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According to IBM, the technology, know as Racetrack memory, combines the speed and durability of flash drives with the capacity and reduced cost of traditional platter drives. Racetrack is so named because it uses magnetic boundaries to channel data, meaning that instead of the computer going to find the data is effectively shuttled to a place where it can be used.

Like flash drives Racetrack contains no moving parts, but unlike flash in which every write damages the circuits - Racetrack would not be worn down by usage, prolonging its life considerably.

Alongside this all the usual next generation hardware benefits are being touted by Big Blue, including reduced heat, longer battery life, and increased storage, possibly up to a hundred times that of current devices.

The team described the technology in the journal Science.