Basic concepts, such as the information or records life cycle, have ample amounts of writings available on the World Wide Web. O Shea argues in this essay, Because electronic records are software and hardware dependent and these change with time, the notion of the life-cycle management of electronic records is difficult to sustain. Finally, concerning the evolution of recording media we have a wide array of materials. As Sterling writes, It's a rather rare phenomenon for an established medium to die. If media make it past their Golden Vaporware stage, they usually expand wildly in their early days and then shrink back to some protective niche as they are challenged by later and more highly evolved competitors.
Sterling continues, however, But some media do, in fact, perish.
The Edison wax cylinder. Early 20th century electric searchlight spectacles. Morton Heilig's early virtual reality. The various species of magic lantern. The pneumatic transfer tubes that once riddled the underground of Chicago.