Archiving Digital Data an Unsolved Problem

mattnyc99 writes, "It's a huge challenge: how to store digital files so future generations can access them, from engineering plans to family photos. The documents of our time are being recorded as bits and bytes with no guarantee of readability down the line. And as technologies change, we may find our files frozen in forgotten formats. Popular Mechanics asks: Will an entire era of human history be lost?" From the article: "[US national archivist] Thibodeau hopes to develop a system that preserves any type of document — created on any application and any computing platform, and delivered on any digital media — for as long as the United States remains a republic. Complicating matters further, the archive needs to be searchable. When Thibodeau told the head of a government research lab about his mission, the man replied, 'Your problem is so big, it's probably stupid to try and solve it.'"

Comments

Microsoft to help!

[UbuntuDupe]

I can't wait to hear Microsoft's explanation why the project should use one of their proprietary formats.

Re:Microsoft to help!

[19thNervousBreakdown]

That's not a word.

Re:Microsoft to help!

[RAMMS EIN]

Our formats are industry standards. They are backed by Microsoft, a robust company which has withstood vigorous competition, lawsuits, the .com burst, and the Bolshevik revolution brought about by Stallman et al. Where other companies have folded, Microsoft has flourished. With a known track record of backward-compatibility, your documents are safe with us. Trust us. We _invented_ trusted computing.

And remember: nobody ever got fired for buying Microsoft.

Not too long...

[Electrode]

"for as long as the United States remains a republic."

So, they're shooting for about 10 years then?

Re:Not too long...

[eln]

In 20 thousand years they'll have Princess Diana was running around with a lightsaber killing communists or something.

Are you trying to say she didn't do that?

Crap, I am so getting an F on my history paper.

Re:Not too long...

[Pollardito]

quick, let's update wikipedia to say she did, then you'll have a source for your paper

hieroglyphics

[IWantMoreSpamPlease]

Worked for the Egyptians didn't it?

Government Area of Expertise

[ThatsNotFunny]

When Thibodeau told the head of a government research lab about his mission, the man replied, 'Your problem is so big, it's probably stupid to try and solve it.'"

I'd trust that guy. If there's one thing our governrment knows, it's stupidity.

Re:Extra irony points.

[kfg]

Go to the library while you still can and memorize it. Buy camping gear.

KFG

Re:I've heard this problem over and over

[pclminion]

Working at a University, this is not a subject I'm not unfamiliar with. We've had lots of discussions about this. Everyone always talks about how many zillions of "pieces of information" are out there. The number of web pages in existence is always brandied about.

Where can I attend these meetings, where people speak in triple negatives and much brandy is available?

Re:How is this different

[Tim Browse]

If you have a big pile of digital data, what is it? An image? Compressed text? Audio? Just a sequence of numbers?

That's what MIME types are for. Duh.

Re:Who cares?

[focitrixilous P]

I doubt you'd sell many Nano-Pump (tm) enlargement kits. It's all in the name, even in the future.

Re:Forgotten

[JesterXXV]

There is only one contribution you can make which will have any lasting effect at all

Create an article about myself on Wikipedia?