It's A Digital Disease!

The original post: /r/datahoarder by /u/adjoro on 2024-08-14 18:32:10.

I'm trying to help people who are new to data storage gain perspective about common questions that don't have easy answers (i.e., "what's the shelf life of my thumb drive?"). Many have't pickup up the technical vocabulary yet, so I'm looking for ways to make it relatable while still being grounded in reliable data. When I search for studies, there's been research at LOC and by the Canadian government about optical storage media like CDs. I've seen folks here point to Backblaze's data for HDDs. I'd love to find more examples like that which are academic or from industry leaders. The internet is full of infographics and general advice/rules of thumb, from LP to LTO to SSD, but I'm unclear on a lot of the sourcing. Reliable research needs to account for use/conditions, which I'm thinking accounts for the lack of one "authoritative" source given all the variables. Any suggestions/ideas/leads appreciated!