Some scientists are beginning to sound warnings: all of that digital information we store may be unreadable and unusable to future generations.As unbelievable as this seems, what would you do if someone came to you with an Edison wax-cylinder recording? Chances are, it would be virtually unplayable to you. Heck, some folks wouldn't even be able to play a 45rpm record or 8-track tape made a few years ago. Now with technology exploding with file formats, PC formats, and encryption schemes, this kind of problem only gets worse. I've already experienced this - not more than 15 years ago, I wrote lots of poetry and lyrics in MultiMate word processor. Even though I still have the files, they're virtually unreadable anymore, because no program easily supports a MultiMate conversion.
Personally, I think large corporations are blazing some trails here. Most large companies place an extreme value on data, and preserving it's integrity during upgrades and conversions. Perhaps there's a consumer-grade parallel here?
"Jeff Rothenberg, a Rand Corporation scientist specializing in digital longevity, provides a hypothetical, very human example of the problems that flow from accelerating obsolescence.The digital Dark Age - Technology - smh.com.au
It is 2045, he suggests, and his grandchildren are exploring the attic of his old house when they come across a CD-ROM and a letter, which explains that the disk contains a document that provides directions to obtaining the family fortune. The children are excited. 'But they've never seen a CD before - except in old movies - and, even if they found a suitable disk drive, how will they run the software necessary to interpret the information on the disk? How can they read my obsolete digital document?'"
1 comment:
Better start learning how to carve in stone before the oil runs out.
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