Thanks For the ... Eight-Track, Uncle Alex 633
Uncle Alex writes "My niece just turned one year old and her parents have asked that, instead of the usual gifts, we each contribute something to a time capsule to be opened on her 17th birthday. Multiple members of my family want to contribute digital data — text, video, music files. They came to me (the closest thing to a geek our family has) wondering: what's the best way to save the data to ensure she'll actually be able to see it in 16 years? Software might be out of date, hardware may no longer be used... any suggestions?"
Re:Pretty easy (Score:5, Funny)
Slashdot account (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Perhaps... (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Slashdot account (Score:5, Funny)
They're not worth as much as you think...
Re:Slashdot account (Score:5, Funny)
Damn...
The media question is easy... (Score:3, Funny)
The files are a little tougher, but it's hard to imagine
Re:Perhaps... (Score:3, Funny)
Divorce? (Score:3, Funny)
"what's the best way to save the data to ensure she'll actually be able to see it in 16 years? "
You're missing the real point of his question. I think he's really asking how to make his Time Capsule zombie/meteor/nuclear bomb-proof.
And divorce-proof.
"Oh darling, when you were just twelve months old your mother and ... Damnit! If it wasn't for you I'd have never had to get married to that ... $%^#&#@%$".
Re:Slashdot account (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Print it! (Score:5, Funny)
Or get the entire package, transform it into a single file (by whatever means necessary) and print the binary code of that file in 2D barcode, in plastic sheets.
It will last well over five thousand years and no matter the difficulty of reading it, it will always be at least possible.
If you expect your niece to become a vampire or somehow surpass the expiration date of plastic, you can pay a little to get the 2D barcoded plastic sheets engraved in metal sheets or tablets.
Follow those steps and your niece's time capsule might become the rosetta stone for an intelligent being aeons away.
This Topic (Score:5, Funny)
"For my clients, I always suggest the use of stone and / or clay tablets for all mission critical data archive projects, regardless of size or scope. Bablyonian and Greek models of data retention from as far back as 4,500 years ago are (in many cases) superior to the models we commonly use today, with much of the physical media having survived electrical storms, tornadoes, floods, fires, and wars on every scale imaginable with a data corruption rate of zero and without the benefit of a climate controlled room, dedicated security staff, or even a closet for media storage. Imagine the elegance of a 84'3/4 STROM (Stone Tablet Read Only Memory) machine hooked up to your Slackware Archive server for performing restorations, and the ST Binary Writer you have networked to your backup systems and kept physically over by the quarry... nice! The TCO for slab is far less than that of tape archives, considering you can store the media in a pile of mud and hose it down when you are ready for a restoration."
M
Re:Pretty easy (Score:4, Funny)
Density (Score:4, Funny)
What is writing? Encoding of information. Nothing else.
What is paper? An insufficiently dense medium for encoding huge volumes of data such as audio or video, even with a 75-square-inch block of QR Code on each page. Nothing else.
Re:Slashdot account (Score:4, Funny)
They're not worth as much as you think...
Oi! I paid half a million dollar for mine on eBay!
Oil Barrel (Score:3, Funny)
Make sure you bury one barrel of oil with it.
It won't help you with the message, but should pay for 4 years at a moderately priced college.
Re:Pretty easy (Score:2, Funny)
I'd suggest storing a certain clip from Rick Astley on a DVD :)
http://xkcd.com/573/ [xkcd.com]
Re:Slashdot account (Score:2, Funny)