Re: Archiving - In general

[John Earl <johnearl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dave,

"Shaw, David" wrote:

> <snip> -----Original Message-----
>
> Even if a
> mainstream format did die off, I imagine that there would be a changeover
> period when most of the valuable info would be able to be migrated from the
> old format to whatever the popular one at the time might be.

I was with you 100% until right here.  When (not if) a mainstream format dies
off, it will be the exception that someone thinks to go back and read all the
archival information from the old format and store it onto the new.  Partly
because this is no official date of death (it just get's scarcer and scarcer),
and partially because even if someone in your organization spots the trend in x
years, how likely is it that someone would propose a Big$ project to recopy CD's
to something else? (and then how likely that it would get budgetted and
approved?.

Wow!  That sounds a little to fatalistic to even to me.  I don't mean to come 
off
sounding like Chicken Little, it's just that the whole issue reminds me of this
mindless obsession this industry has with "backups" (As if backing something up
was a valuable act all by itself).

The fact that something is backed up carries little weight with me.  But, if 
it's
a backup I can restore from....   Now that's something of real value!!!


jte


> Right now I
> think CD's are about the safest thing there is, and indeed it's the most
> popular choice for professional archivists, who ought to have a handle on
> this stuff.

Of course, your right again.  Even after having typed all that I recognize that,
all things considered, CD's represent the most _restorable_ mdeia we have today
:)

jte

--
John Earl                               johnearl@400security.com
The PowerTech Group                     206-575-0711
PowerLock Network Security              www.400security.com
--




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