In a secret bunker known as the Swiss Fort Knox deep in the Swiss Alps, European researchers recently deposited a “digital genome” that will provide the blueprint for future generations to read data stored using defunct technology. (Sputnik)
All I can say is: finally.
The preservation of our online culture is pretty important so long as we’re placing our faith in magnetic media. Fortunately, some wily Europeans have figured out that we will need to take some steps if we wish to retain that information for the short or medium term.
“Unlike hieroglyphics carved in stone or ink on parchment, digital data has a shelf life of years not millennia,” said Andreas Rauber, a professor at the University of Technology of Vienna, which is a partner in the project. (Sputnik)
This is why I continue to worry about the present. It’s entirely conceivable that there will be a conspicuous gap in our future understanding about the time we’re living in. Then we’ll be relying upon non-digital interpretations of our time. With a massive loss of digital creations, how do you think those analog codgers will sound?
You won't *always* be thanked for making Time's front cover. Don't take the digital now for granted.
My prediction: Smug and dismissive.
Let’s not let the Luddites rule the (possibly) post-digital discussion.
People will be puzzled at what they find when they open the time capsule, said Rauber. “In 25 years people will be astonished to see how little time must pass to render data carriers unusable because they break or because you don’t have the devices anymore,” he said. “The second shock will probably be what fraction of the objects we can’t use or access in 25 years and that’s hard to predict.” (Sputnik)
Every now and then, I try to pull my head above the surface to keep that in mind.
