Re:SanDisk 1TB MicroSD Card Review
by debt on Wednesday July 17, 2019 @12:16PM
(#20461101)
Fascinating. A microSD card is 0.5 grams. I could tape one of these to a postcard, overnight for $25 using USPS and probably achieve a faster data rate than I could if I just send it over the air.
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Re:SanDisk 1TB MicroSD Card Review
by kevinsundar on Wednesday July 17, 2019 @12:32PM
(#20461283)
Never underestimate sneakernet speeds. https://aws.amazon.com/snowmobile/
It can "move 100 petabytes of data in as little as a few weeks, plus transport time. That same transfer could take more than 20 years to accomplish over a direct connect line with a 1Gbps connection."
Re:SanDisk 1TB MicroSD Card Review
by bradknowles on Wednesday July 17, 2019 @08:12PM
(#20465384)
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sneakernet
Never underestimate the bandwidth of a station wagon full of tapes hurtling down the highway. —Tanenbaum, Andrew S. (1989). Computer Networks. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. p. 57. ISBN 0-13-166836-6.
Assuming a drop-off at 5 PM and a delivery at 9 AM, that's a data rate of 139 Mbps.
True, but it seems like the max weight for a letter/postcard is 3.5 ounces (~99 grams), also a postcard is about 148x105mm while a microSD is 15x11mm.
I would propose making your postcard out of a 9x9 grid of 1TB microSDs and tape to give you an 81TB postcard that can be delivered overnight at the minimum price while providing 11.25 Gbps given the numbers you used.
Sobering to think of the true (hardware only) price of that postcard in full view of anyone handling it: $36k ($450 * 81).
But amazing to think how far technology has advanced.
Exchanging data and money offline, in a very compact format :-)
These metrics fail to account for the transfer to a more stable medium, or even just a single full read of the data.
It's been true for a long time: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IP_over_Avian_Carriers
It's been around longer than RFC-1149, dating back to station wagons carrying data tapes in the 1970s: https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinteresting/comments/20jlv3/n...
I was thinking of small inner city channels with floating storage keys the other day. Messages^14 in a bottle kind of.