Memory cards have become incredibly popular as a convenient, rugged, and more affordable storage medium for a variety of uses, from mobile phones to high-definition video cameras. Compared to tape, optical disc, and even hard disk storage, solid-state memory provides immediate access to files, and does away with expensive and sensitive mechanical transports and flying read heads.
And capacity continues to rise, with prices for 8 GB SD cards falling under $50 -- That's more memory than Windows XP can effectively use on a desktop workstation!
So it's not surprising that SanDisk, the world's largest supplier of flash memory data storage products, has announced a new format for professional uses -- the SanDisk SD WORM card, a Write Once Read Many (WORM) digital memory card (see press release).
(image is the SanDisk Video HD card)
Digital data written to the SD WORM cards is stored permanently; there is no physical way to alter or delete individual recorded files. Yet the cards are readable in any standard SD slot, attached to a computer or other SD-compatible device. SanDisk estimates a 100-year archive life, when kept under appropriate storage conditions.
This is important for applications that require tamper-proof recording, especially to meet legal requirements for genuine and original records, such as police photography and other court records, cash registers and other tax records, and medical devices and other patient data.
SanDisk is working with the SD Card Association for approval of SD WORM as an industry standard. Writing to the cards does require new firmware, so SanDisk is partnering with manufacturers of digital devices including cameras, digital voice recorders, medical equipment, and electronic cash registers.
The SanDisk SD WORM cards are available now in 128-megabyte capacity, and are expected to be available in higher capacities later in the year.
See my Portable Storage Gallery for more on storage formats and devices.
Find the SanDisk 8GB Video HD SDHC Card and
SanDisk SanDisk 8GB MicroSDHC Card on Amazon.com