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Norway's Doomsday Vault Will Now Store and Protect the World's Data (wired.co.uk)
Doomsday may be closer than ever, but thanks to the Arctic World Archive, at least your data could survive the looming apocalypse. From a report: Norway is already the home to the Global Seed Vault, a frozen ark for 1.5 million seeds to avoid their extinction, and now the Arctic World Archive aims to do the same for your data -- in the same disused mine in the same mountain on the island of Svalbard, famous for its polar bear population. Run by a small Norwegian archiving company called Piql, the World Arctic Archive will store key documents, books and other files on photosensitive film held in protective boxes, a technique Piql says it's tested to survive for at least 500 years and believes will last for 1,000. That longevity is helped by the storage location. More on this here.
If you're encoding data on film, but you still need a digital camera or computer to read it, you still might be screwed and the data might be inaccessible. By microfilming the source docs, all you need is a light source and a magnifying glass -- both of which are decidedly analog and low-tech compared to the method being used for this project. Plus sliver halide microfilm lasts at least 500 years if properly stored. Either you're taking the digital component out of it, or you're not. Having a digital requirement in there might make the data inaccessible in a post-electricity, post-digital world post-apocalypse.
They've been playing the long-game for thousands of years now. But soon enough, they will make their move.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Stopped reading right there.
Would kind of suck for the people 500 years from now to find this, but have no idea what it is or what it does.
I tend to rant.
and did they use the same testing protocol that came up with "100 year archival gold CD-R" disks that degrade after less than 10 years?
It is pitch dark. You are likely to be eaten by a grue.
scientist> All the world's most valuable information has been stored in this room!
politician> All of it? Then why are you asking for so much additional funding?
scientist> You see those two mountains?
politician> Yeah?...
scientist> The one on the left will be filled with porn and the one on the right with pictures of cats.
politician> My God, it's beautiful!
Anons need not reply. Questions end with a question mark.
This is great and all but... being on slashdot this is prime for a backup analogy, don't put all your eggs in one basket and all that. Let just hope that mountain in Norway isn't the target of some rouge asteroid or other geologically significant event.
Copyright issues?
So if the RIAA, MPAA and others going to demand that they screen for copyrighted movies, music and more before they are stored there?
noone is going to take an army to go to Arctic to destroy seeds, but they might to destroy an Archive, and while they are there they'll trample the seeds...
Include directions on making alcohol, the rest will happen naturally.
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
Transmet style. We know how inaccurate distributed digital "factual" data is, we can make it so that this theoretical future civilization that rises from the ashes thinks we are lunatics that worship cats, fat bottomed lawyers daughters and creepy businessmen...oh...wait.
So this magic film has been tested to last for 500 years, eh? Was the film really invented (and the testing started) back in 1517? Or has someone finally invented a time machine or maybe a telephone to the future, at least?
It simply is not possible to test something's viability for an extended time period with having that time period actually elapse! Some real-world processes simply cannot be rushed or physically simulated. Just because a thing survives one year at 500 times normal usage or exposure or whatever, doesn't mean it will survive 500 years at normal exposure. In fact, there is a strong likelihood (500 times stringer, in fact) that the material will be exposed to something that was not even tested and fail as a result during the real-world 500 year period. Of course there are fundamental chemical & physical issues as well... Just because a rat might survive for one year at 500 (some unit) of radiation doesn't mean that another rat will survive for 500 years at 1 unit of radiation. Yes, rats have a known lifespan, but don't chemicals, too? Especially complex chemical constructs like film?
All the data needs to be encoded on something like solid gold tape. That might last. Then there is only the problem of storing the knowledge of how and capability to actually utilize the data -- or has someone also found a way to do simulated-compressed-time tests of language, knowledge, and technology drift for 500 years, too?
The Chinese government stole my background case file for my security clearance a few years ago. So, yes, I believe a government is out to get me.
Languages change. 500 years from now, will people be able to understand our current writing?
For the languages of the data that is stored in Norway, I suggest that they store a dictionary in those languages.
They should also store books on how to learn those languages. They might store books like the ones I used when I studied German in high school. Those books were completely in German. In the beginner's book, the first page had a small red rectangle, a small blue rectangle, and a small green rectangle, etc. Next to each rectangle was the German word for that color. So we learned those colors in German. Then the book showed the picture of hands pointing to rectangles of various colors. Next to them were the German words for "This is red.", or "This is blue.", etc. So we learned how to make those simple sentences. Then the book built on that, making the sentences more complicated, and introducing more words.
The Chinese government stole my background case file for my security clearance a few years ago. So, yes, I believe a government is out to get me.
I'm in the same boat – the US OPM data breach.
Think more broadly, though. Your own government could be out to get you, too.
Good idea, lets use the moon and Mars for our offsite backup locations. Then when it becomes feasible, maybe a couple of super probes that can take residence outside this solar system in case the sun goes supernova. While the ultimate goal of the Norway vault is for the benefit of remaining mankind, it will eventually become important for us to think of future extraterrestrial civilizations that may show up just a bit too late for contact.
Think more broadly, though. Your own government could be out to get you, too.
That would require the Republicans to negotiate among themselves on a common agenda to get something done. I don't expect that to change in the near future.
I prefer my Doomsday vaults more than 200 feet above potentially rising seas.
I have this vision of aliens landing and finding the vault on Svalbard as the only trace of humanity's existence. The head researcher sticks the flash drives in the ground while vainly attempting to extract all of our books and films from the seeds. Glumly, they radio home to file a No Contact and move on to the next planet.
They were just making sure it got backed up!
Let just hope that mountain in Norway isn't the target of some rouge asteroid or other geologically significant event.
Nor a rogue president or other politically significant event.
**Doomsday may be closer than ever,**
That is a stupid fucking statement to make.
Not so much. Doomsday is real––the sun will engulf the earth, eventually.
That time is approaching, and ever-closer, albeit not on a human time-scale. It's true, but irrelevant.
Run by a small Norwegian archiving company called Piql...
Yeah right, and no ties at all with CIA, Soros? Oh wait, Gates 'Foundation'?
Where does all that money come from?
"Trump!!", the new Godwin.
The reason for the existence of the seed vault is that once the natural habitat has been destroyed, nobody but Bill Gates (read: Monsanto and the likes) will have access to them. They will claim all the DNA as their own findings, patent it, and sell the seeds at a very high price. Because competition is for losers, monopoly is for the winners.
"Trump!!", the new Godwin.