Bursting The Bubble Myth

EE Mary 1987 BURSTING THE BUBBLE MYTH by Keiron Conway* Bubble memory devices are not new. Until now though, the technology has been haunted by a reputation for unreliability - a leftover from the problems encountered in its early development stages. But, according to one UK company, now is the time for a radical reappraisal of bubble memory and its benefits. The Computer Systems Division of Vistec Business Systems has proved the advantages of this technology over its traditional mass-storage counterparts. Two years after recommending and installing bubble memory devices as part of a contract associated with an oil exploration project, Vistec has no regrets. The technology itself has been around for over 16 years. Devel- oped initially by Bell Labs-USA, it has always been acknowl- edged as a potentially excellent alternative to more traditional mass-storage media-magnetic tape or disk. Access times are at least comparable with floppy disk systems, if not faster. But it is the te...