At 12:07 AM 4/18/98 , Doug Cromey <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>"Digital information lasts forever, or five years -- whichever comes first,"
>says a senior computer scientist at RAND Corp.  The problem is that computer
>experts are finding out that under less-than-optimal conditions, digital
>tapes and disks, including CD-ROMs, can deteriorate in as little as five to
>10 years.  And the decay, although it happens gradually, isn't evident until
>it's too late, says the founder of Voyager Co., which makes commercial
>CD-ROM books and games.  "CDs have a tendency to degrade much faster than
>anybody, at least in the companies that make them, is willing to predict."

I'm not a data storage expert, so take this for what it's worth, but I've
been hearing about the imminent decay of CDs periodically since I worked at
a radio station almost 15 years ago. I have yet to see even one documented
case of a CD or CD-ROM where the data decayed because of age or "bit rot".
I'm sure they don't last forever, but so far they seem to be hardier than
the experts keep saying.  (Tapes and disks are a different story, of course.)
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Jeff Metzner ([log in to unmask])     Universal Imaging Corporation
Product Manager, MetaMorph          502 Brandywine Parkway
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