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Gold Nanoparticle Optical Disks Have Half Millennium Storage

Despite all the technological achievements there is no real practical way to store data for the posterity of the human race. All the methods we have break down over time.  New optical disks that use gold particles may be the answer. They have a 10TB capacity and it is claimed that they will last six centuries. The disks can be mass produced. Currently, standard disks used by data centers hold 2TB of data and last only two years. If the new technology is for real it will be a huge step forward. The best disks all optical, we have to date last for a maximum of 50 years and they have not been put into service because of high cost. Australian and Chinese researchers say there is still a long way to go before the gold particle strategy is fully developed. Gold nanomaterials are combined with hybrid glass which produces a structure with great strength. Data can be stored across the whole spectrum of visible light rays. There is a trade off :  increasing the storage lev...

Australian Laws Lag Behind Technological Change

Culture changes steadily with technological development. Some values have their own inertia which means that they stay around for much longer. Legal adaptation to a new environment is very slow. We are living with laws suited to a pre-internet era. The Uber app took the world by storm. It spread through many countries and clashed with legal restrictions which were made for the benefit of taxi drivers and the public. Unfortunately, people do not like rapid change to the legal system. It upsets the way they live. Like the Chinese, Australians embrace new technology, much to the frustration of government. Whether it is legal or not we adopt new things. They "get in" because their is some legal framework that benefits some participants in the market place. New systems get under the barrier, so to speak. Australians seems to lead the world on illegal movie downloads. This is because the market is distorted. We pay over the odds for the latest films due to overpricing...

New Technology is Feared by Many

Australians are like people everywhere. They want change but they fear it. Advancement in technology appears to make our lives easier, but in a way life is becoming more complex. People make themselves known to millions of others. They fear that in the long run they will regret it. As they grow older what they did in their carefree youth will come back to haunt them. Only half of people feel secure about the technological future. One would expect that this would be higher. Young people in particular seem to welcome new gadgets with open arms. Nearly half of the population believe robotization will make their lives worse. Many use wearable gadgetry to help with their exercise and fitness. However, these could turn out to be just faddish endeavours like all the new exercise machines advertised on TV. The giant technological companies are experimenting with weird ideas. They have run out of rational concepts. These have been used up. Reviewers condemn the new tech offerings...