Especially with advances in recordable optical disks, the use of tape in
    general is no longer very viable.  Even a primitive CDR disk, though it
    can only be recorded once, costs little and is much more reliable than
    any form of tape.

Yep.  Not to mention being pretty universally readable (without special
software), moderately quick (8MB/minute or so for single speed), and a
convenient size for most personal use.  After much hemming and hawing, I got
a CD-R as my backup device, mostly due to plummeting media costs.

BillW