Drury:

There is no easy answer to this one. Yes, these removable disks don't seem to be QUITE as reliable as ordinary hard disks, and some people have had problems. They seem to work well enough for most people most of the time (including the people in Idaho Falls I do some consulting for; they've used theirs for over a year without problems) but I have heard some horror stories from some of my friends.

I also have a storage shortage, and if I ever fall into some spare cash I may well take the plunge myself. With 40 megabyte hard drives available for only $300, it's tempting to stay on familiar ground. On the other hand, these removable disks have some seriously nifty advantages. It would be nice, for example, to quickly make a backup of your 45 most essential megabytes and then store the disk off-site in case your house burns down or something.

I seem to remember you telling me that they were using these things at your workplace. If that's true it just might tip the scales in favor of removables. You could carry cartridges back and forth from home to office! I don't think prices are going to fall TOO much farther, and more reliable removables, like bernoulli drives, cost twice as much and wouldn't be compatible with your office machines. So if there are removables at the lab, I say go for it!

One caveat. If at all possible, try before you buy. Although most manufacturers are using the same drive mechanism, some packages come with annoying little quirks. Good Luck!