Bring back cassette tapes...I still have my D5 

I would also like to add a perspective as a semi-trained archivist:  One mantra among archivists is "If it isn't eye-readable it isn't preserved."
That goes for audio artifacts as well; if there is one thing that all digital formats have in common it is that they will corrupt.  It may become difficult to find compatible hardware (when was the last time you saw a working wire recorder?), but the physical recording retains the possibility  of playback; digital media, over and above their highly deficient sound quality, are pure ephemera.


Peter (who has, in fact, seen - and heard - a working wire recorder)

This trend is going further than that. I've heard that iTunes will stop selling downloads and go to an all streaming model. The day when you no longer own the actual music, whether on a disc of vinyl or just bits, is coming soon.

Quote from: edwin on February 08, 2018, 12:21:01 AM
This trend is going further than that. I've heard that iTunes will stop selling downloads and go to an all streaming model. The day when you no longer own the actual music, whether on a disc of vinyl or just bits, is coming soon.

That sounds so very Orwellian...  I think I need to go into hiding.

Quote from: cozmik_cowboy on February 05, 2018, 07:41:13 PM
I would also like to add a perspective as a semi-trained archivist:  One mantra among archivists is "If it isn't eye-readable it isn't preserved."
That goes for audio artifacts as well; if there is one thing that all digital formats have in common it is that they will corrupt.  It may become difficult to find compatible hardware (when was the last time you saw a working wire recorder?), but the physical recording retains the possibility  of playback; digital media, over and above their highly deficient sound quality, are pure ephemera.


Peter (who has, in fact, seen - and heard - a working wire recorder)

I own an Edison Cylinder Phonograph with about 150 very playable cylinders in original boxes and 50 or so that still play but are degraded sonically. I never knew there were so many marches. Would that count as a stand-in for your wire recorder? 

As for the digital formats. It is a problem. It is why I spend time migrating data with each computer upgrade or keeping the old machine around. Heck the same goes for most of my old analog equipment. You likely know the numbers better than me but I heard some as high as 90% of information has been lost due to obsolete technology no longer being around to handle the media.

But with obsolete physical media, there is some obsessed wack job somewhere who has a working machine (coughKeithcough  ), or working on restoring one; when digital is gone, it's freakin' gone.

Thank you for keeping history alive!

Peter

I actually like audio CD's as a commercially distributed digital media storage medium even though the resolution is only 16 bit / 44.1khz  . ( red book )
As an Analog storage medium I will always prefer reel to reel tape . 15ips quarter inch 2 track stereo or full track mono can sound really good . Much better dynamic range  and  frequency response then vinyl . Dolby SR will increase the signal to noise ratio even further     

Quote from: cozmik_cowboy on February 08, 2018, 08:35:08 PM
But with obsolete physical media, there is some obsessed wack job somewhere who has a working machine (coughKeithcough  ), or working on restoring one; when digital is gone, it's freakin' gone.

Thank you for keeping history alive!

Peter

There is a legitimate reason for keeping some of that old digital stuff around. People forget that you also need be able to run the programs to access the data not just the disk or tape drive itself. Unlike the mainframe where you can still run many programs from the 60's the PC environment more or less started with the idea of "Throw out the old and always start anew."