Yep, Wayne hit both nails on the head for the larger concerns about
'persistent access to information' stored on ANY FORM of media.

- Format the information is stored in
- Availability of hardware that reads the media

These "M-Discs" are a very interesting development, but there are a number
of concerns right out of the box at first look. 

They can only be written to using an LG drive designed specifically to
record to this media.  Use of any other drive (once they exist) voids the
'limited warranty'.

The warranty, like all other media, is limited to replacement of the media
itself. There is no coverage for the loss of data, or any consequences
related to that loss.

The discs can be read on MOST devices that read a DVD RW+ disc, which means
there is something a BIT unique to the manner in which the data is written.
To me this indicates it is proprietary in nature and likely related to the
medium inside the disc or the requirement for a "deeper pitting" to achieve
this longevity.  What results in CD and DVD media "failing" now is the edges
of the pits are (for lack of a better term) fuzzy and the laser has a hard
time reading them over time.

And as Wayne mentioned 4.7gb is great for a personal library (if you're
willing to burn dozens of discs) but doesn't do much for commercial or
business settings. 10k documents (I don't know how they measure "a
document"), 1200 photos, 3hrs video.   

The price for the drives ($50 internal, up to $200 external) isn't
outrageous and even the media is reasonable (around $3/disc) but there is no
question that the 1,000 years is a pie-in-the-sky number.  And again, the
manner in which the lasers etch the material in the discs indicate the
writing process is proprietary.

The M-Disc may satisfy some personal data storage needs and serve as a
bridge to get to some next step, but I think business is still waiting for
something more stable.  Something that can beat properly produced and stored
microfilm for longevity and ability to read with a simple light source and
magnification or NORSAM for larger volumes of business, research, and other
critical data, even though that requires an electron microscope to view.  

Larry
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