Too much information

Last week’s Economist had a special report on smart systems and, inter alia, the enormous quantity of information generated: 

Estimates by IDC, a market-research firm, need to be taken with a pinch of salt, because they are sponsored by EMC, a maker of storage systems. But for what they are worth, they suggest that the “digital universe”—the amount of digital information created and replicated in a year—will increase to 35 zettabytes, or 35 trillion gigabytes—enough to fill a stack of DVDs reaching halfway to Mars.

And this is creepy:

Facebook users, by tagging friends in the pictures they upload, allow the service to recognise these people on other pictures.

Thanks a bunch, Facebook users.