CD turned 25

Petrie. · **on:** August 21, 2007, 07:32:04 AM

http://www.cdrinfo.com/Sections/News/Detai...px?NewsId=21180

You wouldn't think of it as old tech, but it technically is when you consider how fast things change these days and to fall even a year behind sometimes means replacing obsolete equipment (et tu cell phone -_- ). Even though the last line states that cds are losing popularity, I still buy them...compression can hurt and you just can't do better, especially with orchestral scores of which I'm very fond of.

Oh, and yeah, I have an early pressing of the Carpenters double-disc Yesterday Once More which is now 22 years old and still playing (indestructable if you take care of them).

So a belated birthday to a very popular guy!

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #1 on:** August 21, 2007, 07:41:53 AM

Hehe. I consider cd's to be obsolete. I even replaced my cd drive in my laptop with an extra battery. I just don't use them anymore! I haven't really used a cd in about 2 years (except to copy the content to the computer). This includes dvd's cuz I just watch them on the computer after buying them. I have an unopened copy of LBT 11. I just have no reason to open it. I just bought it for the license.

I have moved on to only using hard drives and flash disks to back up my data. CD's really are old technology to me. I will probably use one again in my lifetime, but I dont' think I'll ever become a regular CD user. Think about it. If you had the option to have 800 CD's or one external hard drive, which one would you choose? That's my position right now. 702mb doesn't go far.

Manny Cav · **Reply #2 on:** August 21, 2007, 09:39:47 AM

CD burners have given no end of trouble in backing up my data. They hardly ever burned it correctly; sometimes, the data simply wasn't there even though it "completed it", very often, the "data verification" failed, and I got multiple CRC errors, and several other things that annoy you greatly. It would normally only do it right if you burned small amounts, which is no good for backup. Which is why I use an external hard drive for backup. MUCH more reliable and easier to operate.

As for audio, I don't know what's became the "standard" now for audio, so I couldn't say. However, I just recently made the decision to avoid purchasing any more VHS tapes unless they were blank ones for recording (I don't have a good DVD player/burner yet). And now, they've already started this "blu-ray" stuff. What's going on here!?

akida · **Reply #3 on:** August 21, 2007, 01:11:48 PM

I don't know about you all -- but i'm absolutely tired of all these new formats. Can't we just stick to one thing ... and stop upgrading every time some idiotic company thinks that the world needs something new. I'm not going to Blu-Ray. So what if the picture is clearer, I don't care cause my tv is old, anyways. There is -nothing- wrong with DVDs, and its a format that should be used for a long time to come. But of course, by the time I upgrade my whole collection to dvd, someone will come out with something new -- and DVDs will be forgetten, just like VHS.

... I hate technology. Upgrading things is a waste of money. Yes, I was excited to upgrade to the next gen gaming, but ... it was a huge gash in my wallet, same with my new computer ... and my new Nintendo DS ... and my new everything. ~___~;

DarkHououmon · **Reply #4 on:** August 21, 2007, 02:32:21 PM

To be honest, I still use CDs. Not that often, but I still use them. I use them mostly to store songs so I can listen to them anywhere I want to, not just the computer room. I hardly consider CDs to be "obselete". I keep seeing a ton of them in stores.

Now, if I could choose between 800 CDs and one external harddrive, I'd go for the 800 CDs. While an external harddrive would be nice, it is still just one machine. If I were to store all my stuff on that one harddrive, then, what would happen if I were to lose the drive? I would not only lose files I don't want, but many, if not all, the files I do want. But if I have my stuff stored on CDs, if I lose a few CDs, then I'd be only missing a couple files I still want.

Another reason I'd choose CDs over harddrive is mobility. CDs are just so much easier to carry around than an external harddrive, in my opinion.

But that's just my view. My family and I have been using CDs for years and I doubt we'll stop doing it for quite some time.

Manny Cav · **Reply #5 on:** August 21, 2007, 03:05:33 PM

I have yet to have seen an external hard drive that would be harder to carry around than 800 CDs.

DarkHououmon · **Reply #6 on:** August 21, 2007, 03:11:07 PM

In my last post, I stated that CDs are easier to carry than external harddrives. I never said that 800 CDs were easier to carry. If I were to go to a friend's house or relative's house, and I wanted to listen to music there, I'd rather just bring a couple CDs than a single external harddrive that contains more valuable data than just music. Riskier bringing the external harddrive, in my opinion.

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #7 on:** August 21, 2007, 04:29:53 PM

What about flash drives? They're smaller and more efficient than CD's and you can go get a 2gb(2048mb) one insetad of using a 702mb CD. My dvd player has a usb port so I can plug in my external hard drive and flash drives to watch movies.

The flash drives cost more, but:

1. they dont scratch

2. data lasts 200 years instead of 10

3. smaller and easier to use

4. faster data transfer rate

I don't see why more people don't own them.

:

DarkHououmon · **Reply #8 on:** August 21, 2007, 04:38:56 PM

They're too expensive for my taste.

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #9 on:** August 21, 2007, 04:41:38 PM

Behold! My flash drive.

It was $35 but It'll last me forever. Total size = 2048mb! Just plug it in and go!

Manny Cav · **Reply #10 on:** August 21, 2007, 04:46:47 PM

That thing would never hold all of my data.

Petrie. · **Reply #11 on:** August 21, 2007, 04:47:43 PM

Um, Austin, I still have my 20 year old Carpenters cd that hasn't rotted out, so they last longer than 10 years if you take care of them. That applies to any technology...your harddrive isn't likely to take to too many bangs and drops. My external goes nowhere.

When I think of cds I think of audio cds only, not data ones. I haven't backed up data on discs in a while...last time I did so was a couple of years ago. Haven't checked to see if those still worked...they should because like the external, they don't go anywhere and are safe and dry.

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #12 on:** August 21, 2007, 04:48:56 PM

I am talking about recent CD's. They have been importing many chineese products. CD life is now close to 10 years. On the lower end of it too. :cry2

landbeforetimelover · **Reply #13 on:** August 21, 2007, 04:50:46 PM

Quote

That thing would never hold all of my data.

well no, its just a device to take some data with you on the road. I have several 500gb external hard drives and I have about 15 of these little flash drives. I have about 300 blank CD's that I've never opened.

DarkHououmon · **Reply #14 on:** August 21, 2007, 04:54:29 PM

I have no interest in getting a flash drive. If they were as affordable as CDs, then I might consider getting them. But since I don't have much money, I have to be careful of what I spend it on. Buying a couple CDs that would only cost..maybe $5 is better for me than to spend $30-$40 just for one flash drive.

Manny Cav · **Reply #15 on:** August 21, 2007, 04:54:54 PM

My external hard drive is smaller than a VHS tape, so it goes with me wherever my laptop goes. I have no reason to "just take some data with me", as everything that is on my laptop is on my external, and vise versa.

Petrie. · **Reply #16 on:** August 21, 2007, 04:56:41 PM

I wonder if the more recent flash drives are also going cheap....my Kingston one will disconnect (even in the middle of transfering files) if it gets too hot. It might be something to do with Dell usb ports, but I've never had it happen with Lexar drives.

action9000 · **Reply #17 on:** August 21, 2007, 05:09:10 PM

Quote

have no reason to "just take some data with me", as everything that is on my laptop is on my external, and vise versa.

That's basically me too.

For transporting data, I will use either my laptop or my mp3 player (which doubles as a 1 GB flash drive).

As for using CDs for backup, I rarely do this actually. Like LBTlover I find CDs too small and clumsy for backing up a 25 GB music collection plus who-knows-how-much data worth of irreplaceable work. My solution? Nope, not flash drives, not external drives:

1) DVD-R. 4.7 GB instead of 700 MB. Not much more expensive than blank CDs (A pack of 20 comes for less than $1 a disc). I can squeeze my entire backup needs onto 7 or 8 DVDs instead of...well far more CDs.

:

2) Internal hard drives. Having 3 computers lying around does present amazing opportunities for backing up data. I took an 80 GB drive out of my old web server and installed it into my new computer. This drive is 100% backup. Any data which I would hate to lose is simply copied to this drive. If one of the drives fails, any data I need will be on this one. If the 80 GB fails...well..I can start dumping data onto my laptop. It has 60 GB free.

Flash drives are great for transporting data...assuming you aren't transporting a lot of data. As it's been mentioned, Flash drives are expensive and they're not getting much cheaper. a DVD-RW (4.7 GB) comes at about 1/10 the cost of a 2GB flash drive, and can be reused just the same. DVD burners come standard in many computers, and have for the last couple of years. Upgrading to a DVD burner is less than $50 if you don't have one, which is barely more than the cost of a flash drive.

In short, recordable DVDs are my friends

DarkHououmon · **Reply #18 on:** August 21, 2007, 05:12:12 PM

Quote from: action9000,Aug 21 2007 on 05:09 PM

1) DVD-R. 4.7 GB instead of 700 MB. Not much more expensive than blank CDs (A pack of 20 comes for less than $1 a disc). I can squeeze my entire backup needs onto 7 or 8 DVDs instead of...well far more CDs. :

I have some DVD-Rs as well, but I strictly use them for video only. I never use them for music purposes. I only use CD-Rs for music, plus it lets me play them in CD Players. I don't think I can play DVD-Rs in CD Players, though I could be mistaken, as I never tried it.

action9000 · **Reply #19 on:** August 21, 2007, 05:14:16 PM

Quote

I don't think I can play DVD-Rs in CD Players, though I could be mistaken, as I never tried it.

Nope, in most cases you can't. Maybe some high-end DVD players and DVD car stereos will play DVD-R music but I don't know for sure either. I think that would be a great feature though, if they can't.