Will CD-ROM readers exist in 20 years?

From: John Foust <jfoust_at_threedee.com>
Date: Fri Jun 26 10:03:22 1998

They'll certainly be available to junk collectors like us, won't
they, given our seemingly easy access to 9-track tape drives,
teletypes with paper tape readers, etc.? There are more CD-ROM
readers out there today than there ever were teletypes or S-100
machines or PDPs. Doesn't this mean *more* of them will be left
for us to collect in the future? Sure, some are cheaply made,
but if they're stored and unused, they'll make it.

As for discs themselves, I think the "properly stored" admonition
that held true for tapes and floppies holds for CDs. Temperature
cycling (like the audio CDs in your car) probably does damage.
Exposure to high humidity, which can creep in the sides and
also disturb the aluminum layer, does damage. Scratches can
introduce errors. Writeable CD-Rs are a different story - we
can only hope the engineering of the dyes will hold up.

- John
Received on Fri Jun 26 1998 - 10:03:22 BST