Analog tape disks degrade, digital storage media is temperature-sensitive, and books (print on paper) are still some of the best ways to store data long-term, at least until five-dimensional storage came along to change all of that, jumping us from centuries to eons in scope.

Researchers at the University of Southampton’s Optical Research Center have developed a 5D storage technique that can keep data safe for billions of years, etching it onto thermally-stable discs with femotsecond laser bursts. Think: Superman’s memory crystals, except real.

The medium can hold a stunning 360 terabytes per disc and withstand temperatures of up to 1,000 degrees Celsius, but kept in ideal conditions have a shelf life of 14 billion years. Human-readable etchings at larger scales allow the discs to be marked for future identification.

The trick is in the layering of nanoscale dots, defined by three points in space as well as their size and orientation, constituting their fourth and fifth dimensions. Light traveling through the disc is read with a polarizer. In the past three years, the team has upped the storage capacity from a few hundred kilobytes to its currency status.

“It is thrilling to think that we have created the technology to preserve documents and information and store it in space for future generations,” Professor Peter Kazansky from the ORC said in a statement. “This technology can secure the last evidence of our civilisation: all we’ve learnt will not be forgotten.”

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You have a ton of choices for getting your data from one place to another, but flash drives are a classic. Etsy seller miniFab combines the flash drive with more classic technology: retro 8-bit video game controllers.

The 4GB Wood Gamer Flash Drives are made from bamboo and have an attached keychain for keeping them close at hand. Each one is emblazoned with the image of a classic NES or Super NES controller or a Gameboy.

The flash drives can be personalized with an engraved name or message. At $25, the 4GB USB drive seems like a pretty great gift for the 8-bit game enthusiast on your list.

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With the invention of the ‘Superman memory crystal,’ scientists have found a better use for a piece of quartz than the New Age industry. They’ve created what is seemingly the world’s most amazing zip drive.

Working at the University of Southampton, the researchers surpassed the 3D realm, recording and retrieving five dimensions of digital data in the form of a quartz crystal. Besides presumably being able to steer L. Ron Hubbard’s mothership, the Superman memory crystal boasts a 360 terabyte per disc hard drive, a 1000 degree thermal capacity and an almost endless lifetime.

Self-assembled nanostructures created in quartz store the data, which is “realized in five dimensions,” according to a press release. “The self-assembled nanostructures change the way light travels through glass, modifying polarization of light that can then be read by combination of optical microscope and a polarizer, similar to that found in Polaroid sunglasses.”

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USB drives are popular not only because of their affordability and portability, but because they can be made in so many different forms. These creative USB drive designs all show just how interesting this otherwise-mundane object can be when it’s treated with a little humor and ingenuity.

Keeping data close has never been easier than with the Bulavkus USB flash drive from Art Lebedev Studio. The 4GB storage drive resides at the top of a large safety pin. This unusual device is perfect for pinning to your clothes so you never have to wonder where you put your flash drive again. Just don’t forget to take it off before you wash your shirt!

These credit card USB drives are the exact size of actual credit cards, so they fit into the wallet easily. A small flip-up USB stick keeps your data safe, secure and easily accessible.

Although this USB drive looks like a toy, it’s serious business when it comes to keeping your data safe. Panther-like Transformer Ravage guards your files in beast mode, but with a few simple folds and twists turns into a small USB drive when you need to plug the drive in to access your data.

Amateur sommeliers and casual wine enthusiasts alike will appreciate designer Arwye Wan‘s hand-made wine cork USB drive. Part of the cork pops off like a protective cap to reveal the USB plug. This drive is kitschy and fun, but at just 1GB it doesn’t seem very useful.

Designed by Bartosz Mucha, the wooden clothes pin USB drive combines classic style with new technology. The drive opens and closes with a simple pinch, just like a regular clothes pin, so it can be clipped onto clothing or other objects to keep it nearby.

The post Dynamic Data Carriers: 5 Cool Creative USB Drives in Disguise first appeared on Gajitz.

USB drives were a pretty amazing technology when they first started popping up, but now they’re so common that we hardly notice them anymore. The intelliPaper USB Drive could be the coolest advance in USB drive technology in a very long time. A start-up called intelliPaper is making writable USB drives out of paper and embedding them in greeting cards, sticky notes, and 3 X 5 notecards.

The drives aren’t entirely paper, of course – there is a silicon memory chip involved. But the paper drives feel just like regular paper, with no discernible bumps or added weight. The paper USB drives can be sent through the mail just like regular paper. The memory capacity ranges from 8 MB to 32 MB, so they can hold a few small files for business communication or maybe some photos to send to family members.

On the sender’s side, a small reader/programmer gadget and software are needed to get the files onto the paper USB drives. But once the drives reach their destination, they can be inserted into a regular USB slot in a computer. And once the recipient is finished with the files, the intelliPaper drive can easily be thrown away.

There are almost endless possibilities for a lightweight, low cost, disposable memory device. Newspapers and magazines could embed bonus content that would be instantly playable via near field communication devices (like most smartphones and tablets). Business cards could show off not only a person’s name and number, but an entire portfolio. The ideas really are exciting – and if you agree, you can get in on the project at IndieGoGo.

The post Making Paper Digital: Lightweight, Disposable Paper USB Drives first appeared on Gajitz.