STORAGE

Sooner or later we all run out of storage for the pictures we've downloaded. Three are several options available, such as:
  1. add more hard drive(s) - BIG hard drives are currently running $0.20 / Gigabyte - that's less than $100 for 500 Gigs!
  2. Zip drive - tend to be relatively expensive, relatively small volume.
  3. CD-ROM - Drives used to write CD-ROMs are coming down in price (I've seen them for $50 with rebates), and a CD-ROM will hold 650 Megabytes. The subject is too complex to discuss here; see the CD FAQ.
    (Drivers capable of operation in "Packet Mode" will allow you to treat a CD as another drive, allowing "drag and drop" movement of files and folders; but packet CDs can't be read by normal drivers.)
  4. DVD-ROM - Will hold much more than a CD-ROM, but the prices are still fairly high.
Note: I've seen claims that - used for image storage - under the worst conditions (stored in your car in the summer?) DVDs are good for a month, CDs are good for 3 months, and hard drives are good for 3 years.