Getting rid of the old stuff and formats is one of the hardest things to do in a materialistic society.
I've managed to dump and have gotten rid of the following formats of media so far as of September 2016:
- MiniDisc (MD)
- Digital Audio Tape (DAT) and the data format DDS (including DDS2/DDS3)
- Various optical disks other than CD/DVD (including Panasonic's PD)
- Flash memory formats other than SD including Smartmedia / Compact Flash
- 5.25" and 8" floppy discs
- Vinyl LPs
- VHS video tapes
The following media formats are not acceptable as of September 2016:
- Blu-ray (including BD-R) (The reliability issue still remains suspicious)
- Super Audio CD (playback only)
And the following old materials are in the archive mode and will not be accessible on demand (i.e., packed and will not be opened unless a critical demand from those who may concern (e.g., legal authorities), which may take days to access):
- DXCC paper QSL cards (caution: I may discard all paper QSLs at any time, details undecided)
- Old Apple ][ documents
- Old TL/1 language and GAME language compiler documents
- Old SWL paper logs
- Old private music demo tapes
Note well: I will issue no paper QSLs anymore, even if I ever make more ham radio contacts. I will not make a paper QSL request. All new paper QSL requests will be immediately and unconditionally discarded. This has been effective since 1-NOV-2014. LoTW and ClubLog uploads will still be conducted for new contacts.
The following media formats have been for business acceptance only (i.e., the playback hardware exists but no new recordings) since September 2015:
- 3.5" floppy discs
- Cassette tapes
The following media formats have been for business transactions only (i.e., the recording hardware exists, but will not be activated unless requested by the customer) since September 2015:
- CD-R
- DVD-R (single layer/dual layers)
- (micro)SD(HC/XC)
- Generic USB memory sticks
I will still be buying necessary software pieces including music CDs, software on DVDs, and paper books, but will do my best on getting rid of them as many as possible.
Bottom line: I need to remember that the room spaces are always the most precious resources.
(This article first appeared on my Facebook Notes dated 27-SEP-2015)
