Ran across this article -- rather discouraging as far as storage life is concerned. JD Rodgers Article from Computerworld.com Although opinions vary on how to preserve data on digital storage media, such as optical CDs and DVDs, Kurt Gerecke, a physicist and storage expert at IBM Deutschland GmbH, takes this view: If you want to avoid having to burn new CDs every few years, use magnetic tapes to store all your pictures, videos and songs for a lifetime. "Unlike pressed original CDs, burned CDs have a relatively short life span of between two to five years, depending on the quality of the CD," Gerecke said in an interview this week. "There are a few things you can do to extend the life of a burned CD, like keeping the disc in a cool, dark space, but not a whole lot more." http://computerworld.com/hardwaretopics/hardware/story/0,10801,107607,00.html

How would we put our files on tape? Would we use something like a zip drive? I'm not familiar with it but have heard of it. The program I'm using must be loaded onto a computer before the files can be read. That program is on a CD; is this going to deteriorate also? Bill ----- Original Message ----- From: "JDRodgers" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, January 16, 2006 10:30 AM Subject: [VAROOTS] Data Storage - CD/DVD > Ran across this article -- rather discouraging as far as storage life is > concerned. > > JD Rodgers > > Article from Computerworld.com > > > " If you want to avoid having to > burn new CDs every few years, use magnetic tapes to store all your > pictures, videos and songs for a lifetime. "Unlike pressed original CDs, > burned CDs have a relatively short life span of between two to five years, > depending on the quality of the CD," > > ============================== > Jumpstart your genealogy with OneWorldTree. Search not only for > ancestors, but entire generations. Learn more: > http://www.ancestry.com/s13972/rd.ashx > >