Digital memories: we can forget them for you wholesale!

Submitted by Daniel on February 21, 2005 - 11:47pm
Topic: 
Information Retrieval

Pete writes "This essay http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/21/forgetting _digital_memories/
from The Register asks whether we ought to give pause before rushing headlong into the "digital revolution."

"Hardly any of the potential consequences of our move to digital products and services are given a moment's thought. Instead, we're encouraged to greet each new launch with enthusiasm, by a popular press which itself is as about as critical of digital products as a child is of Father Christmas. As long as the gifts keep coming, why should one question either the mechanics or the economics behind them?

But one of the more awkward questions is what happens to "Our Stuff", once we trust it to the digital void.""

Comments

Submitted by pamplemousse on February 23, 2005 - 5:20am.

This is so annoying, and typical of many journalistic pieces that weaken the argument on a serious topic (digital preservation) by really superficial and idiotic examples -- in this case, that the world will somehow end because someone loses their family photo album. I mean, come on -- proposing jail terms for digital service providers who lose just one photograph? That's ridiculous. (Not to mention archives for our SMS/text messages -- hardly important works of literature.

There are a lot of important issues out there, and digital preservation is one of them, but this piece is mere puffery.

Submitted by Anonymous Patron (not verified) on February 23, 2005 - 8:17pm.

What's to prevent them from keeping them, and providing them to anyone who wants them? Should your pictures be available to the highest bidder by the current owner of the data that was sold in a bancruptcy fire-sale of the service that you hosted on 10 years ago? You did read that service agreement, didn't you?

There's definitely issues with a number of things, I've been contemplating buying job applications from the digital employeers (wal-mart, home depot, etc). Lots of gold-mine information there, and it's no longer on a physical piece of paper which has to get processed (and in the old days, it got filed to the circular file cabinet within 30 days). Instead it's saved (with good data management techniques) indefinitely.... And of course, hungry people will waive all rights to their data - they want jobs...

-- Ender, Duke_of_URL