32 Gigabyte Notebook Flash Drive

...The 32GB SanDisk SSD UATA 5000 is only a 1.8" form-factor drive, but it has mighty impressive specifications despite its size: 62MB/sec sustained throughput, 0.12ms average access time, and it draws only 0.4 watts. This means that the SanDisk SSD has an average access time that is more than 100 times faster than any notebook hard drive, and it draws 50 to 87 percent less power than most notebook hard drives. While its sustained throughput is roughly on par with most notebooks, it should be noted that the throughput is the same regardless of whether it is reading at the beginning or the end of the drive. (Hard disks typically have higher throughput rates on their outer tracks and slower throughput rates on their inner tracks.)
In addition, everything is solid-state, so there are no moving parts. Even if you are the type to drop or bang your laptop around on a regular basis, there are no hard disk heads to crash into spinning platters....

That's from 'SanDisk introduces 32GB Flash-based notebook drive' - and the drive is here. The speed is a great thing, while the cost ($600 US) is definitely high... it also consumes much less electricity than a physical drive which spins. 0.4 Watts versus 1 Watt means extended time from a battery.This or something like this could be part of a low power consumption notebook in the future.

You can already run SecondLife off of a Flash Drive. You can boot Linux from a Flash Drive. With a 32 gigabyte flash drive, there is enough space - even for Microsoft Windows. Imagine how zippy things will run with a page file in flash memory (though that will wear out the drive faster, I imagine).

When prices get down to $300, the home market may pay more attention.