MMDers,  I think the CD is the most universal format of the modern
digital storage mediums.  Thinking about it, the CD has been around
since the mid-80s, some 20 years, which is an eternity in this
constantly changing computer world.  And in the future, there will
always be a way to read a standard CD.

Regarding the shelf life of recordable CDs: I have been experimenting
a lot and have to say I've had a lot of experience with CD longevity.
Thanks to Terry Hathaway, who recommended the Mitsui Corp. "Archival"
storage CDs, I discovered that when you record a CD on the computer
(a standard CD burner), these CDRs _do not last_ in regular use.  The
CDs that seem to disintegrate and stop working in players first are
always the ones recorded on a computer.  It has something to do with
the way the tracks are identified.

I bought a separate "CD recorder", a Phillips model, and hooked it up
to my stereo system so I could also record cassette tapes easily.  This
CD recorder seems to record the tracks more permanently, so that every
player will play them easily.  And the data doesn't disintegrate like
on the others, if you also use MAM-A CDRs.  These are the CDRs that are
lasting the longest, even if left in a car for a length of time.  MAM-A
recordable archival CDs, when recorded in a stand-alone CD _recorder_
for audio, will probably last 100 years.

Of course digital data is recorded on a computer, but audio should be
recorded on a stereo system.  Use "Gold Archival" CDs for digital data
and use "MAM-A CDR Digital Audio" for audio recordings:

  http://www.mam-a.com/Default.htm

Brian Smith
Calimesa, Calif.