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Thanks For the ... Eight-Track, Uncle Alex

Posted by kdawson on from the redundancy-and-repetition dept.

Uncle Alex writes "My niece just turned one year old and her parents have asked that, instead of the usual gifts, we each contribute something to a time capsule to be opened on her 17th birthday. Multiple members of my family want to contribute digital data — text, video, music files. They came to me (the closest thing to a geek our family has) wondering: what's the best way to save the data to ensure she'll actually be able to see it in 16 years? Software might be out of date, hardware may no longer be used... any suggestions?"

3 of 633 comments (clear)

  1. Print it! by IBBoard · · Score: 1, Redundant

    Just print the text, get the tablature or sheet music for any songs and print a booklet of screencaps of the videos so that she can flick through them to "animate" them. Put it all in a dry environment and it should be fine until it is opened, and you can guarantee the required technology is still available!

  2. Perhaps... by Shrike82 · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Put it all on a USB memory stick, and when you next come to buy a new PC or laptop simply keep the old one in a box somewhere (suitably protected against dust and moisture). If for some reason in 16 years you find that USB sticks have become obselete and your files are totally outdated you can just get the old equipment out, fire it up and you're all set.

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    You can advertise in this sig from as little as £99.99 a month!
  3. virtual machines by martas · · Score: 0, Redundant

    store a virtual machine (in an open format) along with the data, containing all the software necessary to view the media they want to include. then 16 years from now, only 2 things will be needed to make it all work - VM software that uses that open format, and hardware that can read whatever storage device you decide to use.

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    weinersmith