Regarding the project for the fall SDBS class in ITU of 2010.  I will list some resources that I found that could be helpful in completing the PCM part of the project (Question 2).  Though most of my list refers specifically to PCM, the file system and the operating system; I think the context given by these documents can potentially help in answering other questions in the project.

1. The first Google hits are usually Wikipedia pages. Comments like “PRAM can offer much higher performance in applications where writing quickly is important, both because the memory element can be switched more quickly, and also because single bits may be changed to either 1 or 0 without needing to first erase an entire block of cells.” are relevant.  The whole “PRAM vs. Flash” section is giving a list of characteristics
2. Numonyx is one of the pioneers of PCM.  Here is a cool video that contains an introduction to PCM.
3. Cool article containing information about PCM.  While reading it you might also want to check out the referenced articles.
4. A paper talking about how to design a File System for PCM.  This one has lots of ideas and clarified key concepts when I read it.
5. A paper talking about characteristics of PCM.
6. A paper talking about PCM & main memory.

Note that for 5 & 6 you need to download the pdf from the ACM digital library.  This might not work if you are not using the ITU network.  Hope this increases the helps some people.