This is just for general interest for those dealing with the archiving of data. Check out "Ensuring the Longevity of Digital Documents" by Jeff Rothenberg in Scientific American, January 1995 issue, pg. 42-47. It discusses not only the physical life of the storage media but also looks at issues of obsolete programs and hardware. His article starts by telling how his grandkids, in 2054, find a CD-ROM and only know whats on it by the attached paper note- they don't have the equipment to read it. This has probably been discussed before but what the hey! Paul Morrissette [log in to unmask]