On Wed, 25 Mar 2009, Benjamin Reed wrote:
> How about:
>
> Our entire infrastructure as a society has moved to digital storage, and
> yet we don't have backups that would last for more than a few decades.
> We haven't noticed only because we've changed technologies so much in
> the short lifespan of digital computers, that very few have run into
> data access issues with old media.
>
> YET.
Hah. I guess I'm one of the unlucky few. I've had to do several
iterations of data migration, from video tape to digitized bits of video
tape stored on 8" floppy to 1/4" tape cartridges to Irwin tape
cartridges to JAZ drives to DAT to DLT to DVD. I have particularly
strong memories of the Irwin AccuTrack system, which decided it would be
a good idea to use a proprietary tape format that only worked on
Interactive Systems Unix, and then have both Irwin and Interactive
effectively disappear.
--
Andy Dougherty dough...@lafayette.edu
