Hard drives are magnetic. Anything magnetic will not last as long as a CD.
Bob Schramm
Check out my web page at:
<br><br><br>>From: Jon Lybrook <jon@terabear.com><br>>Reply-To:
alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca<br>>To:
alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca<br>>Subject: Re: Archival
CDs<br>>Date: Sun, 26 Jun 2005 11:32:00 -0600<br>><br>>I'm not an
expert on digital media archiving either, but have a <br>>friend who is.
He's an audiophile, music engineer and producer. <br>>He's been telling
me since the late 80s the best way to store CD <br>>media is vertically,
as gravity will slightly warp the CD over time <br>>if stored flat. The
spindles they come on are convenient storage, <br>>but apparently not the
best to maintain longevity.<br>><br>>Are the secure plastic cases you
refer to typical "jewel" cases? If <br>>so, they merely
suspend the CD from the center. If stored <br>>horizontally they'd
provide no benefit regarding warping.<br>><br>>I've lost a number of
images I thought were secure on CD, only to <br>>find out later the CD
had suffered at the hands of some evil <br>>gremlin. They were stored on
a spindle in a big stack, vertically. <br>>Whether or not storage
orientation had to do with the problem, I <br>>can't say for certain.
Lesson there was, when the data's important, <br>>make 2 copies, and
store them in different physical locations and <br>>under ideal
conditions (cool, dry, and vertical, IMHO).<br>><br>>I'd be willing to
pay $1 per CD if I had some sense it was more than <br>>just marketing
hype. As with "archival" inkjet technology, I'd wait <br>>and
see about these new CDs before spending a bunch of money on them <br>>and
instead rely on redundancy and conventional wisdom regarding <br>>ideal
storage conditions.<br>><br>>I've also heard of professional video
producers who archive their <br>>enormous amounts of data by putting it
on removable IDE hard drives, <br>>sealing it in static-proof mylar bags,
when done and putting it on <br>>the shelf. With drives costing less
than $1 per gigabyte now, it's <br>>a tempting route to take, as hard
drives aren't likely to die on the <br>>shelf (though one must keep tabs
on changing technologies and <br>>transfer the data to the newest from
time to time -- IDE support <br>>won't be around
forever)...<br>><br>>Best
wishes,<br>>Jon<br>><br>><br>>joachim oppenheimer
wrote:<br>>>Since so much of our<br>>>hard labor hinges on
preservation, I wonder if anyone has <br>>>definitive data
on<br>>>this subject? I also wonder why vertical storage, if the CDS
are <br>>>in secure<br>>>plastic cases, should make any
difference. Joachim<br>><br>
Received on Sun Jun 26 20:04:59 2005
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