Tape gets bigger, but I still like DVD-RAM

Wed Oct 15 10:05:47 GMT 2003 Tape gets bigger, but I still like DVD-RAM

Link: http://www.quantum.com/AM/products/dlt/sdlt600/default.htm

Whoah. 300 GB native (600GB compressed) and a 36MB/s transfer rate. I could back up my iBook something close to 20 times over and it would only take a few hours (assuming I could deliver the data that quickly, of course).

Well, I don't need that kind of capacity. The 4.7GB (native) DVD-RAM is enough for most of what I do, but it isn't quite enough. Fortunately, larger capacities aren't far away. I think something around 30GB is the "sweet spot". Most home users and small businesses don't need much more than that. Or so I think now, but then again I used to think a 4GB drive was a lot of space.

When 40GB drives first came out, some people called them "lifetime drives" - the idea being that you'd never fill 'em up. Well, that would probably be true for a lot of us if we weren't so sloppy.

But we are sloppy. When I had a 2GB drive, I constantly cleaned out unneeded files. I had to, or I'd run out of space. Now, with 30GB even in my little iBook laptop, I don't have to be so neat. Stuff gets left around, and it adds up, but slowly. Because it takes so much of it to become significant, by the time we do have a problem, it's out of control: there's too much "maybe/maybe not" to go through.

Do I need "foo030607" ? I dunno. Maybe. What the heck is that, anyway? So I open it, say "Oh, that" and then look at the next thing. Too time consuming, because I'd need to dispose of thousands of these files to make a difference, and who has the time? So instead, I buy more storage and pack rat the stuff away: I'll need that "foo030607" someday..

Will we ever have enough? Probably not..

Comments?

More Articles by Tony Lawrence - Find me on Google+

Jump to Comments

Many of the products and books I review are things I purchased for my own use. Some were given to me specifically for the purpose of reviewing them. I resell or can earn commissions from the sale of some of these items. Links within these pages may be affiliate links that pay me for referring you to them. That's mostly insignificant amounts of money; whenever it is not I have made my relationship plain. I also may own stock in companies mentioned here. If you have any question, please do feel free to contact me.

Specific links that take you to pages that allow you to purchase the item I reviewed are very likely to pay me a commission. Many of the books I review were given to me by the publishers specifically for the purpose of writing a review. These gifts and referral fees do not affect my opinions; I often give bad reviews anyway.

We use Google third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our website. These companies may use information (not including your name, address, email address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other websites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies, click here.