Re: [ARSCLIST] Taiyo-Yuden out of business??

["Steven C. Barr(x)" <stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Olhsson" <olh@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> -----Original Message-----
> >From Don Cox: "...They will certainly be obsolete for _new_ storage by then,
> but it would be
> surprising if there were no machines available to play them. Equipment
> is available for playing cylinders and 78s..."
> > 
> Parts can be easily constructed one-off at reasonable prices for devices
> playing cylinders and 78s. Digital gear is made up of parts that are only
> affordable when produced in immense quantities. Most of them are also only
> constructed to a disposable standard of quality.
> 
As well, there is NO simple way to ascertain that a CD or DVD contains
information...let alone to suggest the process (actually rather INdirect!)
used to retrieve that information! The extra-terrestrial encountering a
78rpm disc, or Amberol cylinder, needs only (assuming he/she/it is aware
of communicating information via sound waves, which is NOT a given...!)
pass a fingernail/claw/talon along the visible grooves to more-or-less
"hear" the sonic contents!

OTOH, a CD or DVD requires careful microscopic examination to reveal
that it MAY contain information...and then, even if the observer happens
to note the presence of "pits" and "not pits," the resulting data also
requires the proper algorithm to be converted to audio information!

Also note that magnetic storage (hard/floppy drives, magnetic tape, usw.)
does NOT leave any visible evidence of its existence (as well as being
easily erasable by external events...!). It is NOT beyond the realm of
probability that a sufficiently-strong "solar flare) could not only
erase all magnetically-stored information, but also render all our
computers useless, in one fell swoop...?!

...stevenc
> The good news is that you can clone digital audio. The bad news is that you
> need to do so frequently in order to stay ahead of hardware that will
> probably never be available again after only a few years. Those of us who
> have been working on standards have watched formats disappear faster than
> any standards could be defined. As solid state memory and broadband delivery
> take over, I expect to see all digital storage involving moving parts go
> away rapidly. Working DAT machines are becoming very rare because there are
> no more parts.
> 
> This parts manufacturing scale issue makes digital media EXTREMELY
> unreliable and expensive in the long run as an archival medium.
> 
> 
> Bob Olhsson Audio Mastery, Nashville TN
> Mastering, Audio for Picture, Mix Evaluation and Quality Control
> Over 40 years making people sound better than they ever imagined!
> 615.385.8051 http://www.hyperback.com
>