"John A. Lind" <jlind@xxxxxxxxxxx> writes:
> I too have deep concerns over the ability to adequately archive digital,
> not just for our direct heirs, but for historical purposes as well.
Digital information has the potential to last forever. Analogue media will
fade or distort with the passage of time, and any attempt to copy them
always introduces distortions and noise. By contrast, a zero and a one can
be copied perfectly.
This is not to say that some digital recording media will not degrade, and
digital data can be lost. But, if you are interested in preserving your
digital information, it is relatively easy to do so.
I think that historians in 200 years time will probably fins that they have
too much source material, not too little. (Then again, they'll have smart
machines to sift through it all for them..)
Alasdair
< This message was delivered via the Olympus Mailing List >
< For questions, mailto:owner-olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx >
< Web Page: http://Zuiko.sls.bc.ca/swright/olympuslist.html >
|