Is there any English expression for this???

[AlbertBel]

If I provide digital contents, I can do in it in digital media (streaming by instance) or in disks, Flash memory, etc. Might you tell me whether there is a word or expression that include the last concepts: Disk + Flash memory + Diskette + Magnetic Tape, etc? A direct translation from my language would be "material media", but I am sure that is not correct.

 

[Skrej]

If you're asking about a term for the devices themselves, you could call them storage devices. That would everything from floppy disks to memory cards.

Otherwise, if you're referring to the actual information stored, I'd just call it 'digital media', 'digital files', or perhaps 'electronic copies'.

 

[José Manuel Rosón Bravo]

[Not a teacher]

I would swear that "tangible medium" is the right expression.

 

[tedmc]

Digital storage media?

 

[AlbertBel]

I am not so sure about "digital storage media", because some digital storage media are not material, and I need an expression meaning precisely that.

 

[Matthew Wai]

some digital storage media are not material

For example?

 

[Tdol]

[Not a teacher]

I would swear that "tangible medium" is the right expression.

(Or "tangible media", of course.)

I wouldn't.:up:

 

[Tdol]

some digital storage media are not material

Information has to be stored somewhere and so far I know of no medium for storing digital data that does not have a physical existence- the cloud just means data centres full of servers.

 

[Matthew Wai]

Magnetic Tape

I doubt it is considered digital, but I am not a teacher.

some digital storage media are not material

Do you mean they are spiritual?

 

[teechar]

Do you mean they are spiritual?

The plural would in that case have been "mediums", not "media." ;-)

 

[José Manuel Rosón Bravo]

[Not a teacher]

Perhaps AlbertBel is trying to mean something that you can touch with your hands in contrast to any other mediums, such as streaming.

In the case described by our friend, with the delivery of some digital content, the difference between the two concepts has a legal significance in many systems, as the European legal frame.

 

[José Manuel Rosón Bravo]

I wouldn't.:up:

[Not a teacher]

Why not? I know the expression "tangible medium" in the context of supply or delivery of such content.

 

[J&K Tutoring]

I like 'physical media' for this situation. Since this is such an ever-changing world, I suggest you offer your content (content, in this usage, is not countable so there is no plural) as a download and mention that 'content on physical media is available at additional cost. Inquire (or enquire) for details'.

 

[Tdol]

Why not? I know the expression "tangible medium" in the context of supply or delivery of such content.

Because that is not the same as a hard drive, etc. A copyright piece is fixed in a tangible medium when it is recorded in a manner stable enough for it to be perceived, copied, etc. The question was not about this; it was about types of storage.

 

[José Manuel Rosón Bravo]

Because that is not the same as a hard drive, etc. A copyright piece is fixed in a tangible medium when it is recorded in a manner stable enough for it to be perceived, copied, etc. The question was not about this; it was about types of storage.

[Not a teacher]

Sorry Tdol, but AlbertBel is asking for "a word or expression that include the last concepts: Disk + Flash memory + Diskette + Magnetic Tape, etc", and not for types of storage. What I have understood is that he is seeking for an expression that encompasses all those storage devices.

On the other hand, I didn't refer to a copyright piece. There are other issues around the difference between, for instance, supplying digital content by streaming and on a "tangible medium".

 

[José Manuel Rosón Bravo]

I like 'physical media' for this situation. Since this is such an ever-changing world, I suggest you offer your content (content, in this usage, is not countable so there is no plural) as a download and mention that 'content on physical media is available at additional cost. Inquire (or enquire) for details'.

[Not a teacher]

I agree with you on this. I suggested the expression "tangible medium" because I am very familiar with it in legal contexts, but I have to agree that "physical media" is a more general expression to refer to content supplied in disks, game cartridges or flash memory-based devices.

 

[AlbertBel]

[Not a teacher] Perhaps AlbertBel is trying to mean something that you can touch with your hands in contrast to any other mediums, such as streaming.

That is exactly what I am traying to mean: something that I can touch with my own hands in contrast with for example streaming.

 

[José Manuel Rosón Bravo]

That is exactly what I am tr[STRIKE]a[/STRIKE]ying to mean: something that I can touch with my own hands in contrast with for example streaming.

[Not a teacher]

Then "physical medium" or "tangible medium", depending on the context and the meaning.

 

[Mrfatso]

Not A Teacher

"Physical medium" seems more natural to me as a native speaker than "tangible medium".

 

[José Manuel Rosón Bravo]

"Physical medium" seems more natural to me as a native speaker than "tangible medium".

[Not a teacher]

And it is indeed more natural, but I know for sure that "tangible medium" is an expression used in legal contexts with the use of the adjective "tangible" to accentuate the idea of a physical nature that you can touch with your own hands - as already stated by AlbertBel - and precisely in opposition to other not so touchable devices - so to speak - such as streaming or download.

In fact, the term is correct, and used in different contexts as well as the copyright stuff, with an interesting example in the case of consumer rights (and specifically the right of withdrawal) in the European regulations after the Directive 2011/83/Eu of the European Parliament and of the Council, with specific legal consequences, as you can see:

http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:32011L0083

I thought to understand that AlbertBel was referring to such meaning.