Now you hear it, Now you don't . . .

[WS65711]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_endangered_digital_recordings [:'(]

[Myhamish]

Rust Never Sleeps ---- 'bit rot' - the toe jam of the digital world - . Here's an excerpt from Wiki

Bit rot

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopeia

Bit rot, also known as bit decay, data rot, or data decay, is a colloquial computing term used to describe either a gradual decay of storage media or (facetiously) the spontaneous degradation of a software program over time. The latter use of the term implies that software can literally wear out or rust like a physical tool. More commonly, bit rot refers to the decay of physical storage media.

Decay of storage media

Bit rot is often defined as the event in which the small electric charge of a bit in memory disperses, possibly altering program code.

Bit rot can also be used to describe the phenomenon of data stored in eproms and flash memory gradually decaying over the duration of many years, or in the decay of data stored on CD or DVD disks or other types of consumer storage.

The cause of bit rot varies depending on the medium. EPROMs and flash
memory store data using electrical charges, which can slowly leak away
due to imperfect insulation. The chip itself is not affected by this, so
re-programming it once per decade or so will prevent the bit rot.

Floppy and magnetic
storage may experience bit rot as bits lose magnetic orientation, and
in warm, humid conditions these media are prone to literally rot.
In optical discs such as CDs and DVDs the breakdown of the material
onto which the data is stored may cause bit rot. This can be mitigated
by storing disks in a dark, cool location with low humidity. Archival
quality disks are also available. Old punched and punched tapes may also experience literal rotting.

Bit rot is also used to describe the idea that semiconductor RAM may occasionally be altered ^{by cosmic rays.}

Slainte. Hamish