Problem with CD ROM for publishing taxon descriptions

[Leah Larkin]

Gregor Hagedorn beats me to the punch:

>One difference we should be aware of is that a CD ROM most likely
>cannot be read in 20 years, whereas a book can be used as reference
>after 100 years.

I couldn't have typed it better myself.  One of the seminal moments in my
development into a taxonomist/evolutionary biologist was seeing 150 year
old drawings of plants in books at the Academy of Natural Sciences in
Philadelphia.  Fortunately, the technology for reading that book (the
eyeball) was still available, else I might have become a lawyer!

Christian Thompson retorts:

>Hence, DVD drives can easily read old CDROMs. ....
> So, I am not worried about whether my CDROMs will be
>readable in 20 years or so. They will clearly outlive me.

I'm sure that's what the guy who invented the floppy thought!

Don't get me wrong; I think CD-ROMs are a fabulous means of dissemination
information, and I applaud their use in taxonomy, but they should in no way
be considered "permanent" records.


Leah Larkin
Department of Integrative Biology
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX 78712
FAX:  (512) 471-3878
*please note new address*