# A new memory? Pedo....what? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 2, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-memory-pedo-what/487953 "2009-03-02T02:06:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-memory-pedo-what/487953/1 "2009-03-02T02:06:46Z")
I was in the other room today and I heard a IBM spokesperson, on a commercial I think, say something about an earth-shaking new developement. It sounded like “pedo-something”, but by the the time I hustled to the tv the commercial was over. I know that’s not a lot to go on, but does anyone know what he was talking about? It was definitely some kind of breakthrough. Peace, mangeorge ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-memory-pedo-what/487953/2 "2009-03-02T02:18:53Z")
The only “new” memory type that involves IBM that I’m aware of is [racetrack memory](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racetrack_memory), developed early last year. Perhaps a consumer device is nearing release. ---
**Author:** ![Kyrie\_Eleison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kyrie_eleison/32/7682_2.png) [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-memory-pedo-what/487953/3 "2009-03-02T02:25:07Z")
Off the top of my head, “pedo” sounds an awful lot like “peta”, as in petabyte, or about 1000 GB. Perhaps that’s what the spokesperson said? ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-memory-pedo-what/487953/4 "2009-03-02T02:59:42Z")
Perhaps petaflop? “JUELICH, GERMANY and STUTTGART, GERMANY - 10 Feb 2009: The German research center Forschungszentrum Juelich has selected IBM (NYSE: IBM) to develop the first supercomputer in Europe capable of one Petaflop, or one thousand trillion operations per second. IBM will partner with Juelich-based Gauss Centre for Supercomputing to install the new IBM Blue Gene/P System in the first half of this year.” ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-memory-pedo-what/487953/5 "2009-03-02T03:00:55Z")
Jesus. Now _that’s_ what I call a supercomputer. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-memory-pedo-what/487953/6 "2009-03-02T03:06:38Z")
[This is relevant to my interests](http://oculosis.com/maraby/tmp/pedobear.png)… Joe ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-memory-pedo-what/487953/7 "2009-03-02T03:10:17Z")
That is indescribably disturbing for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![initech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/439d5e/32.png) [@initech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/initech)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-memory-pedo-what/487953/8 "2009-03-02T03:21:41Z")
It is a petaflop. The commercial is for IBM, and it runs during Sunday morning news shows (I was it on This Week). This is probably the spot you saw: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwfqSzkWu2k) ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-memory-pedo-what/487953/9 "2009-03-02T04:37:46Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > I was in the other room today and I heard a IBM spokesperson, on a commercial I think, say something about an earth-shaking new developement. It sounded like “pedo-something”, but by the the time I hustled to the tv the commercial was over. > I know that’s not a lot to go on, but does anyone know what he was talking about? It was definitely some kind of breakthrough. > Peace, > mangeorge Maybe Millipede > **[Millipede memory](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_Millipede)** > > Millipede memory is a form of non-volatile computer memory. It promised a data density of more than 1 terabit per square inch (1 gigabit per square millimeter), which is about the limit of the perpendicular recording hard drives. Millipede storage technology was pursued as a potential replacement for magnetic recording in hard drives and a means of reducing the physical size of the technology to that of flash media. > IBM demonstrated a prototype millipede storage device at CeBIT 2005, and was tr... ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-memory-pedo-what/487953/10 "2009-03-02T06:55:02Z")
> [@Kyrie\_Eleison](#): > > Off the top of my head, “pedo” sounds an awful lot like “peta”, as in petabyte, or about 1000 GB. Perhaps that’s what the spokesperson said? 1000GB is a TB (terabyte). 1000TB is a petabyte. We have a couple of backup tape silos, each with multiple petabytes of storage, where I work. Each one costs about as much as a very nice house. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-memory-pedo-what/487953/11 "2009-03-02T11:36:56Z")
I have a nit to pick with that commercial. It should be petaflops, not petaflop. Flops is an acronym for FLoating point Operations Per Second, so the S is required even in the singular. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-memory-pedo-what/487953/12 "2009-03-02T12:56:12Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > I have a nit to pick with that commercial. It should be petaflops, not petaflop. Flops is an acronym for FLoating point Operations Per Second, so the S is required even in the singular. This is so far from normal English morphology it was a lost cause from the very beginning. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-memory-pedo-what/487953/13 "2009-03-02T13:10:15Z")
One Petaflops… Two Petaflopses? Thirty-six petaflopsies? I think letting them neologize the singular of flops to “flop” is probably okay. In the grand scheme of terms that are not technically correct it’s about seventy-three items down the list from “data is actually a plural”. Of course if the ad is meant to portray how technically astute they are, then they may fail on those grounds. That’s a different problem (like the ad where the staff teach the CEO to say “infrastructure” correctly before he makes a speech - image is important). ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-memory-pedo-what/487953/14 "2009-03-02T16:04:54Z")
> [@Jurph](#): > > Thirty-six petaflopsies? Would that equal a Peta Rabbit? ---
**Author:** ![Laudenum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Laudenum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laudenum)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-memory-pedo-what/487953/15 "2009-03-02T16:55:52Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Would that equal a Peta Rabbit? _Unnnnnnnnnnngggggggh_ ---
**Author:** ![Kyrie\_Eleison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kyrie_eleison/32/7682_2.png) [@Kyrie\_Eleison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyrie_Eleison)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2009, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-memory-pedo-what/487953/16 "2009-03-02T17:22:27Z")
> [@neutron\_star](#): > > 1000GB is a TB (terabyte). 1000TB is a petabyte. We have a couple of backup tape silos, each with multiple petabytes of storage, where I work. Each one costs about as much as a very nice house. Oops. Of course you’re right. Ever think one thing, and yet have your fingers type another? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-memory-pedo-what/487953/17 "2009-03-03T00:55:37Z")
> [@initech](#): > > It is a petaflop. The commercial is for IBM, and it runs during Sunday morning news shows (I was it on This Week). This is probably the spot you saw: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwfqSzkWu2k](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwfqSzkWu2k) That’s it! this is the first time I saw the whole thing. I’m not sure I like that. Maybe after I know more. I actually got a little shivver. That guy at the beginning seemed so _happy_. :eek: Thanks, guys. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-memory-pedo-what/487953/18 "2009-03-03T01:00:32Z")
…bear? ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-memory-pedo-what/487953/19 "2009-03-03T01:15:01Z")
> [@initech](#): > > It is a petaflop. The commercial is for IBM, and it runs during Sunday morning news shows (I was it on This Week). This is probably the spot you saw: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwfqSzkWu2k](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwfqSzkWu2k) The video just got pulled! What’s up with that? ---
**Author:** ![simster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/simster/32/1047_2.png) [@simster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/simster)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-memory-pedo-what/487953/20 "2009-03-03T01:28:59Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > The video just got pulled! > What’s up with that? Perhaps it petaflopped? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-new-memory-pedo-what/487953.md?page=2)