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!

[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]

Your timeline may be a little off (at least I hope so), but you're right that it's a silly goal. Whether the US has 10 or 1000 years left, history shows us it will most likely fall at some point, and that point will be fairly soon when compared to the entirety of human history.

Making a format that will survive a thousand years so long as our advanced civilization is still around and still cares is pointless, because as long as there is a continuous line of people that care, they will be willing to transfer at least the more important stuff to new media. The trick is coming up with something that will still be readable when archaeologists dig it up 10, 50, or 100 thousand years from now.

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.

How is this different

[zappepcs]

than the previous ages where all information was kept on paper or in spoken words? The problem isn't so much how to invent something that will always be readable, but some way to always have the applications to read it. If it were not for the Rosetta Stone, much of what we know about the ancient world might still be a mystery.

I've heard this problem over and over

[csoto]

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. My point in these discussions is that most of what's out there is crap. Humanity is not lessened by its loss. Good stuff gets reproduced, reviewed, studied, dissected, etc. and survives. It *is* stupid to try to solve this problem, because the problem doesn't need solving.

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.