Advances In Storage Technologies Research Articles

Towards personalized multimedia dial-up services

Abstract Recent advances in networking coupled with rapid advances in storage technologies are making it feasible to design a variety of sophisticated multimedia services, in which clients will not only access mundane services, such as television, radio, and telephones, but they will also have refreshing freedom to choose, procure, and personalize these services to suit their individual needs. In this paper, we present a service architecture that describes how these multimedia services are likely to evolve from a symbiosis of different enterprises: Network providers , who own high-speed networks; Storage providers , who control access to multimedia servers; and Service providers such as publishing houses, libraries, news distributors, and entertainment houses. Towards realizing such services, we present a system architecture that addresses the two most distinguishing requirements of media: intra-media continuity and inter-media synchronization. Defining a sequence of continuously recorded media units (e.g., audio samples or video frames) as a Media Strand , we devise methods by which a storage provider can organize the physical storage of media strands on disk so as to guarantee their continuous retrieval, at real-time rates. In order to embody the temporal relationships among media strands, we define a Multimedia Rope as a collection of media strands intertwined by synchronization information. We indicate how multimedia presentations, such as lectures, movies, news, and even personalized video channels can all be represented as multimedia ropes. For synchronous playback of a multimedia rope, we present a technique by which a storage provider can determine the temporal relationships among the media strands of that rope, at the time of recording, and can later enforce these relationships, at the time of playback. At the Multimedia Laboratory at UCSD, we have developed a prototype multimedia dial-up service in an environment of multimedia workstations and video peripherals. We share our initial experiences with this prototype and outline our future plans.

Advances in disc storage technology

The article surveys advances in storage technology and likely future developments. Microfloppy discs, intelligent disc drives, thin film and plated media and optical storage are all discussed in detail, with special attention paid to the cost/benefits promised by these new technologies.

An evaluation of superconducting magnetic energy storage

A Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) system will accept and regenerate ac electrical energy very efficiently. It can therefore compete economically with alternative advanced storage technologies if (1) the unit's cost and efficiency are within the presently expected ranges; and (2) the unit is sized so as to perform the same task as the alternatives and no more. Present conceptual SMES designs are unlikely to meet the electric utilities' needs for reliability, maintainability and system protection; and the environmental impact of the magnetic field may be large. Consequently, the uncertainties associated with the costs of an acceptable SMES system are large. Their reduction should be the principal goal of future component and system research.

Motivations and Deterrents to Educational Use of “Intelligent Videodisc” Systems

The “intelligent videodisc” — a combination of advanced microprocessor, display, and storage technology — holds the potential for developing into a powerful instructional delivery system. In an inexpensive package, it could combine advanced computer-aided instruction (CAI) software power and display capability for audio, video, and textual programming. Attractive technically though it is, this system's real contribution will be that CAI will fit the institutional structure of education for the first time. In contrast to existing, large-scale CAI systems, this small-scale device could be purchased locally, e.g., by one teacher or administrator. Another unique attribute of this technology is its potential attractiveness to consumers. Acceptance in the home may speed acceptance in schools.Despite these unique characteristics, this new technology will face some of the same traditional barriers to innovation in education that have doomed other systems. It is likely that many teachers will retain their unwillingness to innovate using technology. Tight budgets will remain because of shrinking student populations and voter apathy. High costs might restrict software availability.This paper investigates these and other driving forces and barriers to use of the “intelligent videodisc” as a personal instructional delivery system. The paper can serve as a platform for a discussion of needs and opportunities for a Federal role in promoting educational utilization of this system.

Advances in Storage Technology for Micros and Minis [Workshop topics

Advances in Storage Technology for Micros and Minis [Workshop topics

Thin film magnetoresistors in memory, storage, and related applications

This paper is a review of ferromagnetic metal film magnetoresistors for applications such as read transducers in advanced computer memory and storage technology (mainly bubble domain memories and magnetic recording systems). Uses of semiconductor Hall effect sensors in this environment are also reviewed, and wherever possible a comparison of the suitability of the two classes of sensors for a particular application is made. The paper includes a phenomenological treatment of galvanomagnetic effects, a brief discussion of materials, design considerations and applications, and a short section on device fabrication techniques.