Bit Rot Stalks Your Digital Keepsakes

axlrosen writes "The NYTimes has an article about the problems of digital archiving. How many of your digital memories will still be around 50 years from now, considering lost disks, incompatible formats, hard drive crashes, fading CD-Rs, etc.? Unfortunately Peter Briggs' solution won't work for most of us. The only real way to make sure that your grandkids get to see your digital photos is to make real photographic prints from them. (When I bought my Mom a digital camera I installed Picasa for her, and made sure she knows to order real prints of all the pictures she wants to survive through the ages...)"

Comments

Tell me about it

[Anonymous Coward]

Half of my 5.25" floppies don't work anymore!

Re:Tell me about it

[MikeXpop]

And people will still insist on running on 800 x 600.

WWLD?

[chris mazuc]

"Backups are for wimps. Real men upload their data to an FTP site and have everyone else mirror it."

--Linus Torvalds

Re:WWLD?

[PhrostyMcByte]

Very simple solution:

• Zip up all your files
• Encrypt with GPG/PGP
• Rename to "Olsen Twins Nude - XXX.zip"
• Upload on Kazaa

Re:WWLD?

[Tenebrious1]

Zip up all your files
Encrypt with GPG/PGP
Rename to "Olsen Twins Nude - XXX.zip"
Upload on Kazaa

What if all my files are pics of the Olsen Twins Nude? Do I have to upload them as "Linux Kernel 2.8 (preview)"?

No problem...

[rackhamh]

I use Microsoft Word to print out all my MP3s, which I then store in a 3-ring binder. If I ever lose my digital copy, I can use text recognition to restore my MP3s from the paper backup.

Let's just hope there isn't a fire or a flood.

Re:No problem...

[erlenic]

Or even better, have the voice rendering software read it straight into an MP3 so you don't need all those tapes. Then you just need to find a way to backup ... oh, wait. Nevermind.

Meaningless

[HarveyBirdman]

How many of your digital memories will still be around 50 years from now/

Who gives a shit? I'm 39, and too mentally ill to attract a wife, so no kids. What am I going to leave behind? A collection of snotty and angry online postings? I just want to retire early and pursue my long denied hobby of global agitation.

And why doesn't the posting preview here work reliably with Firefox?

Re:Boingboing.net article contents

[Anonymous Coward]

Well, hell, that's as good an argument against piracy as you're likely to hear on slashdot.

Don't redistribute movie scripts! You might be partially responsible for 90 minutes of utter shite.

I dunno

[paranode]

I don't think the basement really qualifies as being a separate house. I mean, what if the whole place goes up in flames?

Re:I dunno

[doctormetal]

I don't think the basement really qualifies as being a separate house. I mean, what if the whole place goes up in flames?

Just protect your computer by placing a firewall around it ;)

Re:Every 2-3 years

[mikael]

I've archived some of important documents onto clay tablets using Sanskrit, but I'm starting to run out of storage space. Even worse, the neighbours are starting to complain about the smoke from my kiln drifting across into their garden.

Re:Every 2-3 years

[L. VeGas]

Even worse, the neighbours are starting to complain about the smoke from my kiln drifting across into their garden.

Just tell them not to worry, it's awl write.

Thats it.

[Bill, Shooter of Bul]

Yes, yes. There the insane ones.. Why wouldn't women date guys like us? High IQ's, steady paychecks, dashingly good looks from 200 yards, No noticable odors from 300 yards, ego's the size of large cities. Man I tell you, I am this close to cloning myself , but switching the sex to female. Yeah, that would show them. That would show them All.