|
Return
to Main Page
Preserving
our digital history and records
Old
Computer Formats and the longevity of our digitally stored
knowledge. Are
we entering into a "pre-history" era? How can we preserve
our computer written records, books, photographs, video and
knowledge? We must have an international agreement and an
organization, perhaps under auspices of the United Nations, dedicated
to preserving our global digital records so that future generations
can access the information and knowledge that we store on computer
readable formats.
If
you wanted to, would you be able to read a:
If
you can not read these one or two generation old formats today, how
will society be able to read these documents in 200 years from now?
In a few years, our latest computer formats and storage devices, such
as USB drives, will also be obsolete. I have deep concerns about the
longevity of our knowledge and of computer records,
documents, photographs, videos and all records that are presently
stored on computer medium of one type or the other. Further, the
formats are changing constantly. Will society be able to access our
computerized records in the future? Almost
all of our human knowledge is stored today on non-permanent computer
storage technology. Printed books, newspapers, and documents, using
the proper paper, can last for hundreds, if not thousands of years.
Printed photographs, motion picture film, photographic negatives can
also last for a very long period of time, under the right conditions.
Today however, we are faced with a new type of problem. First,
digital recorded documents, photographs and video's on computer hard
drives, computer chips, CD's and DVD's are very vulnerable to
technical failure, where most or all of the data contained on the
recorded medium could potentially be lost. Further, computer formats
change at an astounding rate. How many people today can read a 3
1/4" or a 5 1/2" floppy disk? What about the earlier hard
sectored disks or even earlier drum drives, tape drives and core
memory? All of this has changed in just 40 short years. There is
little doubt in my mind that in a few years, the most advanced
storage drives, USB's and so on will be completely obsolete and
unreadable. Further, the formats, such as JPG, or MP3 or PDF or DOC
will for sure change over time and may well not be readable in the
future. How much of the enormous data that is stored will be
transferred to the new formats as they emerge and how much
information will be lost forever? In the event of wars, natural
disasters, or periods of social decline, will the records survive and
be readable over time? This is potentially a critical problem for our
historic record as well as for future advancement that must be
addressed in some fashion. ---Frank
X. Didik first written pre 1995,
updated 2015
|
