CDs make me sick

[Shocker]

LOL...who thought making a high-precision optical device out of easily scratched polycarbonate and then not encasing it was a good idea???

Don't forget that there's only a neglegibly thin layer between the outside world and the data on traditional CDs.

And to top it off, blank optical media seems to be another thing where it's harder and harder to get good quality. I even remember seeing visible defects on TDK branded CD-Rs after like 2-3 days. FAIL. And I thought TDK was meant to be a good brand...

Anyway, here's my advice: ALWAYS back up optical discs of everything, unless it's a non-PC-readable format. DON'T use CD-Rs for personal data unless you have to for compatibility. Right???

Yes, I know hard drives fail. But CDs are 1,000,000 times easier to destroy.

[dumpystig]

You can always encase it yourself within a jewel-box or cover...

[ratdude747]

Well, when CDs came your other choice was a 1ft stack of floppies...

[Shocker]

Originally Posted by dumpystig

You can always encase it yourself within a jewel-box or cover...

But you have to take it OUT of the case to use it. Plus, jewel cases crack if you step on them.

[mariushm]

If you don't like them, you have tapes.

Oh, I'm sorry, you want big storage AND fast random access? Then live with it.

ps.

Initially the discs were meant as replacement for regular discs, the ones where a head physically touches the grooves and forms sound due to the vibrations in the crystal, and cassette tapes. Computers already had 1-4 GB tapes and tape drives.
There were ideas thrown around to encase the disc in a cartridge but they gave that up to make things cheaper to manufacture (sega and sony also gave up on cartridges soon after and went with cd like formats). Also, they wanted to be very easy to explain to old people and noobs how they work... imagine how you would explain your grandmother how to use them if they were cartridges.

[Agent24]

Originally Posted by Shocker

Yes, I know hard drives fail. But CDs are 1,000,000 times easier to destroy.

Hmm.. One good whack with a sledgehammer and both will be equally toast.

[Shocker]

If you don't like them, you have tapes.

No, I don't - tapes have poor fidelity, wear out, are unusable for anything demanding of random access and are incredibly vulnerable to magnets.

Oh, I'm sorry, you want big storage AND fast random access?

That's what we have flash and HDDs for.

Also, they wanted to be very easy to explain to old people and noobs how they work... imagine how you would explain your grandmother how to use them if they were cartridges.

Make the protector transparent and it wouldn't be that hard would it???

Hmm.. One good whack with a sledgehammer and both will be equally toast.

So would YOU, if you got hit...

[mariushm]

You didn't have flash memory in 1982, when the compact disc (CD) was invented. You didn't even have 3.5" floppy disks until 1984, when IBM came up with 720 KB floppies in that format.

So you only had floppy drives, tape drives and hard disks that were going into the 5.25" slots because 3.5" drives only appeared in 1988 when Connor made the first.

CDs were very good and reasonably protected. Remember, they were supposed to be played at 1x which is 150 rpm, and the imprints in the chemical layer were much more pronounced than nowadays so the devices were able to read the data on them even with quite a few scratches.

Much later as burning speed went up, different chemical compositions were used and the "grooves" made by the writers were less pronounced and more prone for read errors. Fast read speed also made it worse as the plastic expands with the high speed, but the drives themselves got better error correction and so everything kept up.

ps. Oh... even the CD-R standard was added to the CD standard only in 1988. So you should probably look up how much did a 3.5" drive cost in 1988 and see how well it would have worked for you to use hard drives to move data around.

[Agent24]

There is only one thing to remember: There is no substitute for a proper backup system.

[Shocker]

I found this while I was waiting. Hope you'll find it useful. Once you've installed it, it functions almost as if it was integral to Windows.

By the way: I understand if you don't have the HDD space necessary to back up all your CDs and DVDs. But if you have it, you really should use it. I'll bet you $1000 that a TON of hard drive space goes to waste these days.

[Agent24]

There are piles of tools to emulate CD\DVD drives from ISO images etc, haven't heard of that one before though.

[mariushm]

First of all, why use CDs when you have DVD discs?
Second... stop and think about it, how much is a 1 TB drive and how much are packs of 8x25 dvd packs?
I'll tell you, about the same.

1 TB drive (~950 GB usable)... 90$ : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136490
8 x 25 dvd packs (~ 880 GB usable) ... 70$ .... http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817172099

It's just not worth it, do the initial investment and store your data on it. if you're paranoid, get a second one and keep them in two separate parts of your house or store one at your parents' house.

[Shocker]

First of all, why use CDs when you have DVD discs?

First, "DVD disc" is redundant.

Second, we have Blu-ray.

[mariushm]

I know, but I'm too concerned about their long term reliability to recommend them.
Also, they're much more expensive.

The chemical composition of the most often used dvds is already time tested so if you get quality discs, your data is safe for 2-3 years, at least..

[Keatah]

Originally Posted by Shocker

But you have to take it OUT of the case to use it. Plus, jewel cases crack if you step on them.

why would you want to step on them?

[Keatah]

Originally Posted by Agent24

Hmm.. One good whack with a sledgehammer and both will be equally toast.

why would you want to smash them with a hammer?

If you need that level of protection, then you buy a steel safe and put the media in there.

[Topcat]

Originally Posted by Keatah

why would you want to smash them with a hammer?

For the same reason you dont follow the site rules and put your location in your profile (although your comcast IP shows you to be in Illnois)......its annoying.

[ratdude747]

Originally Posted by Topcat

For the same reason you dont follow the site rules and put your location in your profile (although your comcast IP shows you to be in Illnois)......its annoying.

Quoted for Truth

[severach]

Originally Posted by Shocker

LOL...who thought making a high-precision optical device out of easily scratched polycarbonate and then not encasing it was a good idea???

The same person who thought that CDs should be as easy and cheap to make as records so there wouldn't be supply problems every time an entertainer releases a new hit album that sells millions of copies in a weekend.

If CD releases cost 4 times a much or took several months longer than record releases then the format wouldn't have caught on as fast.

Lots of technologies came out soon after CDs that were better and safer. Why didn't you buy them?

Because they were too expensive. CD was cheap and good enough.

The good is the enemy of the best. (not said by Voltaire)

[Shocker]

BTW, I think I've got a case of DVD bronzing.