Microsoft's Project Silica is an effort to demonstrate that the company is capable of storing data for an extended period of time utilizing glass as the storage medium. Glass is the medium of the future for the storage of long-term data.
The Superman film from 1978 was etched onto a piece of glass through a collaborative effort between Microsoft and Warner Bros., which involved the use of lasers. This was done with the intention of demonstrating that the technology could be applied in environments other than the laboratory.
Video courtesy of CNET
