>>>>> "Sridhar" == Sridhar Dhanapalan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
Sridhar> On 15/04/2008, Jeremy Portzer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> Sridhar Dhanapalan wrote: >> >> > I am looking for a cheap data storage solution for many >> people. The > requirements are as follows: >> > >> >> How many is many? That can really affects the cost issue quite a >> bit. Are we talking a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, what? Sridhar> Easily millions. I'm sure we can achieve economies of scale, Sridhar> but they still need to be ridiculously cheap for this to Sridhar> work. SIM cards cost something like 50c, which makes them Sridhar> perfect assuming they can be used for generic storage. -- A SIM card is just a special form of smartcard. Maybe look at specific smartcard technology? For the kinds of numbers you're talking about, it should be possible to get something manufactured to your specific requirements. http://www.smartcardbasics.com/cardtypes.html gives you an idea of what's possible. Then just shop around. From what you've described a secure-memory smartcard sounds right, but you may be able to get away with an insecure one. In quantities of 500,000 and up, they're around 40c for 16k. -- Dr Peter Chubb http://www.gelato.unsw.edu.au peterc AT gelato.unsw.edu.au http://www.ertos.nicta.com.au ERTOS within National ICT Australia -- SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html
