Dan Lau wrote:
>
> On Wed, 09 Sep 1998 10:10, "C.H.Ling" <chling@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> >Yes, Ken, I agree with you, with present's technologies film is still
> >much better than digital in terms of quality and price. But I just want
> >to point out that, the digital image developed very fast, just like the
> >computer, speed and capacity has increased more than a hundred times in
> >20 years (with the same price level).
>
> >Concerning the storage, here a 650MB CD-ROM cost only 1.5US. It can
> >store 100 images with PCD format or JPEG compressed images. I think it
> >can last for over 50 years, what is the price for each image?
>
> I've mentioned this before and I'll mention it again. The problem
> with the fast changing technology is not the fact that it is not
> big/fast/cheap/accurate/durable, but the problem is in the fast
> obsolescence of the digital storage technology itself.
>
> I still have boxes of punched cards that are less than 25 years old, and
> the information is still there. The life span of those punched cards
> can last another 50 years. But just try to find a card reader that
> can recover the information today, and you'll understand what I mean.
> The same can be said for 1/2 inch mag tape, 14 inch disk cartridges,
> SMD hard drives, MFM hard drives, ESDI hard drives, 8 inch floppies,
> 5.25 inch floppies, various cartridge tapes, various removable archival
> storage devices, and so on and so on...
>
> And even if you can find a physical device that can handle the storage
> media, trying to find a device driver that can interface that device
> to the current operating systems is another obstacle. I can still buy
> 8 inch floppy drives from salvage companies, but who is going to build
> the interface to today's computers (both HW and SW)? Sure, the data
> is still there on those floppies, but you just can't get to it.
>
> The current CD technology is very quickly being replaced by newer
> formats; MD and DVD are probably the most visible, but there are many
> other similar new technologies. I know, someone will say: "CD is not
> just for computer storage, there are billions of audio CD's around,
> they can not get rid of it that quickly." Well, if you remember the
> old vinyl records of not too long ago, they disappeared overnight and
> are completely replaced by CDs. The same can happen to the current CD
> technology.
> -Dan
>
>
Dan;
These are excellent points that are long overdue in this discussion.
Great job.
--
george :>)
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