Philosophy
There was a recent The New York Times article in the "technology" section regarding a serious issue that has been around for a long time and is quite frustrating--a reliable method of storing information. What startled me was the following: "The life span of data on a CD recorded with a CD burner, for instance, could be as little as five years if it is exposed to extremes in humidity or temperature." That's not very reassuring for I was instructed when I bought a new computer a few months ago to download "recovery disks" in event of the unthinkable--hard drive failure or some other unspeakable issue that would require me to reset the computer with factory programing--like starting all over. Those eight recovery disks, which took nearly three hours to burn, are susceptible to environmental conditions and handling. Other than sealing them in an inert gaseous atmosphere and stored in a salt mine in Lyons, Kansas I, we, run the risk of losing precious and important electronically stored data. Personal technical data, family genealogy, research papers, current and past photographic images, music, etc. are potential victims of disintegration. One missing or distorted "byte" on a government disk could change one's sex, state that you are Elvis and working as a welder in the Long Beach ship yards, or worse: DEAD. This has been a fussy issue especially in the music industry for it was once thought that vinyl was king, then magnetic tape, and now a piece of plastic. We may wind up putting everything back on cave walls. The long heralded electronic methodology of data storage may well be an illusion fraught with similar issues of archival storage intentions but prone to serious issues of retrieval.
- Bing Crosby, Ampex, Silicon Valley
"How Bing Crosby and the Nazis Helped to Create Silicon Valley" by Paul Ford May 13th, 2013 The New Yorker The nineteen-forties Bing Crosby hit “White Christmas” is a key part of the national emotional regression that occurs every Christmas. Between...
- Atandt Cracking Down On Broadband Users
Only 5% of users they say...just wait, it will expand. They are in the business of making money and will milk every tactic they can. "AT&T to slow down speed of top 5 percent data consumers" As more Internet users download videos and music streaming...
- Pluto Photographic Plate
One of the famous photographic plates on which Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto "Rescuing our photographic heritage" Group moves to safeguard and archive astronomical plates. by Martin Ratcliffe April 22nd, 2005 Astronomy There are more than three...
- Chalk Up Another Accomplishment For Nanotechnology
"Japanese team finds material that could make super disc" May 24th, 2010 SPACE MART A Japanese research team has found a material that could be used to make a low-price super disc with data storage capacity thousands of times greater than a DVD, the...
- Reboot The Ole "witch"
"Britain’s Oldest Working Computer Roars to Life" by Priya Ganapati September 4th, 2009 Wired The oldest original working computer in the U.K., which has been in storage for nearly 30 years, is getting restored to its former glory. The Harwell...
Philosophy
Your precious data...poof--GONE
There was a recent The New York Times article in the "technology" section regarding a serious issue that has been around for a long time and is quite frustrating--a reliable method of storing information. What startled me was the following: "The life span of data on a CD recorded with a CD burner, for instance, could be as little as five years if it is exposed to extremes in humidity or temperature." That's not very reassuring for I was instructed when I bought a new computer a few months ago to download "recovery disks" in event of the unthinkable--hard drive failure or some other unspeakable issue that would require me to reset the computer with factory programing--like starting all over. Those eight recovery disks, which took nearly three hours to burn, are susceptible to environmental conditions and handling. Other than sealing them in an inert gaseous atmosphere and stored in a salt mine in Lyons, Kansas I, we, run the risk of losing precious and important electronically stored data. Personal technical data, family genealogy, research papers, current and past photographic images, music, etc. are potential victims of disintegration. One missing or distorted "byte" on a government disk could change one's sex, state that you are Elvis and working as a welder in the Long Beach ship yards, or worse: DEAD. This has been a fussy issue especially in the music industry for it was once thought that vinyl was king, then magnetic tape, and now a piece of plastic. We may wind up putting everything back on cave walls. The long heralded electronic methodology of data storage may well be an illusion fraught with similar issues of archival storage intentions but prone to serious issues of retrieval.- Bing Crosby, Ampex, Silicon Valley
"How Bing Crosby and the Nazis Helped to Create Silicon Valley" by Paul Ford May 13th, 2013 The New Yorker The nineteen-forties Bing Crosby hit “White Christmas” is a key part of the national emotional regression that occurs every Christmas. Between...
- Atandt Cracking Down On Broadband Users
Only 5% of users they say...just wait, it will expand. They are in the business of making money and will milk every tactic they can. "AT&T to slow down speed of top 5 percent data consumers" As more Internet users download videos and music streaming...
- Pluto Photographic Plate
One of the famous photographic plates on which Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto "Rescuing our photographic heritage" Group moves to safeguard and archive astronomical plates. by Martin Ratcliffe April 22nd, 2005 Astronomy There are more than three...
- Chalk Up Another Accomplishment For Nanotechnology
"Japanese team finds material that could make super disc" May 24th, 2010 SPACE MART A Japanese research team has found a material that could be used to make a low-price super disc with data storage capacity thousands of times greater than a DVD, the...
- Reboot The Ole "witch"
"Britain’s Oldest Working Computer Roars to Life" by Priya Ganapati September 4th, 2009 Wired The oldest original working computer in the U.K., which has been in storage for nearly 30 years, is getting restored to its former glory. The Harwell...