Memory as a Hard drive

[Pata]

I think that this is a more interesting question that I posted, because it has moral implications to it. Pleas re-read:

If RAM is so fast and wonderful because it has no moving parts to break down, then why don't we have a 20GB RAM? can you store everything on RAM? Or will all stored data drain out when you turn off your computer?
If data cannot be stored permenantly on RAM, then would it be possible to have enough RAM to make a little hard drive within it? If your computer stores all of your surfing activities in that "RAM hard drive", then when your finished and you turn off your computer, all of your "digital trail" is gone from your computer.

Wouldn't this make it more difficult to track down illegal activities on the World Wide Web?




<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by pata on 03/02/02 09:47 AM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[ath0mps0]

If RAM is so fast and wonderful because it has no moving parts to break down, then why don't we have a 20GB RAM? can you store everything on RAM? Or will all stored data drain out when you turn off your computer?

Money - most people can't afford the cost. Yes, you could store everything on RAM, but it would be erased as soon as power was removed (it is volatile), but it can be powered by a trickle charge. There is a new type of RAM called Flash-RAM that is not volatile. It is still expensive, and not as fast as SDRAM or RDRAM, but its entire purpose is to provide random access solid-state storage. Flash-RAM is in Compact-Flash (CF), Smart media, etc.

would it be possible to have enough RAM to make a little hard drive within it?

There are already multi-gigabyte Flash-RAM "solid-state-disk" products available on the market.

If your computer stores all of your surfing activities in that "RAM hard drive", then when your finished and you turn off your computer, all of your "digital trail" is gone from your computer.

It is possible to set aside a portion of RAM in a computer system as a RAMdrive. All win9x OSs have RAMDRIVE.SYS available for this purpose. The standard Win98 boot disk uses this funtionality to expand its CAB file into.

Wouldn't this make it more difficult to track down illegal activities on the World Wide Web?

Just for investigators looking at your computer after it had been powered down. If they hack you back or are tracking you through logs, it wouldn't help.

I thought a thought, but the thought I thought wasn't the thought I thought I had thought.

 

[ath0mps0]

Double post (sometimes this system just has problems).<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by ath0mps0 on 03/02/02 06:29 PM.</EM></FONT></P>