X-Message-Number: 6078
From:  (David Stodolsky)
Subject: Fwd: []a note on electronic publications
Date: Tue, 16 Apr 96 23:15:44 +0100


Forward of letter <> from :

There is still concern about durability of electronic information.
This concern is largely unjustified.  Magnetic tapes, and even current
optical disks, do not last long.  However, it is possible to produce
extremely durable digital storage media.  For example, the HD-ROM
recording technology, developed at Los Alamos, can attain storage
densities over 100 times those of current CD-ROMs, and, by using
materials such as stainless steel or iridium, can guarantee stability
for tens of thousands of years, and provide resistance to fire, water
damage, rats, and other disasters that can destroy paper data.  Since
storage densities are increasing rapidly, however, there is no point
in using such long-lasting storage methods.  If 10 years from now we
will be able to store 100 times as much data at the same cost, why pay
extra for any medium that provides stability beyond 10 years?  As has
been argued forcefully by Douglas Van Houweling [VanH], it is only
information that we need to store, not any particular physical
embodiment of information.


David S. Stodolsky      PGP KeyID: B830DF31       
   Tel.: +45 38 33 03 30   Fax: +45 38 33 88 80 (C)


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