Ron,
Incidentally, you're quoting something that I wrote, not Mike Polk as your
citation suggests. I recommend that you (and everyone else) take the time to
read the 3-page article that Mike pointed-out, at:
http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/industry/4201645.html
Though the author is no stranger to the trade in sensationalism and alarmism
(but what writer for the popular media, these days, doesn't do that? ... you
just about need something scary to hold the attentions of the average
desensitized modern person beyond the half-second norm), he lays-out the
problems (and the solutions that are, even now, being created) pretty well.
He even has the honesty to admit (even though cached in parenthetical
afterthoughts) that what was shaping-up to be one of the most embarassing
fiascos of the digital-age (BBC's much ballyhooed creation of a modern,
interactive version of William the Conqueror's Domesday Book, a survey of
life in medieval England) was "ultimately" salvaged (it wasn't really a
difficult data recovery problem as the author makes it out to be by using
the word "ultimately" ... like there was some huge struggle and grave doubts
of technological success).
"... More than a million people submitted photographs, written descriptions
and video clips for this new "book." It was stored on laser discs -
considered indestructible at the time - so future generations of students
and scholars could learn about life in the 20th century.
But 15 years later, British officials found the information on the discs was
practically inaccessible - not because the discs were corrupted, but because
they were no longer compatible with modern computer systems. By contrast,
the original Domesday Book, written on parchment in 1086, is still in
readable condition in England's National Archives in Kew. (The multimedia
version was ultimately salvaged.) "
Bob
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron May" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, November 13, 2007 6:31 PM
Subject: Re: old notes
>
> In a message dated 11/13/2007 12:57:07 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,
> [log in to unmask] writes:
>
> The old bugabear about "who knows how long CDs
> will last" is simply a cop-out to permit one to avoid the unpleasant task
> of
> doing the scanning work. I have CDs that are over 20-years of age that
> are
> still just fine (I have backup copies I made 10 years ago when the first
> alarmism about their longevity was bandied-about).
>
>
> The Smithsonian Institution stopped buying each stage of computer to read
> all the types of memory encoding formats because the changes outpaced
> their
> storage capabilities. A chap from the Smithsonian spoke before the History
> Department, San Diego State University 20-years ago and begged everyone to
> copy
> their material on acid-free materials and find an institution to curate
> the
> paper. I suggest you deliver the raw data to the agencies that caused you
> to
> create the paper and let them deal with them under the National Records
> Act. Did
> you read the news on Friday that emails can no longer be deleted because
> it
> violates the NARA?
>
> Ron May
> Legacy 106, Inc.
>
>
>
> ************************************** See what's new at
> http://www.aol.com
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