Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2015/05/15
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]I have lots of CDs with photos saved as STN and have never found a way to open them. Luckily, I have the same files in other formats. Tina On Fri, May 15, 2015 at 12:38 PM, Piers Hemy <piers.hemy at gmail.com> wrote: > You want examples? > > I'll give you two from direct personal experience - they may not be what > you thought you were asking for, but they make the same point. > > 1) All files I saved in .STN format. Did you say "What the dickens is > that?" -it's the format used by Genuine Fractals, which I am sure you > remember, now subsumed into OnOne Perfect Resize, currently at v9. To quote > OnOne "The only way to open STiNG files is via Adobe Photoshop if Perfect > Resize 7.5 or earlier is installed". Doesn't matter if the bits are > corrupted or not, the format has been abandoned. > > 2) All files I backed up to a so-called online backup system nearly 20 > years ago. They went through two acquisitions, and the new proprietors felt > there was better business to be done elsewhere. Service was simply > terminated, as if they had gone out of business (they may yet do so, of > course). Doesn't matter if the bits are corrupted or not, again. > > And a third of which I have no personal experience, simply technical press > articles this week. Look out if you use SSDs for backup, as 1s magically > can become 0s, as Spencer rightly says. You have to keep 'em cool. > > Piers > > -----Original Message----- > From: LUG [mailto:lug-bounces+piers.hemy=gmail.com at leica-users.org] On > Behalf Of Mark Rabiner > Sent: 15 May 2015 06:22 > To: Leica Users Group > Subject: [Leica] (SPAM: ?) Re: So much for "film is forever".. > Importance: Low > > I think the fact that while most of us have switched to digital our body of > work is now (roughly since the year 2000) is in danger is very on topic as > I > think its big news where can I sell my digital bodies and re buy back my > film ones?!? > > I'd like to hear a roll count on the LUG of people whose old digital files > have given up on them or have gotten all wonky. Other side known as digital > fading. > I'm being told by you that my digital files are deteriorating I JUST CAN > SEE > IT.!! > > I don't think when you back up digitally to do it redundantly is the end of > the world. I used to back up my whole hard disk with floppies. A stack of > them many inches thick. And I had several sets of them in case one of them > was bad and for other reasons. It was an automatic process but doable. > Now its just copying one hard disk to another sometimes a slightly bigger > one. Can be done in ones sleep. > > > On 5/14/15 7:16 PM, "Spencer Cheng" <spencer at aotera.org> wrote: > > > We are going way off topic here so this is my last comment. I did not say > to > > store your digital media using microfiche. > > > > I am aware of a group of digital archivist (including someone from NIST) > > working on how to preserve digital media in a standardized fashion. > > > > Best practice digital media preservation currently require regular active > > copying and indefinite transcription of digital media to protect again > > deterioration of storage media and format obsolescence. > > > > If you are not doing both, your stored media is likely to stay ephemeral > > despite of what you believe. > > > > Mark, do as you wish but 1?s magically becomes 0?s in digital media > whether > > you believe it?s going to happen or not. Good Luck. > > > > Regards, > > Spencer > > > >> On May 14, 2015, at 16:17, Mark Rabiner <mark at rabinergroup.com> > >> wrote: > >> > >> From the Library of Congress (USA) > >> "Does the Library of Congress recommend microfilming or digitization for > >> reformatting institutional collections?.... > >> > >> " That said, the end of microfilming is near, despite it's relatively > low > >> cost and the several hundred year projected lifetime of preservation > film. > >> The National Endowment for the Humanities no longer funds grants for > >> microfilming and microfilm readers are increasingly difficult to > maintain > >> and service." > >> > >> http://www.loc.gov/preservation/about/faqs/reformatting.html#prescopy > >> > >> Recognizing Digitization as a Preservation Reformatting Method > >> http://chnm.gmu.edu/digitalhistory/links/pdf/preserving/8_34a.pdf > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> On 5/14/15 1:17 AM, "Spencer Cheng" <spencer at aotera.org> wrote: > >> > >>> Canadian Archive uses microfiche which are stable for 100+ years (or > >>> acid-free > >>> paper for documents). The Canadian census was stored that way. ?was? > because > >>> I > >>> am not sure we have a real census any more. > >> > >> Digital storage is very > >>> ephemeral. I doubt if most digital storage will last more than 10 > years. > >>> Those > >>> 1?s randomly change to 0?s far too frequently. I don?t think > archivist like > >>> digital media very much. > >>> > >> > >> Regards, > >> Spencer > >> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> Leica > >>> Users Group. > >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more > >>> information > >> > >> > >> > >> > >> -- > >> Mark William Rabiner > >> Photographer > >> http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/ > >> > >> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> Leica Users Group. > >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > > Leica Users Group. > > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > > > -- > Mark William Rabiner > Photographer > http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/ > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information