“I’ve noticed the term “flash” showing up in more headlines
the past few months. Linux and flash memory have the potential to
become best buddies in the emerging “thin client” and “webpad”
markets. The true importance of flash isn’t the technology itself,
but the types of computers that can be designed by using flash
instead of traditional mass storage devices. So we’ll talk about
flash today, right after this musical interlude:“
“What’s that technology that’s driving my digital camera
machine? FLASH! Damn right…
What’s that chip playing like it’s IDE on my i-opener? FLASH! Can
you dig it…
What’s that chip keepin’ Metallica MP3s on your Rio? FLASH! Right
on…
Flash will run embedded Linux and Microsoft… SHUT YOUR MOUTH! I’m
just talkin’ ’bout Flash! THEN TUX CAN DIG IT!
It’s complicated silicon but you might wanna understand it! IT’S
FLASH!”
“The market for flash memory technology is growing like weeds in
a horse pasture. Flash memory is non-volatile memory. Its contents
are persistent even if power is removed. It’s slower to write to
than volatile RAM, so it’s not necessarily a replacement for system
memory. But it’s a good fit for mass storage and other areas where
ROM has been used.”