Alberta ,Edmonton
So you think all the precious digital pictures you have been saving on CD-ROM are safe?
Think again.
Expert agree,many CDs made with computer-equipped CD burners will not make it past five years.
"Although CD-writing technology has matured,blank CD media is still unpredictable," says Susan Munro of Edmonton-based Mehco Inc.,a CD-ROM duplicating and replicating service.
Munro`s attributes the short CD life to poor sealing of disk edges,allowing moisture and air to seep in and corrode the recorded digital information.
Munro`s best advice for consumers who want to be sure of the quality of CD media they buy is stick with a good brand name and don`t worry about the higher prices.Blank CD cost from 40 cents to $1 each.
But the fact is "stores and consumers have no way of knowing how good blank CDs are,"Munro says.
"the best way a store knows is by the nuilurember of costumer complaining about one particular brand."
Surprisingly.very few stores are aware of longevity issues with recordable CDs,but most say a 10-per-cent failure rate is acceptable.
Computer professionals warn that digital information should not be kept on any medium for more than five years.
That includes hard-drives,floppy drives and data tapes.
"Almost nothing last forever,so the best way
maximize the security of important infomation is to store it in as many different ways as possible,[I don`t understand maximize.........,what does he try to saying?," said Martin Parry,spokesman for hard-drive maker Maxtor.Depite hard-drive` low failure rate ,one should back up data,he says.
It was on 30 October,2002 The province news-paper
Any comment?