-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: RIPEMD160 Ryan Malayter wrote: >> Aren't optical discs supposed to last for many decades if stored >> properly and almost never used? > Theory and practice are often far apart. The price of CD media has > dropped so low that quality is often an issue. CDfreaks has many > articles about this topic. I'll check that out. > Also, who is to say that a CD or DVD drive will even be available > decades from now to read the discs? Could you read 8" floppy media > on any equipment you have or can buy today? Could you find a paper > tape machine to read data archived in the 1950s? > > Anything but printed characters on paper will likely require some > form of archive maintenance over a decade timeframe. The last 3 generations of optical discs (CD -> DVD -> HD-DVD/Blu-Ray) have been the same size. The latest generation players support the first generation. Floppies, for example, have changed in size, and each generation didn't care about supporting the previous. Even as optical discs continue to see improved formats, previous generations will be supported. I don't see DVD or even CD support to disappear for a very, very long time. Besides, it's not like one's hardware will spontaneously upgrade from out of nowhere.
I do agree, though, that an electronic storage medium won't beat paper in the long run. A piece of paper (in a locked box | out in the open) is as secure as an unencrypted disc (in that same box | out in the open). And encrypting a disc isn't worth the hassle, except in certain circumstances. - -- Windows NT 5.1.2600 | Thunderbird 2.0.0.0 | Enigmail 0.95.0 | GPG 1.4.7 Key ID: 0x60A78FCB - available on major keyservers and upon request Fingerprint: 4A84 CAE2 A0D3 2AEB 71F6 07FD F88E 0340 60A7 8FCB -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: GnuPG v1.4.7 (MingW32) Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla - http://enigmail.mozdev.org iQEVAwUBRkyaZPiOA0Bgp4/LAQNRrQgAipnZkYQ8WBQLZNm94/KiyvNGt1QDhInm ZfAFAtuYf8Pt2ml0wMNbPI5EvQTXJ8BOtaCVbxHTZKF5PUU7RE0C40n0shtah2Gk oDRXUHqSp/UZ+StWE7W3TcVaQgEZrXZ/bCPTDbR7wKy0jmyUGNQmbUlxcKTIY5Uv N0Li6fb1pIvw802iRRmJZMLmLIFKf6YbwoB0vQbK0ze6uAgGWV7OGEajQnpbUuXx yLzXisq4DbvwfJr3B/6cSyJFJf4i2bPauloQ7M2ELIRYU75ZzpvuBCwO9pJOuoxW eplVZNykOrgfYJicv9lkwgCU8atKeWcsfP4205bUaMbfX96oIF8o+w== =W5ua -----END PGP SIGNATURE----- _______________________________________________ Gnupg-users mailing list Gnupg-users@gnupg.org http://lists.gnupg.org/mailman/listinfo/gnupg-users