Grateful Dead

So they promised the book in hard copy to all USB purchasers but have not included it in the USB box that shipped. Meaning, they will have to send separately (at a cost to them) or not ship at all despite promise (way more likely). Seriously, who is in charge of things over there?

nab, I think you're overstating the quality of the product you purchased. You make it sound like CDs are eggshells and are easily damaged, however, in my experience, CDs have proven to be much more reliable than USB drives. And if you do end up with a broken flash drive, I don't think you're going to be able to get a replacement from dead.net in 5 years. Did the USB drive come with a warranty? From my point of view, by purchasing the CDs, I've eliminated a single point of failure for my product, and diversified it out to 80 components. So I might drop one and scratch it so that it skips. That's not a real concern for me, because I have over 3000 CDs that I've been collecting since 1985, and none of them are scratched beyond listen-ability. I'd be hard pressed to find one that even skips. Other considerations: * Since the Box Set and the USB Drive were the same price, I figured I would go with the medium that gave me more value for my money (I got the cool box with all of the secret hatches and extras - book, gold single, scroll). The box can also be used to house approximately 90 CDs, if you're like me, and you store the individual CDs in white generic paper sleeves (to avoid scratching the CDS like the Road Trips covers do, as well as to protect the cardboard digipaks, which tend to tear with much use). * Age and durability. CDs last longer...I purchased my first one in 1985 and it plays just as good today as it did the day I bought it. On the other hand, it's not unusual for something to happen to a flash drive. Flash drives break all the time (CDs on the other hand are relatively stable - hell, you can run them through the dishwasher and they'll still play - don't try that with your precious USB drive ;-). I work for a software distribution company, and we're constantly replacing flash drive medium software. We also deal in database backups, so while we use flash for non-critical tasks, we also advise avoiding flash for our critical database applications, and this is what we advise customers to be aware of with Flash storage: Internal Points of Connection: There are two important parts within a USB flash drive that are necessary for it to communicate with a computer - the metal connector and the solder points that connect the connector to the main board. The connector parts can be damaged by wear and tear or by accidental overuse of force when mounting / un-mounting. If the solder points go bad, it's a crap shoot whether they can be repaired or not, and if they are repairable, it would be at a cost, and even if the physical device is successfully repaired, the data is often lost. Electrical Components: There are some important components other than the main board: there is a capacitor, a resistor and an oscillator, all of which are necessary for the drive to function. These components are susceptible to power surge; damage to any of them means the drive is dead. Environmental Considerations: Humidity can cause corrosion inside the Flash Drive, which will lead to failure. User Error: Removal of the Flash drive from the computer while files are being read / copied is a major cause of flash drive failure. This can happen during normal operation if the PC or laptop is jostled, or if you just don't know the rule. Dropping the Flash drive is also a common hazard, as damage to the case, USB connector or solder points inside the unit can render it useless. Memory Failure In the event that a USB Flash drive is not destroyed through environmental factors or internal component failure, the device still has a finite number of read/writes. Obviously, you're not going to be writing to your Dead Bolt Flash Drive, but - how many "reads" are these overseas bolt devices rated for? Issues with the Host PC: 1) You can lose your Flash data any time it's plugged into your PC if your PC gets a virus. 2) You can also fry the internal components of the Flash drive if you have a malfunctioning USB port So nab, I get what you're saying - on the surface it may seem like a more compact way to approach your $750 investment, but I would strongly advise you undertake the "considerable effort" you mentioned in your post, and back up your tunes (is it copy protected, so that you can't back it up?) At this point, I know you're probably feeling a little bad about the snark you delivered, but truly I say! The Flash drive is waaaaay more susceptible to absolute data loss (and with zero chance of recourse at dead.net I would bet). Take your own considerable efforts and extreme care, and back your shit up.

They used to talk about shelf life of cassettes, I have tapes I wrote in 1980, still play just fine. I think either usb or cd will hold up just fine under normal storage. All my cd's have been ripped to mp3's, the disc themselves are stored in climate controlled closet. If I had a usb, I'd copy that bad boy to hard drive first thing. I'd store bolt somewhere safe and burn music to separate stick for usage. In the end I'll be dead before the data self destructs!

mp3tag is a pretty standard choice that is well written, used by many, free, clean, and available for OSX

The reason I opted out on the USB is because I have read that the shelf life of files stored on USBs can be anywhere from 10-50+ years depending on the file type and quality and/or manufacturer of the USB device. Others comment on the the read/write cycle of the files deteriorating the data over time, small bits are lost with each read/write cycle, I guess. Just a heads up to do some research about storage and data corruption before anyone goes out creates copies for the next 10 years. CD's are not much better I'm sure, CD-R's claim to have a conservative estimate of 10 years shelf-life but professionally treated CD's stored in the proper method can last many years more. Bottom line if you want to keep these for a lifetime it will take some effort. If you have a USB be frugal with your read/write cycles and make back ups every so often. CD set store in the appropriate humidity, temperature and cases making backups both digitally and CD-R.

Hey, just got the bolt. I'm trying to put it into iTunes, and it's not going so well. Even though I'm editing the metadata, iTunes is organizing things the way it wants and breaking up shows in some cases. Does anyone recommend an alternative to iTunes for editing the metadata to make it all work? I have a mac. Thanks.

Hey, just got the bolt. I'm trying to put it into iTunes, and it's not going so well. Even though I'm editing the metadata, iTunes is organizing things the way it wants and breaking up shows in some cases. Does anyone recommend an alternative to iTunes for editing the metadata to make it all work? I have a mac. Thanks.

You were sold digital information as well, your's just came in 83 parts, imprinted on an aluminum discs with an easily damaged exteriors which threaten to make the discs useless without extreme care. While the discs can be backed up or transferred to digital formats easier to archive, the task comes with some considerable effort. Well, at least its housed in some pretty paper. Signed, A younger guy who doesn't get the appeal of cds anymore. P.S. I get the physical thing, and the analog thing, that's why I collect vinyl.

@Roscoe R Yes. It was in an email (mine came on 11/16/2015). They promised a hard copy of the book to everyone that had purchased the USB.

I did't get a hard copy of the book as well. I remember reading about. Was it in an email apology that they promised the book?