[DM-MUG] long-term data storage

[Darcy Baston]

Thanks for this Jon.

I'll be archiving anything and everything. I've got songs I've written, videos I've taken, email, 10k+ photos, want to consolidate install CDs for software etc. I'm looking for something more long-term and convenient than having to move all the data to whatever new media storage technology comes out. From what you're saying, it's a nice fantasy but is difficult to realize.

I'm also looking for a way to stop using a media storage solution that requires so many individual pieces. It was great to go from so many CDs to many fewer DVDs, but now those are piling up. The counter pressure to that is that the more you have on any one media object, the more you risk losing. Are we just stuck with having tons of DVDs to avoid that situation, even with a higher capacity solution?

Iomega's claim is mathmatical based on submitting the cartridges and drives to extreme conditions. You can learn more about that here:

http://download.iomega.com/com/rev/solutions/pdfs/iomega_technology_whitepaper_rev__30_yr_shelf.pdf

Darcy

On Tuesday, August 22, 2006, at 11:37AM, Jon Thompson <jon at mac-consultant.com> wrote:

>Darcy,
>
>It really depends on how much you are archiving.  Are you saving  
>video?  Are you saving email?  This really plays into how much  
>storage you need to save.
>
>The key to long term backups is knowing your media and its lifespan,  
>and migrating off of it before the data degrades.  
>
>As for Iomega claiming 35 years, you and I both know that this  
>product has not existed for that long, so they really have no real  
>way of knowing how long the product will last.  Furthermore, with  
>Iomega's record, I would not trust their products to last five minutes.