I archive my photos on blu-ray m-discs.

I had a burner that I used less than 10 times a couple of years ago and found it that has died on me. I was told that there are rubber components that break if you don't use the device regularly.

Does this sound right to you guys? I don't want to buy a new drive every other year!

#backup #mdisc #bluray #plannedobsolescence

Once again considering usage of optical media (#DVD or #BD, likely #MDisc) for personal #backups. Usually I encrypt all the backups, using LUKS or ZFS's encryption, but unsure about those on optical media: does it work with Linux to prepare a LUKS image, with UDF on top, and burn that onto a disk? Or is it easier to prepare an encrypted file, to be mounted as a loop device on reading, and write it on top of UDF? I also wonder how well-supported such external drives are by Linux, whether it is on the painful side of compatibility.

Also trying to choose between DVD and BD. I see very few external BD drives in local stores (possibly because those are also harder to power, requiring two USB cables) and those are more expensive, but apparently the Blu-ray disks themselves are supposed to last longer, it must be more convenient to use larger-capacity disks, and the M-DISC ones I see in local stores are all BD.

As a side note, I discovered that while it is hard to find computer cases with proper HDD bays these days, those show up in online stores' listings once you add a filter condition for external 5.25-inch bays. As a bonus, apparently those tend to not be covered in LEDs.

Another one for the #archive #datahoarder #storage #nas bubble:

What is the ~best DVD-ROM drive to read old and likely degraded media?

The Internet at large seems devoid of any information, it's all AI and linkfarming slop.

Are #MDisc worth it? If yes, what drive, disk manufacturer etc do I want? Are 100GB discs are reliable as 50 and 25 ones?
#HDD have shorter life? #LTO #tape seems less portable?

CC @internetarchive @textfiles @brewsterkahle

Retoots and replies *very* much appreciated.