Archiving Data Permanently

[Ezra Nugroho]

I kinda doubt it.

HDs are now built with precisions and standards that are equal or exceed
those of jet engine making. Consider the engineering that people use to
make micro HDs for IPods, etc.

Tape cassettes only use a lot of moving objects. Not only that, the tape
touches it self in the roll, the head of the reader touches the tape.
This means wear and tear. Furthermore, tape is magnetized plastic. They
are less heat resistant.

HD heads now float above the platters, they do not touch the platters at
all. HDs are air tight.

The only advantage that tape has over HD is in shock resistance.
The cassette may break from a drop, but you may still (expensively)
recover the data from the tape, if it is not damaged.







On Fri, 2005-08-19 at 02:00 +0930, Tim wrote:
> On Thu, 2005-08-18 at 08:14 -0600, Robin Laing wrote:
> > This is one option that is used around here but there are reports that
> > I have heard about HD's that don't like being left alone on the shelf
> > and need to be part of a computer or they commit suicide. :)
> 
> I wouldn't be surprised.  They're mechanical devices, and bearings do
> stuff up.
> 
> In around 20+ years of working in audio and video production, I can say
> that things like tape decks left sitting in storage often need some
> maintenance to free up stuck bearings.  Sometimes quite a lot of effort
> is required to get them working again.
> 
> Of course, some of that may be due to the bearings not being sealed.
> But tight bearing fittings and temperature changes might just contribute
> to something that wasn't designed as well as it ought to be, getting
> stuck.