Flip on your PC or laptop, and start waiting. The reason you need to boot up-loading software from your hard drive into your random-access memory (RAM) chip-is that most electronic computer memory requires power to keep data intact. Take away the power, and the memory evaporates. For years, researchers have tried to develop fast and cheap memory that stores data as magnetic orientation, which stays fixed whether or not the power is on. Now, an early version of this technology-called magnetic random-access memory, or MRAM-is moving into production.

The MRAM chip, built by Motorola, holds only four megabits of data and is expensive, which means its first applications are likely to be in high-end security systems and gaming machines, where small amounts of crucial code could be stored without fear of loss. But by the end of the decade, MRAM chips may be suitable for gadgets like digital cameras and handheld computers, says Saied Tehrani, Motorola's technology director for MRAM in Tempe, AZ. Motorola says it is working with several customers to improve prototypes of its first-generation chip before starting full-scale production late this year.