78 RPM, 33 RPM, 45 RPM, reel-to-reel tape recorder,
minicassette, microcassette, 8-Track, tape Cassette,
CD, DVD.

8 MM, 16 MM, 32 MM.

Punch cards, tape drives, microfilm, microfiche, big
floppy disks, little floppy disks, CD-Rom, DVD.

How many of these were the hot technology when you
first started working with them, and how many can you
now work with today?  What happened to all that data,
and could you readily convert it from one data storage
mechanism to another? (I'm not going to confess which
of these technologies I could work with, LOL.)

George is spot on, in my mind.  One is better off (if
it can be afforded) to go with a professional data
storage facility with the technical capability to
migrate data when technology further evolves. 
Present, in-house storage capabilities are going to be
limited by budgets, and one may not be able to
preserve what is available when the machines that play
them break and go to appliance heaven because no one
will service them any longer.  

Sound licensing agreements for data storage must
accompany any decision to outsource this function, but
I rather suspect most museums simply do not have the
technological werewithall to move forward otherwise,
and short-term solutions may be shortsighted.

One would be wise to follow in George's lead.

--- George Schwartz <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> Remko,
> 
> My response will not be helpful in resolving the
> question of storing CD/DVD disks, but may resolve
> the problem of archiving digital image files a
> different way. 
> 
> Having to store and keep a reference system for CDs
> and DVDs and worry about physically keeping track of
> them, discouraged me from going that route. Add to
> that the inevitable obsolescence of all media and
> readers and I just created myself another pressing
> project that will never go away!
> 
>  I use a service provider (www.lanechange.net) to
> back up my picture files off site about once a
> month. I keep six upload versions, or six months
> worth, "FIFO bucket-brigade" style with the newest
> upload replacing the oldest copy. I save all files
> with original dates and file names, so they remain
> chronologically sortable two ways.
> 
> The advantages of having hard-drive access is that
> you don't have to keep track of the disks and figure
> out which one has the image you want. You can browse
> without having to mount disks in your CD/DVD drive,
> exposing your archived disks to potential harm from
> handling. One never needs to worry about media
> obsolescence and can use programs like Adobe
> Photoshop Album and/or IrfanView to quickly browse
> your collection. In find this works out very well
> and never spend more than a few minutes looking for
> a file. 
> 
> Happy New Year to All
> 
> George 
> George Schwartz
> ConservArt - Master Frame Makers and Art
> Conservators
> http://www.ConservArt.com
> 8177 Glades Road #16 - Boca Raton, FL 33434 U.S.A.
> Tel:(561)482-7292 - Fax:(561)482-6787
> mailto:[log in to unmask]
>   
>  *** Tired of Spam? Checkout Email Defense! 
> 
> http://www.lanechange.net/html/email_defense.shtml
> 


Indigo Nights
[log in to unmask]

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