[geeks] Gold archival CDs?

[nate at portents.com]

> REAL archival-quality optical media would be a big plus, even better
> if there is such a thing for DVD-Rs. I have quite a bit of stuff that
> might be worth some extra money to keep around, but isn't worth more
> hard drives and headaches maintaining them, or the money for a tape
> drive + tapes.

If you want something that will last more than 30 years, I think the only
optical media you can trust is magneto-optical, because it doesn't involve
organic dye in any way.  From wikipedia:

"The disc consists of a ferromagnetic material sealed beneath a plastic
coating. There is never any physical contact during reading or recording.
During reading, a laser projects a beam on the disk and according to the
magnetic state of the surface, the reflected light varies due to the
magneto-optical Kerr effect. During recording, the light becomes stronger
so it can heat the material up to the Curie point in a single spot. This
allows an electromagnet positioned on the opposite site of the disc to
change the local magnetic polarization, and the polarization is retained
when temperature drops."

- Nate