To steal a quote from Frank Zappa about jazz! I think the cassette recorder will come back if the RIAA is successful in getting its way. They do not want the new digital format to be consumer recordable. Chances are it won't be. So no SACD-R's or DAD-R's. We could still make CD-R's, I suppose but how long before CD's are no longer compatible in new players?
To be honest, I'm archiving old homemade cassette tapes onto CD-R's - with great sonic success, I should add. In many instances, my product sounds better than its corresponding commercial CD release!