This year’s attendance at Denali’s MemCon seems at least as big as last year’s. I don’t have actual numbers but the presentation hall was nearly full – and it is a big hall.
Phase Change Memory
I found the first two presentations to be the most interesting. The first was by Ed Doller, the CTO at Numonyx.
Ed Doller speaking at MemCon09
Sorry about the photo, Ed.
Ed talked about Numonyx’s new Phase Change Memory (PCM). PCM is a non-volatile memory technology that is about 100 times faster than flash. It is also about 1,000 times more durable – and when failures do occur, it is during write cycles, when corrective action can be taken. Power requirements are similar. For now, it looks like PCM could find a niche as a new level in memory subsystem architecture. Its future will depend on density and price improvements.
Numonyx has been the sole supplier of phase change memory until today, when Samsung announced they will be producing pin compatible devices.
Netbooks
The second talk that captured my interest was by Anu Murthy of SanDisk. Her talk was titled “Storage in Operator Netbooks” but it covered more than that. (more…)
