4 Sep
1999
4 Sep
'99
5:47 p.m.
I wrote, and Fred Cisin replied:
> A display case shows the progression of
storage disks, starting with
> one from 1965 that's the size of a tractor-trailer tire. It held 2.5
> megabytes of data and had to be sandblasted to be erased.
> Had to be sandblasted to be erased? Huh??
We've seen that particular bit of silliness
before. Once an authoritative
statement of wrong information is made, others will follow, and if/when
challenged merely refer to the authority.
I assumed that by "particular bit of silliness" you meant "the 'erased
by
sandblasting' idea" but after a little thought, I realized that maybe you
just meant "the spreading of a patently false statement".
I wonder how such a ridiculous idea (about sandblasting, I mean) could have
gotten started in the first place. Do you have any details?
Quite a while back, we discussed some systems for
LONG-term data storage.
Stonehenge was [jokingly] mentioned as being a hard-sectored long term
data storage device. (probably stationary media with moving head)
Assuming a high data density stored as surface markings or pitting,
sandblasting WOULD be the needed method for erasing surface data. How
long before our silly speculation finds its way into the computer
histories, and later generations are told that the druids invented
hard-sectored disks?
Well, you either want to prevent the correct information from disappearing,
or prevent the incorrect information from spreading. It's too late to
retract the joke, so you have to vigorously insist that it was a joke and
hope that your correction lasts longer than the joke itself.
-- Derek