300GB disc set to challenge DVD

Oh the joys of technology! A 300GB DVD? That's just what the world needs. I could store all of my MP3s on one disc. No more searching for that one song on one of those many CDs and DVDs lying around the house.

"The discs, holding 300GB each, use so-called Tapestry holographic memory technology to store data by interference of light. They are also able to read and write data at 10 times the speed of a normal DVD."

With 60 times the amount of data on one disc, 10 times the recording speed isn't that great. The average DVD takes about 6 minutes for me to burn, meaning one of these new Tapestry discs would take... yeah, that's just way too much to think about.

"Tapestry can store more than 26 hours of broadcast-quality high-definition video on a single 300GB disk, recorded at a data rate of 160Mbps. The discs are 13cm in diameter and a little wider and thicker than conventional DVDs."

I don't know if 26 hours of HD video is going to be enough. Sure, right now it sounds like a lot, but in a few years the quality of video may just be at the point where 1080i looks to people of that time like BetaMax and 8 tracks look to us now. Technology moves at such a rate these days that things that look like they came out of Star Trek now look ridiculous and pitiful tomorrow. Six gigabyte iPod mini? Great, but it's outdated the week after I buy it...