-=> Jay Emrie said to Greg Mayman
 -=> about "MESSAGE EDITING" on 12-30-02  20:36.....

 GM> JE> Could, but I do not think it will happen that way. Even my
 GM> JE> earliest CDs are still clear as a bell.
 GM>But how old are they?
 JE> Some going on about 10 years I think.

So they are relatively new, as such such things go.

Comparing stuff that's still good (maybe not perfect) in my
collection of audio recordings:
 * cassette tapes, up to 25 years old
 * reel to reel tapes up to 40 years old
 * vinyl disks from 30 to 50 years old
 * shellac disks up to 70 years old

And not forgetting the punched paper rolls for player pianos,
which are of course the ORIGINAL digital recordings. There are
some in my collection approaching 100 years old and still
playable.

The big problem with CDs and most forms of digital recording is
that they play with 100% perfect fidelity as long as all the bits
are there, although they may be right on the verge of being
unreadable. But the moment the bits go to just on the bad side of
the readable/unreadable border, the music stops.

Error correction may extend this through failure of a certain
number of bits, but when too many fail even that can't work.

OTOH, with something as simple as an old Edison cylinder
recording, it is still possible to extract a lot of information
and enjoyment out of what is really a very poorly preserved copy
of a basically not-very-good recording.

 JE> Oh they were very confident. We were off on a trip with our
 JE> 34' travel trailer (caravan to you) and had been gone for
 JE> several weeks. The trailer is normally parked in our back
 JE> side yard - quite visible from the street. If it is missing
 JE> tis logic we are probably not home. Repeated ringing of the
 JE> door bell would confirm that.

Indeed.

 JE> They will have a mite harder time next time if they try
 JE> again. I am installing an alarm system with a siren that
 JE> will wake up the dead and will call up to 5 numbers. All
 JE> entry possibilities will be monitored - except where they
 JE> actually got in -by cutting a hole in the roof and coming in
 JE> through the attic. When they move inside it will set off
 JE> the alarm however.

Yup. Motion sensors inside the house are always the most
effective things. Also the easiest to install, most times.

 JE> Also have three motion detector flood light/cameras setup so
 JE> as to get their pictures on my VCR.

I don't want to be a wet blanket, but that is assuming the VCR is
still there when you get back.

And if they think they are being recorded, and they can't find
the VCR, wouldn't they be likely to set fire to the place to
destroy the evidence?

I'd go for sugar-cube size cameras with IR illuminators. They'd
be less likely to notice them. And these days they're pretty
cheap. And you can get cheap radio links for them, so they
wouldn't even be able to follow the cables back even if they
noticed the camera.

Hmmm... reminds me of the theives I saw on a TV documentary about
how stupid some crooks can be. These ones broke into a video
store, and one of them disconnected and removed the video camera
that was filming him, full face and unmasked, while he did it.
They didn't bother to check whether the camera was connected to a
VCR and whether it was running.

It sure made it easy for the police - have you seen this man? 

From Greg Mayman, in beautiful Adelaide, South Australia

... You will know happy motorcyclist by the bug stains on his teeth.
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