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CDs, DVDs Eyed For Long-Term Archival Use

Alien54 writes "Computer scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) are launching an effort to develop specifications for 'archival quality' CD and DVD media that agencies could use to ensure the procurement of sufficiently robust media for their long-term archiving needs (i.e., 50 years and longer). See the press release at the NIST site." The research involves "...enclosed chambers that use temperature and humidity changes to artificially age the media some 20 years in only six weeks."

8 of 311 comments (clear)

  1. Like having a baby by Dancin_Santa · · Score: 5, Funny

    Age 20 years in 3 months.

    That's what waking up at 3:00 in the morning every day to take care of the kid does to you.

    1. Re:Like having a baby by eu_neke · · Score: 5, Funny

      Wouldn't it be great if we could make the general readership of slashdot mature in the same manner?

  2. CDs to use for testing by leomekenkamp · · Score: 3, Funny


    A link to where volunteers can submit Celine Dion, Westlife and New Kids On The Block cds to be included for testing would be greatly appreciated

    --
    Wenn ist das Nunstueck git und Slotermeyer? Ja! Beiherhund das Oder die Flipperwaldt gersput.
    1. Re:CDs to use for testing by Bartmoss · · Score: 4, Funny

      Would you really want them to find out how to make CD's of Celine Dion, Westlife and NKotB last a hundred years?

  3. Know your enemies by PiscoX · · Score: 3, Funny

    ...enclosed chambers that use temperature and humidity changes to artificially age the media some 20 years in only six weeks.
    Temperature and humidity are definitely not the worst enemies of my CDs. My friends are.

  4. Re:This is an idea, albeit not perfect by selderrr · · Score: 5, Funny

    this reminds me of a very funny story some 35 years go.

    My dad was a database guy avant-la-lettre : he used to catalogue his bibliografies and other stuff on small cards, and sort them in binders & carboard boxes all over his office.
    These cards were kinda expensive though, and ordering them on univ budget took weeks. So when computer punchards started appearing, and programmers were trowing away hundreds of cards every day after compilation errors, my dad had found is never ending source of cards. So after a year or 2, his office was littered with punchcards with text written on the back.

    Some time later, a collegue flew over from overseas for a congres. Upon seeing my dad's office and his insane collection of thousands of punchards, he went completely bananas "you've got everything on computer !! How splendid ! Could we please copy your archive to add to our own database ? "

    My dad, being a complete computer illiterate was like "duh? sure, if you think it's of any help and if you return the cards"

    So the collegue packed a few dozen boxes with cards and flew them to the US. Where they fed them into the poor mainframe....


    I still giggle when I picture the problems their IT staff must have had trying to read the damd nonsense, and the look upon my fathers face "well offcourse the data is on those cards ! Didn't you guys turn them around and look ????" :-)

  5. Gold video disk with 296,000 year lifespan? by adeyadey · · Score: 5, Funny

    In 296,000 years Voyager-2 will pass Sirius... Do you think the gold video disc on-board will still be readable? :-)

    --
    "You lied to me! There is a Swansea!"
  6. Re:Anyone have CDs from the 80's? by cdrudge · · Score: 3, Funny
    2000 cds * 15 songs * $500 per song...you will be poor!

    Isn't your number off by a bit? Itsn't the maximum fine something like $150,000 per incrimination? That's more like $4.5 billion. And don't forget, if he ripped them at more then 1x speed, you get to use the rip speed as a multiplier to the fine....and if he ever burned one of those songs, who nelly!