Interesting. But with my old eyes even an electron microscope wouldn't allow me to do something like this
But as usual I do have some threads on the subject bookmarked for DIY methods of data recovery from 'failed' cards as well as one or two reports from people who used professional services.
I wouldn't be able to afford to touch the hard drive because I'm afraid I might mess something up, especially if I have a lot of important information there. I already had problems with my hard drive since something happened with windows. I had to go to the professionals to make an external hard drive recovery. It's good that I did it right away and didn't hesitate because my boss needed this information the next day. I can't even imagine what I would have told him if I hadn't been able to restore it. Therefore, I'm glad that I contacted the right company at the right time.
My complaint about that site is that they give you no clue as to the ball park cost of recovering data. You must sign up to their site first. I want a ball park cost before I give them any more information than the type of device needing recovery.