If I go to the store today to buy a DVD+R or DVD+RW, and buy a USB stick. Then after writing a FreeBSD iso on both put them on a shelf.
After 3 years I estimate the chances for both to be perfectly readable very high, as in somewhere around 99.5%. Functionally there is no difference. Some people seem to believe there should be a significant difference here.
This belief seems be based on posts like the one linked and zero failure data for USB. Expecting a lifespan of 14 years out of consumer discs isn't realistic.
It's cool some discs last that long, but if you wanted to archive data for such a period the smarter choice would be something like BluRay M-Disc or other medium that was built for the job. Not DVD, not USB sticks either.
Where is the failure data for USB sticks after 14 years? It's just assumed USB sticks don't fail when making the comparison to DVD. It's not very rational to only look at one side of a comparison and never examine the other. I've seen USB sticks fail, if you haven't yet, give it time.
The only sensible strategy dealing with media is to assume all of them can and will fail and plan accordingly so failures are least impactful. There is no shortage of people that only started making backups after losing data, claiming they never had a need to until it happened. But hey, if you want to pray at the church of USB that's your choice.
Just because a technology is older, does not mean it is dysfunctional.
"Floppy disks have been out of production for about a decade, but the Japanese government just started to phase them out, the Nikkei reported over the weekend." from
https://www.businessinsider.com/jap...hase-out-2021-10?international=true&r=US&IR=T
Japan wouldn't still use floppy disks in 2021 if it was a problem. Note they cite cost as a reason for migration, not reliability.
