the cf, and sd and msd cards are actually far more fragile and easily 
damaged by touch then cd's are.
there is no where on a cd that you can touch and damage it.
even finger prints are no big deal....just whipe the bottom of the cd on 
your shirt or with toilet paper, clean ex, whatever is handy and clean.
the sd cards and so on can actually be damaged if you have a build up of 
static electricity on your skin.  You touch the end that plugs in, and your 
fingers can potentially short the contacts and send small electrical 
impulses through the circuitry that can damage the memory.  You can quite 
easily damage an msd or sd card beyond retrieval this way.
as i said, you can put your fingers on any part of a cd and not have to 
worry about damage.  If you scrape your nails around the area where the info 
is stored, then you may scratch or disrupt the paterns and make the lazer 
have more difficulty reading it, but still, there will be little noticeable 
effect while listening.
if your cd's from the audio book aren't working, then it likely isn't 
anything you have done.
73
Colin, V A6BKX
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Miller" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2009 5:18 PM
Subject: Re: Audiobooks on CD


>
> All you have to do is take a tissue or something like that and wipe the
> CD's, it will get rid of the finger prints and you should be good to go.
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Terri Pannett" <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2009 6:36 PM
> Subject: Audiobooks on CD
>
>
>> Hi, List,
>>
>> I feel embarrassed, but I would like to ask a question and I hope people
>> don't criticize me too much.
>>
>> I received two audiobooks on CD and I accidentally ruined the CDs.  I
>> touched the cds where I'm not supposed to.
>>
>> My question is: if you are looking at a new audiobook and no sighted
>> person
>> is around, what's the best way to handle the discs?  Each publisher has
>> their own way of packing the books.  For example, one of the books packs
>> them into a box that folds out like an accordion and the cds are 
>> partially
>> covered by a paper slot.  Another book places some of the cds like stair
>> steps and the cds are very close together.  Still another packs the cds
>> sideways and they look like pages in a book with a cd in a slot on each
>> side
>> of the page.  Still another publisher places the CDS in a big box bottom
>> side up!
>>
>> I don't want to accidentally ruin anything more.  Boy, do I hate CDs!
>> They're so fragile!  I wish people would use a medium like CompactFlash
>> cards or SD cards, but that wouldn't be as cost-effective.
>>
>> Terri Amateur Radio call sign KF6CA.
>
>
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