The two most widely used compact discs (CDs) for data storage are CD-R and CD-RW (compact disc-readable and compact disc-rewritable, respectively). These two kinds of CDs can be used in almost every standard computer or laptop with a CD or DVD burner to burn music, movies or photos onto.
Either the CD-R or the CD-RW can perform the same tasks, which is essentially to store data. The major difference is that once data is stored onto a CD-R, no other data can be stored on the disc. On the other hand a CD-RW can have its data rewritten onto the disc in some cases up to 1,000 times. Some manufacturers of these sorts of CDs have historically made claims that their products, if stored properly, can last up to anywhere from 20 to 200 years, depending on an assortment of factors.
Industry experts and manufacturers all concur that prolonged exposure to heat or direct sunlight is fundamental to the "death" or the shortening of a CD's life span. They also tend to agree that CDs should be handled carefully with the fingertips about the edge of the disc, or with a single finger through the hole in the middle. CDs also should be stored in a cool, dry room and inside a proper case (such as a jewel case), vertically, never horizontally. Manufacturing factors, such as the materials used in the construction of the disc and the manufacturing quality itself all are factors which determine the life span of a CD.
Kurt Gerecke, a physicist and storage expert at IBM Deutschland GmbH, says, "Unlike pressed original CDs, CD-Rs and CD-RWs have a relatively short life span of between two to five years. The problem is material degradation--the dyes manufacturers use to construct the CDs break down very quickly." Gerecke is apt to note that no storage media lasts forever.
Just as a generation ago we used cassette tapes to record information, and before that, punch cards, new technology will insist that humans strive to find new, more efficient ways of storing data. Flash drives are one of the newest trends in data storage, as well as other larger hard drives, like the iPod, both of which are sure to render the CD obsolete within the next generation. Luckily the nature of technology changes so quickly that anything stored properly on disc form should experience a seamless transfer into future advances.