On Nov 29, 2003, at 7:38 AM, Alex Black wrote:
I did a lot of homework in selecting a brand with a reasonably proven life term but I've now considered due to the number of these discs that I should copy them onto DVD and at a ratio of 6/7:1, it'll make things a lot neater.
But don't throw the CD's away. Have more than one life boat on your ship!!!
I've looked at magneto-optical and tape as alternatives but I have my reservations about buying into a redundant format.
these are not only redundant....but "iffy" at best as an archival procedure. Backups are temporary. Archives are meant to be permanent. DO NOT archive anything to a MAGNETIC storage device. The "optical" in "magneto-optical" only guides the head and keeps it spirally bound onto the disc. It is slow to the extreme, and no more reliable than any other magnetic storage media. Bring it near any strong electro-magnetic or magnetic field, and your data is in danger of corruption, if not gone altogether.
This is without doubt, one of my biggest concerns with digital.
What is everyone else doing? Does anyone have any thoughts?
YES! Continue doing what you are doing, and add DVD to the mix. Backup to a reliable tape....and rotate your backups so that you have a copy from last week, as well as this weeks backup. Archive to CD/DVD or both. Keep in touch with the updates/upgrades to the CD/DVD technology. Wait a year at least before running out and buying the newest and bestest CD/DVD burner. (DVD-RAM is a good example of this.)
In lieu of CD/DVD archiving in todays world....check with one of the earlier posters about his ideas on etching binary material to titanium blocks. Interesting!
Bill
Football is a mistake. It combines the two worst elements of American life. Violence and committee meetings. - George Will
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