Hi Roy! :-)

 RJT> I can understand getting into trouble with those if you leave them 
 RJT> laying in direct sunlight,  but I am having a bit of difficulty with 
 RJT> the dampness part,  though I've heard of those problems too.  You'd 
 RJT> think that plastic would be sealed from any moisture entering.  
I don't think a writable CD, where the layer that actually carries the data
is usually made from organic material, is sealed in plastic on the edge. I
think they just put layer on layer during production, so the plastic part
protects the flat surface, but not the edges. Most discs I have seen gone
bad started to come apart or wither away from the outside.

 RJT> Though maybe it's chosen first for its optical qualities and 
 RJT> secondly for any other characteristics...
Yeah, it has to have the right optical qualities for being able to read and
write it via laser beam (which implies it has to be somewhat
heat-resistent).

Ciao
Pascal

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