Simon the Scarecrow says THANK YOU !
He was in the Top 10 in the downtown Nashua scarecrow contest as of 8:30 a.m. today.
Simon needs Votes daily. Voting ends on Friday, Oct 13 👻 (so will these updates).
GO Team Simon 🎃
The task is on-going and time-intensive, so I'm taking a break. Even though I'm not planning to use CDs for future storage, I looked up some info on this popular storage media specifically if they deteriorate over time, why and how.Did you know that CD deterioration is called "disc rot?"
And that most types of disc rot are caused by careless use or storage, but it's not always the user's fault.
A CD contains different layers. Standard CDs usually have a reflective layer made from aluminum. When exposed to air, aluminum oxidizes, usually around the edges of the CD. But, degradation of the reflective layer is not the only cause of disc rot.
Another form called "bronzing" is caused by a manufacturing fault. This happens when the outer coating of the CD erodes, leaving a silver layer exposed. When silver is exposed, it tarnishes and the CD is ruined.
Part of what makes it hard to preserve CDs is that they are not uniform. As with most products, there were various manufacturing standards, many dependent on the year and the factory.
For most CD users, two questions prevail:
How long do CDs last? and What's the average age of a CD?
There's no clear answer and no average lifespan or average disc. CDs can last for many years, if properly cared for. Aside from purposely cutting them up, the most common way to destroy CDs is by leaving them in a hot environment, like a car. Music CDs that are played a lot — are often the ones most likely to be damaged.
All this information could be irrelevant, as CDs may become obsolete in time (remember 8-tracks and cassettes). Newer computers don't come with CD drives.
Now onto your comments . . .
Sandra (MadSnapper) Like you, I'm using several external drives too and putting certain categories on each. I've also heard that external drives can "crash" just like PC hard drives. Solid state drives are said to be better as there are less moving parts, but the price range for the capacity wasn't an option. I'm also not storing images in the cloud.
Michelle (It's a Small Town Life!) Like you, I've saved (copies of) some of my favorites on the PC and also to external drives.
Cheryl (The Farmer's Daughter) I also have some USB flash drives and have moved some images onto these, but they are not large enough for all my images.
Baili (Baili and I) So glad the post gave you some useful information. That said, my task is far from done as I've only completed going through family events.
Lorraine (Mamas Mercantile) Thanks for the compliment. This project has been long overdue, as with many projects. I always admire the projects you complete and post about.
William (Ottawa Daily Photo) As a photographer, I know you also take many photos and was wondering about your comment that you store them in different email accounts.
John (The AC is On) You're right and I am using multiple external drives to separate my images into categories, like family events, road trips, scenics. My plan is not to overload any one drive. I've also heard that many professional photographers store their back-ups in another location, which I'm not doing now.
Gigi (Gigi-Hawaii) While I also have several external memory sticks, all of them combined have less storage capacity than one of the external drives I am using.
Ludwig (Cafe Ludwig) I really appreciated reading your comments, as you are quite an avid and accomplished photographer. I know that raw photo files are much larger than jpg files, which I mainly shoot. I can certainly understand your need to do back-ups both before and after processing, but doubt that I will do the same. The searching by tags certainly makes it easier.
Denise (An English Girl Rambles) Glad the information was helpful. And, like you, I also appreciated the advice left in the comments. It's so true that we all "learn" better after a computer mishap (unfortunately).
Emma (Leaves on My Tree) I agree that it's so easy to lose precious images, which is exactly why I'm doing this project.
Thanks, everyone, for letting me know how you handle your image storage. I always learn new ways to do things from others.
6 comments:
I never go back and read people's comments and I love the way that you answered everybody's beautiful advice that we gave to you I really enjoyed this post reading what everybody had to say and that's the way we all learn reading what others tell us that they do or don't do or did that did or didn't work. Good luck with the rest of your work
Another day, another vote for Simon. We are going strong.
I have several email accounts that only I know of, which are exclusively storage space for photos. I don't use them for anything but that. I'll put in anywhere from ten to twenty photos in a single email to myself, labeled with location, and so that is relatively easy to access when needed.
I have voted for Simon and I am glad to hear he is in the top 10!
I just had to double-check my computer to see if I had a CD drive. I do. Apparently I don't use it very much. Although I have used it at some point but not often and not lately as you can tell.
This is of great interest to me. I have noted that almost all modern forms of storing pictures ( save actually printing them out ! ) seem to be in danger of becoming obsolete. I keep all my camera cards and will begin the tedious process of going through them , labeling, etc. this winter . Still , I wonder if there really is a good way to save them for future generations.
Thank-you !
Post a Comment