Obsolete technology

[PossumGirl]

The thread about VHS tapes reminded me of something that I've been wanting to mention.

If you are backing up your files on CDs, you should know that this is NOT a reliable form of archiving information.  We had years of manuscripts, art files, etc., all pertaining to our work, backed up and although the CDs have been kept in jewel cases away from sunlight, dirt, etc., a good number of them are either unusable or require a lot of effort to read.

Everything has now been backed up to an external hard drive.

In talking with various people in the computer field, we have been told that CD back ups are no safer than the old floppy discs.  USB keys are actually the best.  One friend who is a software engineer actually put a USB key through the washing machine in the pocket of a shirt.  When it came out, he plugged it into his computer and it worked fine with all data intact.

PG

[Dick Smith]

This is very true. Dropouts don't matter in music CDs but they can prevent data CDs from working at all. Small, high capacity external drives are very cheap now, and much more convenient. We now sell memory sticks to kids at school, they are so cheap.