Like the Gramophone, a format that is obsolete, I propose a simple media for personal use that remains usable after it goes the way of Betamax and 8-track tapes and IBM Data Reels. Groovy recording is proved durable beyond it's obsolescence, but it was never made widely available to the public the means to make recordings. In the time of magnetic tape I overestimated the durability of rustware. I did reveal a science project on halfbakery a while back... the used-CD/AOL-disc record-cutter. Someone else suggested adding video to it by drilling nipkow (BairdTV) spiraled holes around the outside. I wonder if there is any more reliable and usable way to store "media". I have even seen ROM chips forget, yes, about 10 years after programming, as they were rated for in the manuals. I predict that Windows Media Format will go down in history as one of the least durable media formats. What will still play in 3001?Existing 78RPM discs will surely outlast DVD players also!Shall I cut my media into tracks on a slab of black granite?
I agree
No opinion
I disagree
Add your comment
It's not a question of the format, but documenting the format the content is in, and storing the content and format documentation for the long term, in a dense wnough format,considering all the content we have to archive.
British parliment still uses cured goat skin paper as it is known to last for a millenia. The problem you mention is quite serious, as likely the entire period we live in will leave no traces at all for the record.. hard disks will fail and backup tapes will be out of style... like a stack of 6250 bpi mag tapes i got in the attic.
CD rom's that i've made are not so permanent either.. as they are only as good as the windows crapware mulch that i pay for every coupla years, never works properly, and will not recognize old formats.. and imagine windows in 2200, will it read one of today's word files? NO. Myself i print all documents and store them with the CDrom version, but presuming they'll have to be retyped... paper has better longevity.
SQL databases are the ultimate in longevity, but as they are not serial, they ONLY can exist in memory and can never be printed out. It worries me that the only societal system of record is unknown and that our history is even more lost to us today given modern technology than it was 300 years ago.
Audio Visual information is best preserved in formats which are very easy to decode, such as soundwave shaped grooves, maybe sheet music, and pictures. These are even more durable than writing because languages can be lost. Numbers are more universal than words for describing countable things. Documentation for a hard to read format is in danger of being incomprehensible in the future. Any more ideas?
Is the information worth keeping in the first place? Like in Men In Black - "Looks like I'm going to have to buy The White Album again." If the information is valuable it will be re-recorded in the newest format. It's up to the historians and the buying public to keep information alive as long as possible.