One method for determining end of life for a disc is based on
the number of errors on a disc before the error correction occurs. The
chance of disc failure increases with the number of errors, but it is
impossible to define the number of errors in a disc that will absolute-
ly cause a performance problem (minor or catastrophic) because it
depends on the number of errors left, after error correction, and their
distribution within the data. When the number of errors (before error
correction) on a disc increases to a certain level, the chance of disc
failure, even if small, can be deemed unacceptable and thus signal
the disc’s end of life.
Manufacturers tend to use this premise to estimate media lon-
gevity. They test discs by using accelerated aging methodologies
with controlled extreme temperature and humidity influences over
a relatively short period of time. However, it is not always clear how
a manufacturer interprets its measurements for determining a disc’s
end of life. Among the manufacturers that have done testing, there
is consensus that, under recommended storage conditions, CD-R,
DVD-R, and DVD+R discs should have a life expectancy of 100 to
200 years or more; CD-RW, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, and DVD-RAM
discs should have a life expectancy of 25 years or more. Little infor-
mation is available for CD-ROM and DVD-ROM discs (including
audio and video), resulting in an increased level of uncertainty for
their life expectancy. Expectations vary from 20 to 100 years for these
discs.
The author mentions his father's "$2000 computer", a figure has no impact in 2025, when $2,000 doesn't seem like a particularly large amount of money to have spent on a state of the art PC.
I'm of the opinion that writers should make it a habit in pieces like these to always include prices that have been adjusted for inflation. In this case, $2,000 corresponds to $6,731.61, which provides better context for the story.
In California, there certainly was. The US economy had already started its decline, but from such a high that well-to-do Americans hadn't noticed. By contrast, because Europe had had to be rebuilt after WWII, the general populace had benefitted far less from the postwar boom.
In 1982, my family had a relatively comfortable middle class existence, but buying a home computer that cost (at the time) about half as much as a one-bedroom apartment would have been absolutely unimaginable to my parents. The ZX81 they bought for me cost £99.
Well, some people needed it for work, or for university. Some people got it from work to be able to work at home. Others may have had experience with 8 bit machines and had money when the PC hit the stores.
My parents saved up for years and then kept the same computer for years more. It was normal to have a
machine for 10 years, and just one per household.
Upgrading with a hard disk, a second floppy drive, or upgrading the graphics card was common.
Sounds like you're getting it serviced by a BMW dealership? I take my PHEV 3-series to a local independent mechanic, and the entire cost is usually less than you're paying for oil alone. Also, because it's a hybrid, the road tax rate is very advantageous.
> How much did it cost to make the Beatles' albums? A piano, drums, a couple of guitars and salaries for 4 guys?
The Beatles did only take a few days to knock out each of their earliest LPs. However, per Wikipedia, "the group spent 700 hours on [Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]. The final cost [...] was approximately £25,000 (equivalent to £573,000 in 2023)."
So, actually, envelope-pushing cultural landmarks typically do require a lot of effort and money to complete.
Exactly. The membrane keyboards weren't aesthetic choices, they were one of a number of compromises that were necessary to achieve the price point set by Clive Sinclair. He intuited that a sub-£200 colour computer would sell in huge quantities, and he was right. My (middle class) parents couldn't countenance the cost of a Commodore 64, but they were prepared to buy me a ZX Spectrum.
Computers were a luxury item then, beside that lots of people had no idea what to do with one too. Only the most computer curious people would spend around $900 (inflation corrected) on a fancy calculator ;)
Interesting. Is there other research on this? How well tested is the mode?
It is something i have wondered about because proximity to the heat in the sea is clearly an important factor too, so i am interested. Surely the Gulf Stream must have some impact?
The article doesn’t say that the ocean is irrelevant just that it’s not the oceanic currents that dominate. The main thing is just having an ocean at all coupled with prevailing winds being west to east. Hence Seattle, which is mild but does not benefit from Gulf Stream like currents
Yes, I get that. To clarify I meant proximity to heat in the sea "stored" from warmer times of the year without the effect of the Gulf Stream is clearly an important factor.
Ireland's climate policies, whether adequate or inadequate, can have very little affect on the evolution of the AMOC, or any other large-scale climactic phenomenon. There are vastly more influential factors at play all around the world.
Inasmuch as it’s a country of five million people you are right in absolute terms, but considering the government’s shocked Pikachu face reaction to being held to the terms of an agreement Ireland signed up to it’s still a bit galling.
One of the best things Ireland could do is build lots of housing close to job centres so people don’t have to drive so far to work, or ideally can take public transport (or bike or walk)
It’s remarkable seeing people commute to Dublin from tullamore or even athlone.
Relying less on concrete would help too, wood construction seems to be getting more common at least.
> the billboard hot 100 [...] all looks like Beatles style pop songs played with electronic instruments
Correct, and Kraftwerk's enduring influence on the charts is not their compositional style, as excellent as it was. It was by demonstrating that pop music could be performed solely with electronic instruments that they changed the world.
It’s interesting their schtick was that they were robots and that the line between man and machine was blurred but I think that really it was just the instrument.
A dehumanisation of themselves while exploring human themes contrasts well with the GAI craze whereby humans are ripped off by anthropomorphised mathematical models.
Truly music for our age anf anticipating the future.
> these educated workers are taking on other jobs [...] that are understaffed because they are too dirty or too dangerous.
Just so we're clear here, are you personally going to be happy when you're forced to leave your desk to eke out a living doing something dirty and/or dangerous?
Define "really susceptible"? I've bought hundreds of albums on CD over the last four decades, and only one of them has ever gone bad on me.
The first CD I ever purchased, manufactured in 1990, still sounds as good as the day I bought it.
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