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Re: CD Life



Mr. Lewin,

With all due respect, I'm beginning to wonder if you're a rep for Kodak in
desguise.  You seem to be pushing this particular CD-R as if we are all
potential customers and you're looking to make a sale.  Is Kodak the *only*
one to produce this CD-R?  As Mr. Lindon pointed out a brand name on a
product does not necessarily prove the actual manufacturer of an item.  This
is the case for many (dare I say most?) products manufactured today.

In addition, I think the issue here is less one of whether or not the CD-R
will last documentation intact or not.  Nor is it, necessarily, whether or
not the media to retrieve said information is still around.  It's a question
of stability.  I think Peter said it best: "The important point to remember
about the three items above is that their technology is STABLE. No major
changes are forthcoming so the information is
still accessible."  With hard copies (photos, documents, etc.) as cumbersome
as they may be, I think it safe to say we will always have ways to convert
it into whatever the current tech. is.  With up to date scanners, computers,
etc.  The DOE Photographer here has a computer that is designed to take
negatives or positives of varying sizes and formats (no matter how old) and
put them into a digital format so he can clean them up and print them in
Photshop, or whatever.

As archivists, the focus (in my understanding of working in the field as an
intern) is preservation of documents for future use and recall.  Conversion
to digital is extremely useful in the everyday, especially where I currently
work, a museum.  We digitize a great deal of what we use in exhibits.  It
cuts down on the wear and tear of paper collections and can look very
authentic if done properly.  Our focus archivally and in collections (the
same thing here as we are a small and underfunded gov't org, surprise) is
still on preserving the original document for the long term, *not* the
digital.

Well, that's all I have to say on the subject, and I'm sorry if I've
offended you Mr. Lewin.  It wasn't meant in an insulting manner, I just
wondered if you realized how many of your comments are comming accross (to
me, at least).

Respectfully,
Tom Anderson; Collections
American Museum of Science and Energy
300 S. Tulane
Oak Ridge, TN 37830
(865) 576-3228 (Voice), (865) 576-6024 (Fax)

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