h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I can see it, but maybe it only w*rks this side of the pond

part of heading on the page is - science on NBC news.com
so that's States side

Ah, yes, missed that part

People, we are faced with a mystery

it could be the N.S.A.

Very likely. I hear they are good at recording

It wasn't too long ago that compact discs were the standard tool for backing up your important computer files. The technician at Data Doctors, where I have my computer serviced, told me that there is nothing wrong with using music CDs as hard copy for this purpose. Computer files can and do become corrupted.

Before CDs became the standard, people used diskettes for backing up files. A few years ago, flash drives became the standard. There are probably some newer things that do the same thing now.

Yesterday I browsed in the computer section of Office Max, an office supply store. Some of the latest desktop computers had towers, and some did not. Some of them offered DVD-burning. Some had Windows 7, and some had Windows 8.

I talked to a former colleague at the library where I used to work. She said that CDs still circulate very well, especially in some areas. Patrons are fighting over the latest Jay-Z CD. There's also a lot of demand for David Bowie's latest CD.

While I was waiting for a movie to start this afternoon, I read the latest issue of "Entertainment Week." There was discussion of Beyonce's decision to introduce her latest album on YouTube. Target Stores was so angry at her for not issuing it as a CD at the same time that the store chain refused to carry the CD. Naturally, this had a negative effect on CD sales of the album. Some of the older bands like U2 are not likely to introduce their new albums this way because their fans, being older, will likely be more receptive to CDs than YouTube.

The article mentions that every year since 2002 has been predicted to be "the last year of the compact disc." They were wrong nine years in a row. I remember that in the late 1980s the phonograph record industry imploded rapidly and completely under the CD's assault. You needed a factory in order to manufacture a phonograph record. Record labels shut down their factories. That is hindering attempts to crank up supply of records now that demand is rapidly rising.

Many suppliers of compact discs keep no inventories at all. They can make more CDs whether there is demand for them. Most suppliers that I do business with are happy to sell recordings as CDs or MP3 files.It's all the same to them whichever way I want to buy. This means that in the future, when I get a newer and more powerful computer and a cable Internet connection, I will continue to buy recordings from the same suppliers. If I want to buy MP3s instead of CDs, it will be easy. I understand how it's all done.

The only real thinking will involve getting the best-quality speakers for my next computer. The ones I have now are the cheapest I could find, as I didn't intend to do any serious listening on my computer. My Bose sound system is for that. When my Bose breaks down, I ship it off to a repair facility in North Carolina, and they send it back within a week.

All I can add is that one should never just make one backup, but at least two, since cd's are as fragile as vinyls - contrary to what I was told before the first of them hit the market. "You can wash them in your dishwasher if they get too greasy", I was told. No you can't. Not if you want to use them again.

Years ago I was told that cd's ought to be stored near the bottom of ones freezer if one wanted to make sure they would last more than 20 years. I have no idea whether this is true or not, but all things must pass - cd's included

Did they also recommend removing dust with the vacuum cleaner and ironing them if they got warped?

Seriously, though - I remember that about CD's being dishwasher-proof. Never tried it, though!

just one giant solar flare and mega electromagnetic charge and WE all go back to writing on slate

Funny you should mention it, Prof. They just said on the news that a giant sunspot has been observed. The largest in many years /

expected in the early hours of 9th Janand a possibility of a aurora Borealis being seen as far down as south of england

Apparently they can be mended. The library where I worked has a machine that does that. It also cleans them. When CDs are out on loan, some very strange things happen to them . It looks as though some patrons try to play them on phonograph turntables.

Sometimes the problem is the CD player that you use. I had a cheap one that destroyed tracks. I got rid of it after it started doing that.

I've never said that there are any panaceas in this life. The grooves in phonograph records were prone to wearing out, meaning that the sound is a tiny bit worse with each playing. And if you left one on a warm radiator, it was likely to warp. Audiocassettes would snag. Sometimes the tape would spill out and create a huge tangle. I used to be able to splice the ends back together again sometimes. Compact discs suffered form laser rot when they first came out, but later ones were supposed to be free of this defect. I don;t know if that was really true, but I heard it.

I will take your advice about having more than one backup in mind, Pierce.

As for keeping CDs usable for more than 20 years, I have some from the later 1980s that still play just as well as they did when I first got them.

It is said that disc jockeys like phonograph records. This is probably because you can put the needle arm on whatever track you want. It's just very handy.

a local games console shop in town has a machine that cleans them as well
do away with electricity and all are useless

Cd's have a lot of advantages and I certainly intend to keep mine. Like I've kept all my vinyls, cassettes, vhs-tapes and even old 78's

It's just so much easier for me to choose music from my hard drive and play it via my stereo while I'm sitting behind my computer

When my mother's mother died, we inherited an old windup victrola. You could play records on it. Of course, those old 78 rpm records didn't have much music on them. My mother had a stash of them, though. One had "Doll Dance" on one side, and "Whistler and his dog" on the other. Or maybe "Danse macabre" was on one side. They were recorded in the 1920s. I bet my father still has them somewhere.

"Cd's have a lot of advantages and I certainly intend to keep mine. Like I've kept all my vinyls, cassettes, vhs-tapes and even old 78's" [Pierce]

You have more sense than I had. I gradually got rid of my vinyl and most of my cassettes. What has happened is that I have bought the same recordings on CD, which I now plan to keep. I will stockpile CD players if need be .

other people's buying decisions affect me by drying up supplies of things. Some recordings I would like are only available as MP3 files. This means that if I want them, I have to get them in that format.

I suppose it's the amount of storage room that firms etc have, if some new format hits the scene - old stuff is dumpedplus the cost of "dead sales" stuff

Of course it's so much easier to distribute music as files via the internet. Think of all the costs the record companies can cut!

But all is not lost yet. Not if you have a computer with a cd burner

true, but like my friendhe can't use a pc and therefore doesn't own one. his technological knowledge is very poor by his own standards, so even using a mobile/cell phone for the internet is a no go