At 10:36 AM 2/9/03 -0600, Robert Patterson wrote:I'm gradually relinquishing the notion that a hard-copy is necessary for long-term archive. PDF is robust and portable and is ubiquitous enough that it will be supported in some form as long as there are computers.
Dennis writes:
Look... here's the thing. Even my casual study of Buddhism has taught me about impermanence. And my more practical work with computers has taught me about upgrades, archives, backups, etc. The trick with digital archives is that they have to be constantly backed up in the latest formats. And at some point, after we are gone and forgotten on this planet, it is all silly anyhow. But for our lifetimes and even somewhat beyond, we can just keep upgrading the backups as we upgrade the machines. And yes, pdfs are one good way, even scans of hard copy that are archived as pdfs or whatever better technology comes next. My son Steve, the computer guru, thinks that storing stuff --even photos, music, graphic art, etc.-- as bar codes on acid free paper is one way to extend the life of archives, if something is truly irreplaceable. In any case, survival, at least extension for a time, of electronic data is possible. Or, when not, quit worrying about it.Yow.My friend Greg Sanford is Vermont's state archivist, and he'd lose even more hair if he heard you say that! So called "permanent" digital archives just don't exist.
I, for one, want the things I value to last as long as possible. But forever isn't possible, and at some point irrelevant. Meanwhile, creating electronic copies is easier than ever. And if something is lost forever... well, go make something new. There's a point where some things need to be tossed anyway, and new stuff created. Our lives and works are organic, with all that implies, and Stonehenge erodes, the copies of the Declaration of Independence dissolve, the master tapes at SONY curl and harden, my eyesight falters... even as we speak. That's life on earth.
Meanwhile, when possible, make a currently readable backup, keep doing it, and don't stick with one format.
Just my own narrow perspective.
Linda Worsley
--
Hear the music at:
http://www.ganymuse.com/
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Hear the music at:
http://www.ganymuse.com/
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