On Thu, Jun 24, 2004 at 01:29:57PM +1000, Michael Lake wrote: > Kevin Waterson wrote: > > >What systems are available these days for archival storage of info. > >Optical storage is not really archival. > > It depends on how far back you define archival. By my definition of > archival there is no digital archival medium. Archival to me means being > able to store information so that it is available to subsequent > generations. Media for that include paper documents (on archival paper) > , photographs (as black/white on silver or metal particle based film, > not organic-dye colour film), and phonographs. No digital format today > is known that will last that long. Neither the medium or the system that > is needed to read it. > > Microfich is really an analog storage system and data on microfich may > last for some decades and maybe longer. At least it will be able to be > read as all you need is a magnifying system. > > Digital storage is realatively new. It is known that tape backups can > last 20 years, but we don't know if they will last 50 years. All > magnetic domains on mag media will eventually relax, especially as they > were designed to be able to be read/written easily. So they won't last > as long as paper or B/W film can. Optical storage systems should be able > to do better but fungus attack and surface outgassing of oxygen will > eventually convert the thin Al layer to transparent Al2O3. Also with any > magnetic or optical system you also need the reader, and if the storage > format is lost is more difficult again. > > Basically looking back from the future our age will be an age that > archivists may call "The information dark age" - not because we were > un-enlightened but because the information never lasted.
What about punch cards! > > Mike > -- > Michael Lake > Chemistry, Materials & Forensic Science, UTS > Ph: 9514 1724 Fx: 9514 1460 > > -- > UTS CRICOS Provider Code: 00099F > DISCLAIMER: This email message and any accompanying attachments may contain > confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, do not > read, use, disseminate, distribute or copy this message or attachments. If > you have received this message in error, please notify the sender > immediately > and delete this message. Any views expressed in this message are those of > the > individual sender, except where the sender expressly, and with authority, > states them to be the views the University of Technology Sydney. Before > opening any attachments, please check them for viruses and defects. > -- > SLUG - Sydney Linux User's Group Mailing List - http://slug.org.au/ > Subscription info and FAQs: http://slug.org.au/faq/mailinglists.html >
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