Thus spake Wojciech Puchar ("WP> ") sometime Today...

(me)> ...much about speed and data size omitted...

WP> but not with DAT media or CD-RW

You obviously missed the speed/size thing.

Several points:

* DDS-4 drives still run a hefty chunk of change, and DDS-4 media aren't
  that cheap.  And the drives are still slow.  Last I checked, drives were
  $500 or more, and media is $25 each, and you get 20GB on a tape.
  Initial cost to back up 100GB: $625 plus applicable taxes.  Subsequent
  cost to back up 100GB: $125 + applicable taxes.  Speed: slow.  Setup
  considerations: low.

* CD-RW is slow, and you still only get 800MB/CD.  Does anyone out there
  have the courage to run 'dump 0usdf 16000 64000 - / | cdrecord [args]'
  and not worry about creating a coaster?  Or would one have to pre-split
  the backups into 800MB chunks and iso them before cd-recording them?
  This would defeat the purpose entirely.  Cost for a burner: $60.
  100GB/0.8GB = 125 CD-RW.  Price per CD-RW: $1.  Initial cost: $185 + tax.
  Subsequent cost: $125 + tax.  Speed on writing: slow.  Speed on reading:
  Acceptable.  Setup considerations: high.

* HD might run a little more.  I've seen 100GB drives for $125 on sale,
  maybe $150 otherwise.  (IDE, obviously, since that's what we're discussing).
  Initial cost: $150 + tax.  Subsequent cost: $150 + tax, probably less
  as HD prices go down.  Speed on reading and writing: fast.  Setup
  considerations: low.

This all misses the point that hot-swappable IDE would STILL be really nice
to have, for a variety of reasons.

				--*greywolf;
--
NetBSD:  Write Once, Run Everywhere.  Java Optional.