At 10:49 AM 5/17/2006, Karl Miller wrote: >On Tue, 16 May 2006, Richard L. Hess wrote: > > > High density data tape still the "champ" according to this article: > > > > http://www.eet.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=187203437 > >Thanks for the forward. Can someone help me...I recall an article in the >not too distant past where some "IBM" scientist claimed that magnetic tape >offered the greatest longevity for the storage of information...is my >memory correct? and if so, am I the only person who finds it >interesting that our data tape "champ" is produced by...."IBM?" In reviewing my own post from January 21st of this year, it appears that a data tape guy at IBM Germany was spreading FUD about CDs. So, in a sense it is ironic. On the other hand, I have no problem with the kind of announcement I quoted yesterday. It is a breakthrough in technology -- one that will need to be refined and developed for mass manufacturing -- but a breakthrough nonetheless which deserves notice. There are huge issues associated with large storage "clumps", but that is another issue. The information coming from IBM Tape Germany was misleading in the least, at least based on what I consider the equally valid MAM-A/Mitsui in-house studies and the independent studies by Joe Iraci at the CCI. CDs are a robust medium and, I think, the only currently available storage medium for audio that follows the traditional approach that would allow non-management for an extended (say 50 year) period of time. In many senses, the best archival storage medium we have is silver-based film kept frozen. I would think that these high data density tapes and drives would require in-situ recertification annually and profiling on every pass with "red flags" appropriately raised and tapes duplicated as required. This is what Avalon and Tivoli archive managers do now for LTO and previous generation tapes. We'll need to continue this. The holographic and other optical storage methods are intriguing in that they would have, presumably, a longer shelf life. Of course, drive life is a huge issue and cannot be separated from media life. LTO, for example, has a 2/1 generation backwards compatibility: it will read two-generation old tapes, and write one-generation old tapes. Drive life is an economic / business issue as much as the actual life of the motors, bearings, and capacitors. Cheers, Richard Richard L. Hess email: [log in to unmask] Aurora, Ontario, Canada (905) 713 6733 1-877-TAPE-FIX Detailed contact information: http://www.richardhess.com/tape/contact.htm Quality tape transfers -- even from hard-to-play tapes.