10 Dec
2003
10 Dec
'03
1:21 a.m.
> --On Wednesday, December 10, 2003 04:07:30 -0800
Brent Hilpert
> <hilpert(a)cs.ubc.ca> wrote:
>
> > On a similar note, can someone comment on the long-term prognosis of
> > 9-track tape? Is it still being manufactured or is everyone that
> > still uses it relying on new-old-stock?
>
There is something else you might want to consider. Depending on density,
tape length and block size, you might get maybe up to 80-90 megs on a tape.
That aint much, but tape (and 3480 types) has a destinctive edge on types
like DAT and Exabyte : if you encounter a read error, you can just skip the
block (depending on the software used). If you miss a block on the more
modern drives, you are simply lost, as it is almost impossible to
re-synchronize the drive.
I know that I am a "bit" biased, but my experience is that tapes many places
are still the preferred choice for data exchange.
Nico