kengr

the problem with reel-to-reel tape (and with cassettes, for that matter) is that it's extremely awkward to cue it to a particular selection. it's linear, not random-access.

Now picture trying to find files on a *tape* backup of a PC. When I first going involved with PC tape backups, we were using some rather nice software that would let you retreive individual files from the backup. Even from the faster-to-make "image" backups.

But after the first time I had to help someone *restore* files from an image backup, I got them to change to the slightly slower "file-by-file" backup.

You see, with a fragmented drive (as most were since this was before defrag programs) you'd have to hunt all over the tape for the pieces of a file. and then do it again for the next file. Ick.

20 meg on what looked like a standard casssette tape with a notch cut in the middle of the back. :-)

ps. Some of the low end MP3 players are linear as well. You *can* skip to nest track/previous track, but that's it.