Paul,
Hmmm, we've come to the same conclusion: I have TOTALLY given up on tape (and I've tried tape with 3 different drives/technologies over a 10 year period). My conclusion: Never again, tape is a DISASTER.
The choices for removable storage and backup then seem to be Zip, Jaz, Syquest (Syjet and Sparc), and CD-R.
I love zip, and use it a LOT, but not for backup. Just not large enough.
Jaz and Syjet media are both too expensive, and the reports I've had from several Sparc owners is while this might be a great solution "someday", it was rushed to market too soon, with poor documentation, marginal software and hardware that functionally works but needs just a bit more fit and finish.
Try CD-R, I've had it for a year, and it is the single most fun peripheral I've ever bought. It's WONDERFUL. So what if the media is not eraseable*, it's usually free anyway (with "deals" and "rebates"), and even when not its down to $2 or less. All computers have CD drives these days, you can keep adding until the disc is full, you can make music cd's, bootable CD's, it's more permanent than any magnetic media.
It's just a WONDERFUL way to go.
*Yes, all the new drives are CD-RW and support (expensive) eraseable media. But for reasons far to complex to go into here, this is a feature that you are probably best of just ignoring. |
