Geoff Ward wrote a bold statement [110902 MMDigest]:

> Thanks to a few dedicated and generous people, many of the old
> rolls are being captured (scanned or read) into digital computer
> files and the music will live on forever.

In our museum we play 100-year-old rolls on a daily basis -- many
of them are still in excellent condition and show no sign of any
deterioration as a result of such use.  We have several thousands of
them in our software library.

Somehow I very much doubt that any MIDI system will be operating in
100 years' time.  By the nature of electronics, things will have moved
on, and there will most probably be no way of reading today's digital
files, let alone repairing and servicing the electronic interface
circuitry.  How many computers today can read a 3-1/2" floppy diskette,
let alone a 5-1/4" one?  (Those were _real_ floppy discs!)  Try
repairing an integrated circuit!

It's the same argument, of course, that applies to copying Edison
cylinders to CD, so that they will last 'for ever'.

David Evans, Director - Revelstoke Nickelodeon Museum
Revelstoke, British Columbia, Canada
http://www.revelstokenickelodeon.com/