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Domain: naa.gov.au

Stories and comments across the archive that link to naa.gov.au.

Comments · 15

  1. Re:Yeah, um, not so much by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0 · on Study Finds 3 Laws Could Reduce Firearm Deaths By 90% (meta.com)

    Canadian are still subject to the UK Queen

    No. Canadians are now citizens, not subjects. Australians are citizens, not subjects. New Zealanders are citizens, not subjects. Even in the UK people are citizens, not subjects.

  2. Re:The First Time? by digipres · · Score: 1 · on Australian Stats Agency Goes Open Source

    Um, yeah we are. We're an accountability agency, administered under the FMA and an executive agency under Prime Minister and Cabinet.

    http://naa.gov.au/about-us/director-general/index.aspx

  3. This isn't news, its olds... by anarche · · Score: 4, Interesting · on New Russian Weapon Hides In Shipping Container

    In 1941 a gunship "disguised" as a merchant ship sunk the HMAS Sydney http://www.naa.gov.au/about-us/publications/fact-sheets/fs111.aspx

    Sure this one's a missile, but anyone who thought merchant ships weren't a threat needs to read history.

  4. Xena and DPR by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0 · on Building a Searchable Literature Archive With Keywords?

    Take a look at http://www.naa.gov.au/records-management/secure-and-store/e-preservation/at-NAA/software.aspxXENA and DPR, which were developed as an archiving soluton by the National Archives of Australia but are now open source, and fully open standards:

  5. Here in the colonies ... by IchBinEinPenguin · · Score: 1 · on National Archive File Format Time Bomb

    ... we already have a solution: http://www.naa.gov.au/recordkeeping/preservation/d igital/applications.html The Archives' approach to digital preservation relies on converting digital records from their original format into preservation formats. Xena (XML Electronic Normalising of Archives) is the program created by the National Archives to complete these processes.
    Xena converts digital records into two preservation formats.
    * Bitstream version. This is a metadata-wrapped bitstream version of the record, which is considered a secure original copy of the record. This version contains all of the information from the original, but requires access to the original hardware, operating system and application software for performance.
    * Normalised version. This version is also wrapped in metadata. The process of normalising converts the record from its original format into eXtensible Mark-up Language (XML). The XML version is not considered to be an original copy of the record as some information may be lost during the normalisation process. However, the performance of the normalised object is the closest to the original that is currently possible. Xena is being continually improved so, over time, the performance of normalised versions is expected to more closely replicate the original.

  6. Re:Official Secrets Act vs HMAS Sydney by Vombatus · · Score: 1 · on Wreck of Australian Warship HMAS Sydney Found?
    There is no such thing as the "official Secrets Act" in Australia

    You may be thinking of the Crimes Act 1914 http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/ActCom pilation1.nsf/0/33F7611CCEC92FD6CA2572BB008331DC?O penDocument

    I am not sure what you mean by

    The Australian gov is still really 'closed' about this". The National Archives of Australia has a lot (most?) of the documents online http://www.naa.gov.au/publications/research_guides /guides/sydney/introduction.htm and http://www.naa.gov.au/the_collection/defence/hmas_ sydney_resources.html and http://www.naa.gov.au/fsheets/fs111.html for starters.

    Of course, conspiracy theorists would argue that this was all made up and the real story is being withheld.

  7. Re:Official Secrets Act vs HMAS Sydney by Vombatus · · Score: 1 · on Wreck of Australian Warship HMAS Sydney Found?
    There is no such thing as the "official Secrets Act" in Australia

    You may be thinking of the Crimes Act 1914 http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/ActCom pilation1.nsf/0/33F7611CCEC92FD6CA2572BB008331DC?O penDocument

    I am not sure what you mean by

    The Australian gov is still really 'closed' about this". The National Archives of Australia has a lot (most?) of the documents online http://www.naa.gov.au/publications/research_guides /guides/sydney/introduction.htm and http://www.naa.gov.au/the_collection/defence/hmas_ sydney_resources.html and http://www.naa.gov.au/fsheets/fs111.html for starters.

    Of course, conspiracy theorists would argue that this was all made up and the real story is being withheld.

  8. Re:Official Secrets Act vs HMAS Sydney by Vombatus · · Score: 1 · on Wreck of Australian Warship HMAS Sydney Found?
    There is no such thing as the "official Secrets Act" in Australia

    You may be thinking of the Crimes Act 1914 http://www.comlaw.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/ActCom pilation1.nsf/0/33F7611CCEC92FD6CA2572BB008331DC?O penDocument

    I am not sure what you mean by

    The Australian gov is still really 'closed' about this". The National Archives of Australia has a lot (most?) of the documents online http://www.naa.gov.au/publications/research_guides /guides/sydney/introduction.htm and http://www.naa.gov.au/the_collection/defence/hmas_ sydney_resources.html and http://www.naa.gov.au/fsheets/fs111.html for starters.

    Of course, conspiracy theorists would argue that this was all made up and the real story is being withheld.

  9. Re:It's already happened/happening. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0 · on Most Digital Content Not Stable

    Sisyphean task for a large government agency or library,


    Hmm. Perhaps someone should write a program that keeps track of the formats and copies, and everytime a new format or media type is added to the inventory the system the software automatically makes a copy of things.

    http://xena.sourceforge.net/
    http://www.dspace.org/
    http://www.naa.gov.au/recordkeeping/preservation/d igital/summary.html

    (Amusingly my CAPTCHA is "stewards".)
  10. Re:What are your parameters? by Vombatus · · Score: 1 · on File Systems Best Suited for Archival Storage?

    My hunch: For most applications involving less than 50 year data retention, making 2 copies of the raw data, to a currently supported stable media such as tape or archival DVD, stored in separate locations, is key. Make sure the data is both in the original format and in a published-standard format which is widely supported. Keep multiple machines that can read the data around for as long as you need the original format. Every few years or as needed, verify the data is intact, re-convert the data from the original format or, if that format is unreadable, the highest-fidelity published-standard format, to a currently-supported published standard, and save it to a currently-supported archival format. Interestingly enough, this is very similar to the process developed by the National Archives of Australia http://www.naa.gov.au/recordkeeping/preservation/d igital/summary.html/. They are saving the 'original' document and a version converted to an open format (eg Open Document Format for word processing documents). If the format changes, they will use the converted version to generate something in the new format. They will be doing it for stuff that needs to be kept a lot longer than your arbitrary 50 years.

    Ideally, in 50 years time, you will have the original media plus several updated copies. You may or may not be able to read the original media but your most recent copies will be close enough to the original to be useful. If you are very lucky, the most recent copies will be identical to the originals AND you will still have the software and hardware to read them. But if you convert to an open document format, you will not need the original software or hardware to read them. If your business depends on it, you would also want to be pretty sure that the copy is an authentic replica of the original. You do not want to rewrite history inadvertently.

    Oh, for anything REALLY important, print it out on archival paper, or carve it into stone. Thats a lot of paper or stone.
  11. Re:What is document management anyway? by Vombatus · · Score: 1 · on Big Blue's Software Spending Spree
    Shared Drives - Don't talk to me about shared drives.

    See http://www.naa.gov.au/recordkeeping/rkpubs/advices /advice70.html for information on why shared drives are a problem (besides the excellent list you have already given). Sometimes information is more readily accepted when it comes from a supposedly 'reliable' source.

  12. Re:OpenOffice in government contracts... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0 · on OpenOffice 1.1.5 Released

    http://naa.gov.au/
    http://xena.sourceforge.net/

  13. Re:Someone please clue in the rest of the gov'ts by Vombatus · · Score: 1 · on .gov.au Guide to Open Source Software
    Well, for Australian Government records which will be kept for any length of time, check out what the National Archives of Australia is doing at http://www.naa.gov.au/recordkeeping/preservation/d igital/summary.html

    Check out Xena at http://xena.sourceforge.net/ as well.

    Disclaimer: I work for them, but not in the section working on this

  14. Re:Ram Raider by B747SP · · Score: 1 · on Satellites Used to Stop Car Thieves in Pakistan
    What isa "ram raider"?

    A person (or persons) who drives (rams - uses the car to break the window and/or security gates) a car (usually not their own) through the front window of a shop that sells jewelry (sp?), electronic good, or other expensive stuff, loads the car up with said expensive goodies, and does the Harry[1]. They like the fast cars, because they can outrun the police.

    [1]"The Harry" == "a runner", "the bolt", "the harry holt bolt" - named for the Australian Prime Minister Harold Holt who, one day, when swimming at a seaside beach somewhere in Australia, and was never seen again. True story.(ie: he did the bolt, a runner!)

  15. Reasons for our major metadata project by allrong · · Score: 1 · on Declaring The Death of Metatags

    While metadata might not be so useful for general search engines the Australian government has mandated metadata for their websites to help generate dentral directories for govt agency activities.

    Metadata can also be used for content aggregation purposes. Our parent organisation is planning on using Vignette (yuck) for it's central website and they want to suck up information from our own site (Apache yay!).