Microsoft has applied for a patent for volatile portable memory, circuitry "wherein the timed erasure mechanism destroys data stored in the storage circuitry after a predetermined amount of time has elapsed from an initiating event."

Normally, you don't want your memory to be forgetful. But "because of the ever increasing threat of malicious code and individuals who seek to profit from stolen computing resources or information, computing environments are becoming more secure, and, simultaneously, more difficult for average users to set up and access."

The trouble is that people can't remember their passwords in this increasingly secure environment. So they tend to store them on their computers, where the passwords can be accessed by others.

Microsoft thus concludes that "what is needed is specialized portable computer-readable media that can leverage existing manufacturing techniques and standards, and yet be reserved strictly for use in transporting security information, such as codes, keys, passwords and the like, or other data that may be used by automated wizard software to enable users to conveniently set up and access computing and household devices in a secure manner. "

No mention is made of another constituency that would welcome this technology: entertainment companies. Think of it as an alternative to software-based copy protection.

The next step of course is the erasure of biological memory, which would do wonders for movie rental revenue.