trainer).
On Mon, 23 Feb 2026 22:59:41 -0500, c186282 wrote:
Anyway, if you need to read odd formats, look up local garage sales.
For five or ten bucks you can get a C64 with tape and floppy units,
an Apple-II, and old DOS/2K/XP compatible PC with 5.25 floppies ....
A few years ago I saw a PET sitting on a garbage can. Get behind me Satan
and lead me not into temptation.
I put a Zip drive into an AMD K6/2 box that I had. Never got around to actually using it, though.
On 22/02/2026 19:26, Rich wrote:
c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:Plenty of 3.5" around. Not so may 5.25...
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-glass-square-future-storage.html
Scientists at Microsoft Research in the United States have
demonstrated a system called Silica for writing and reading
information in ordinary pieces of glass which can store two
million books' worth of data in a thin, palm-sized square.
In a paper published today in Nature, the researchers say
their tests suggest the data will be readable for more than
10,000 years.
Try obtaining a new 8", 5.25" or 3.5" floppy disk mechanism today in
2026. And, assuming you found one (new old stock maybe?) try finding a
reasonably recent computer to which you can attach it (floppy ports
have disappeared too).
Plenty second hand tho
And it isn't hard if you *really* want to, to reproduce the mechanism
The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
On 22/02/2026 19:26, Rich wrote:
c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:Plenty of 3.5" around. Not so may 5.25...
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-glass-square-future-storage.html
Scientists at Microsoft Research in the United States have
demonstrated a system called Silica for writing and reading
information in ordinary pieces of glass which can store two
million books' worth of data in a thin, palm-sized square.
In a paper published today in Nature, the researchers say
their tests suggest the data will be readable for more than
10,000 years.
Try obtaining a new 8", 5.25" or 3.5" floppy disk mechanism today in
2026. And, assuming you found one (new old stock maybe?) try finding a
reasonably recent computer to which you can attach it (floppy ports
have disappeared too).
Plenty second hand tho
And it isn't hard if you *really* want to, to reproduce the mechanism
The disk spin and head position mechanism would not be too hard to
reproduce from modern components. Just need a linear stepper motor for
the head positioning and an appropriate speed motor for the "spin".
The part that would be hard to reproduce oneself is the actual
read/write head. And lacking that, one could have a most excellent reproduction of the rest and it all be for naught.
On 25/02/2026 05:33, Rich wrote:
The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:read write heads are just coils of wire+magnets IIRC ... miniature
On 22/02/2026 19:26, Rich wrote:
c186282 <c186282@nnada.net> wrote:Plenty of 3.5" around. Not so may 5.25...
https://phys.org/news/2026-02-glass-square-future-storage.html
Scientists at Microsoft Research in the United States have
demonstrated a system called Silica for writing and reading
information in ordinary pieces of glass which can store two
million books' worth of data in a thin, palm-sized square.
In a paper published today in Nature, the researchers say
their tests suggest the data will be readable for more than
10,000 years.
Try obtaining a new 8", 5.25" or 3.5" floppy disk mechanism today in
2026. And, assuming you found one (new old stock maybe?) try finding a >>>> reasonably recent computer to which you can attach it (floppy ports
have disappeared too).
Plenty second hand tho
And it isn't hard if you *really* want to, to reproduce the mechanism
The disk spin and head position mechanism would not be too hard to
reproduce from modern components. Just need a linear stepper motor for
the head positioning and an appropriate speed motor for the "spin".
The part that would be hard to reproduce oneself is the actual
read/write head. And lacking that, one could have a most excellent
reproduction of the rest and it all be for naught.
guitar pickups.
What is more challenging is dealing with disks that are weak, misaligned
or copy protected.
When I said 'isn't hard' , I meant for a large organisation with a
skilled team. One man alone - not so easy....
On 2026-02-25, Rich <rich@example.invalid> wrote:
The Natural Philosopher <tnp@invalid.invalid> wrote:
When I said 'isn't hard' , I meant for a large organisation
with a skilled team. One man alone - not so easy....
Fair enough. I interpreted your statement to mean "one man".
You are correct that for "large org" it becomes much easier.
At least until politics rears its ugly head.
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