[BushCountry]

To be honest this is quite stunning. The amount of valuable information lost is staggering, this will compound the problem. People assumed (as did I) that CD-ROMs were a viable backup alternative to tape.

I seen a show that stated that this would be the only period in history without a written record. I am beginning to wonder? Harddrives crash, cd-roms unreadable, tape backup systems falling in disrepair, massive viruses, the data lost (great works of art) is mind boggling.

[Publius6961]

This is no great surprise, or shouldn't be.

There have been extensive discussions in the last few years arguing that the only reliable archival medium is acid-free paper.

Think about it. How many reading this can read 5-1/4 inch floppies? Anyone?
Technology "advances", and all prior means of accessing archived data disappears, with no means or even thought of recovering the trillions bits of data sitting in warehouses rotting.

I remember clearly that most if not all of the data related to the space studies and research of the 50s and 60s already is gone forever.

What is remarkable is that little or no solution has been proposed to this very real problem.

It will be a profound irony when we find ourselves able to view photos from the 1900s more readily than digital images being "archived" today.

[Maelstrom]

Already we have ceased to leave an impact from a civic engineering example.

Nothing we have will last more than a century without regular upkeep.

[Eala]

Harddrives crash

I had thought to get away from my practice of multiple backups; each machine has backups of data from several others on the network (including historical archives of machines retired years ago). But now...

[FReepaholic]

>>...this would be the only period in history without a written record...<<

Exactly. Consider the history of the Internet. Design and content of websites have changed over the decade. Anybody archiving the Internet??

Remember back when the Web was new and the only color for website backgrounds was gray? I had several websites back then but didn't save them anywhere. Be interesting to see them again.

Remember CompuServe, Prodigy and a young AOL? It'd be interesting to view archives of those.

[marlin]

hoi hoi folks - long ago and far away i was personally responsible for the first set of cd-r longevity tests - eventually it became a full compliance standardized process - you can learn all about it here - http://www.osta.org/technology/cdqa.htm

osta's website has a plethora of information - and information is far better than rumor

cd-r's utilize a dye layer that will breakdown over time - the type of dye used and the exposure to direct sunlight will effect the longevity - as will other things - but those 2 are the biggies

if you wish to have discs last a long time get good discs to begin with and treat them as valuable

bear in mind the cd-r's are an iso standard product - and that the federal government of the us was involved in the standards process - specifically so that they could get a product that had long life - compared to tapes - and was a standard - so that when a newer technology emerged - which will happen - that the migration to that new medium will be an easy process - remember the fear and hang wringing of systems failure of y2k - cd-r's are the 1st standard compliant media

if you buy cheap discs and treat them like a pressed disc you'll get unhappy results - sorta like nearly everything in life

fwiw when i 1st started selling cd-rs in 88 the discs were retailing for ~$300 each and the recorders where a 2 piece set that oem'ed for ~25k - and it was single speed - i still have discs from that time that are readable - today you can get blanks for pennies and a 16x recorder for less than the 1st blank disc - the point being caveat emptor

though i don't read dutch my 1st thought is of chicken little - much ado about nothing

end of rant

[aruanan]

To be honest this is quite stunning. The amount of valuable information lost is staggering, this will compound the problem. People assumed (as did I) that CD-ROMs were a viable backup alternative to tape.

I've had some sound CDs I've made develop weird characteristics. I've wondered what would happen to the unprotected surface due to oxidation. I've been able to read some Imation CDs I made of my electron microscope inages and thesis stuff about 2 years ago. But these CDs have been in a fairly stable, low humidity environment since they were created. At least my plastic coated audio CDs from the late 80's are still playing fine. I think to be safe(r), I'm going to buy a couple of big hard drives and copy everything back to them.