Charles,

Good points and when you have to keep tapes, like EOY, I'm not sure disk is a great choice. There are already issues with movies trying to keep backups of the new digital technologies. Disks don't last for years, whether spinning or powered down.

I think tape still is needed. A lot of people that have gotten away from it, I'm not sure you're had the disaster that would surface the flaws in your scheme. Just like lots of businesses haven't needed to restore a db, and don't yet know their backups aren't working.