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Re: PowerPoint vs CDRoms



In a message dated 12/7/00 7:19:27 PM, kundrot@RIO.COM writes:

<< I would be surprised if a CD with a PowerPoint presentation would maintain 
its integrity for very long. >>

With respect, sir, you should then be surprised.  At the risk of sounding 
like a flak for Kodak, I feel compelled to point out that aging studies on 
gold-based CD-ROMs have shown a life of upwards of 200 years without loss of 
data integrity.

Click Here: <A 
HREF="http://kodak.com/cluster/global/en/professional/products/storage/pcd/tec

hInfo/permanence9.shtml">Kodak: Permanence, Care, and Handling of CDs - …</A>

Please understand that not all CD-ROMs are created equal.   There are a 
variety of manufacturers and manufacturing methods; a variety of features and 
corresponding benefits.  If you buy cheap media, expect it to perform 
cheaply.  But if you invest just a little more, expect professional standards 
and results.  And we are not talking big bucks here.  We're talking about the 
difference of about $.50 and $1.25 per disc.

As has been stated elsewhere, the problem will not be the permanence of the 
media.  The problem will be the files that are placed upon it.  It is akin to 
C-22 process film: you can still run it through a camera, but where will you 
get it developed?  No doubt you've run into the same issues with large format 
B&W negatives from the 1950s and 1960s.  The image may still be on the film, 
but it is expensive and cumbersome to get a print from it.  

It is the same issue with piano rolls.  Or stereoscopic prints.  Or 
Viewmaster slides.  In each case the storage media is archaic.  The data is 
still there, but there are difficulties reading it.  The solution is to 
either plan a migration path to another media or to obtain an archaic device 
to use the existing media.   Some institutions keep a player piano on hand.  
Maybe its time to think about keeping a CD-ROM reader on hand.

Jim Lewin
President
Image Delivery Systems
Suite 200
1101 Pennsylvania Avenue SE
Washington, DC 20003
vox: 202.544.6884
fax: 202.544.6889

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