The worst thing about RAM is about to be fixed for good.
A new type of memory is being worked on at Lancaster University, and they’re making some pretty bold claims. Speeds as fast as DRAM, the system RAM you have slotted next to your CPU, storage retention for up to 1,000 years, and more energy efficient than any other type of memory out there.
Literally, everything you could ever hope memory to be.
Imagine being able to have a single memory chip in your laptop that allows you to slap the lid shut in the middle of your favourite game and then come back to it 1000 years later after your cryogenic nap and carry on exactly where you left off.
Currently, the team from Quinas Technology, the company from Lancaster University that has invented the new type of memory, imagines their product being used in large-scale sectors like data centres where they believe a large part of their costs come in energy usage on keeping DRAM ram powered due to its volatile nature. Of course, if this were to come into the consumer market, it could completely change the game.
Currently, when you hit the sleep button on your laptop or PC, your device is still powered on to keep whatever is stored in the RAM there so that when you come back to your device, it’s as if nothing has changed. With UltraRam in your device, you could completely power off your laptop or PC and come back to it in a week, a month, or a year and it would be exactly as you left it.
Pair this with the sudden emergence of handheld gaming devices, and you have the ultimate pick-up-and-go gaming device. Batteries would last longer because the device can completely power down between sessions, and you wouldn’t miss a thing when you turn it back on.
If you’re more scientifically inclined, you can check out the UltraRam PDF here. It explains the technology and how it uses charged electrons moving between a “floating gate” and a barrier that keeps the electrons “locked” in place.
These are some exciting steps in technology, and I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on the UltraRam website to see what comes of it.