On Fri, Apr 22, 2005 at 14:21:33 -0700, Kam Leo <kam.leo@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > I believe part of the OP's question is in regards to the ability of > future systems to access archived data, not the format in which it is > stored. One of the biggest problems with future-proofing electronic > data is that mechanisms may not be available to access the > medium/media on which the data was stored. If an organization were to > store data on a DVD-ROM there is no guarantee that 5 years later the > organization will have retained the capability to retrieve the data. > For example, how many people have working drives for 9-track tape, > 8-inch floppy (hard or soft sectored), 5-1/4 inch floppy, or Syquest > cartridges. Compared to paper electronic inofrmation has a very short > life span. That is why I recommend that the OP check with what the > Library of Congress is doing. At least if they use an open source database they can archive the software as well and have a chance of porting it to new hardware later. No that it isn't just obsolesence that causes problems for electronic archives, it is also failure of the media. You can't just store data on a 9 track tape and expect to be able to read it 100 years later, even if you have a working 9 track tape drive.
