Mario Rieger commented "there should be CD/DVDs with a much more longvity; it is said that there are some vendors that claim up to 100 years; reburning after 5 years is then not needed."

This issue has come up repeatedly on this listserv (and others).

Spending more on electronic storage media of any sort just because they are claimed to last 100 years is a waste of money.

This for several reasons:

1. The retrieval hardware (tape or disk drives) will no longer exist. Example: how many 8" floppy disk drives does your company operate? 5-1/2" floppy disk drives? 3.5" floppy disk drives? 1" open reel tape drives? Tape cartridge drives from the 1980s?

2. The entire software infrastructure--from the file system to the backup software--will have changed. It is even possible that, in 100 years, computer systems will no longer be binary (quantum computers, anyone?).

3. No one in normal business operations will know how the ancient computer system operates. Example: if someone offered you an IBM 1401 computer, with all of its peripherals, would you know how it works? Would you even have the time to figure it out?

4. There are few realistic, independent studies to back up these claims of 100-year life spans.

That said, it DOES make sense to invest in good-quality storage media and hardware, and to periodically test the backups, to ensure the stored "data" remain viable within the limited life span of the system (typically, 5 to 10 years).

And, as you mentioned, to have in place a data-preservation plan to ensure the "data" remains accessible for its anticipated useful life.

But I wouldn't count on anything electronic being useable 100 years from now....

Best regards.

Fred Grevin
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