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Archiving Digital Data an Unsolved Problem

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the digital-ice-age dept.

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.'"

10 of 405 comments (clear)

  1. Microsoft to help! by UbuntuDupe · · Score: 5, Funny

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

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    Apology to Ubuntu forum.
    1. Re:Microsoft to help! by 19thNervousBreakdown · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's not a word.

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      <xml><I><am><so><damn>Web 2.0</damn></so></am></I></xml>
    2. Re:Microsoft to help! by RAMMS+EIN · · Score: 5, Funny

      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.

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      Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
  2. Not too long... by Electrode · · Score: 5, Funny
    "for as long as the United States remains a republic."

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

    1. Re:Not too long... by eln · · Score: 5, Funny

      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.

    2. Re:Not too long... by Pollardito · · Score: 4, Funny

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

  3. hieroglyphics by IWantMoreSpamPlease · · Score: 4, Funny

    Worked for the Egyptians didn't it?

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    So rise up, all ye lost ones, as one, we'll claw the clouds.
  4. Government Area of Expertise by ThatsNotFunny · · Score: 5, Funny
    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.
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    "Was it a millionaire who said 'Imagine No Posessions?'" -- Elvis Costello
  5. Re:Extra irony points. by kfg · · Score: 4, Funny

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

    KFG

  6. Re:Who cares? by focitrixilous+P · · Score: 4, Funny

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

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    SAILING MISHAP