Digital Domesday Defies Doom
Hulver writes "The BBC Domesday project, originally completed in 1986 and under threat (as reported in this old slashdot story) has had its data recovered. The contents of the laserdiscs have been put on DVD, and new programs written so that PCs can access the data. Interestingly, most of the images and films were not recovered from the laserdiscs, but were instead re-digitised from the original analog films at a higher resolution than the laserdiscs contained. Full details of the recovered data are at the Public Record Office website."
Domesday Book, vellum and ink, still readable after 900 years.
Domesday Book II, Laser disks and computer files, in need of rescue after 17 years.
Progress ?
I wonder if widespread printing, audio, and video recording technology might have a long-term stabilizing effect on language.