When purchasing storage media, most users are primarily concerned with capacity and speed, while durability plays a less important role. The Blaustahl Storage Device does exactly the opposite.
Note: The cover image is an icon image via Pexels.
What kind of device is this? The Blaustahl Storage Device is a USB dongle from the German manufacturer Machdyne and boasts a storage capacity of 8 KB and a lifespan of 200 years. So you won’t be able to install Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 on it. But it does have a few other interesting features (via 3D Juegos).
USB sticks also play a role in the “Dead Drops” project:
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Password storage or letter to the great-grandchildren
What can the device do? The Blaustahl Storage Device works with FRAM, ferroelectric RAM. This makes the USB stick so durable and fast, but it also comes at a price. For just under 30 euros you currently get just 8 KB of storage space – that’s enough for about 4 pages of text or 8,000 characters.
The USB stick also comes with a built-in text editor and 4 MB NOR Flash for the firmware.
The most outstanding feature – besides the blue LED – is probably the longevity mentioned. According to the manufacturer, the Blaustahl storage device should keep your data safe for more than 200 years, provided it is kept at a maximum of 35 °C. At temperatures above 55 °C, the lifespan drops to 95 years.
The stick is also said to be extremely durable and can withstand 10^12 read and write cycles at 85 °C – that’s a trillion.
There are also plans to add encryption support with a future firmware update, so if you want to keep very small files safe and secure for a very long time, this device could be the right choice for you.
What is this thing good for? According to the manufacturer, the storage device is perfect for storing important, but usually rather small files. We have listed some of the application examples for you here:
Tell us in the comments what you would like to capture in 8,000 characters for future generations.
Why key storage for cryptocurrencies is useful is shown by the case of programmer Stefan Thomas, who was given a total of 7,002 Bitcoins in 2011. They were hardly worth anything at the time, but today they are a fortune – there is just one catch: a German has two more attempts to get his hands on 222 million euros – an expert wants to help him, but he refuses