Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2015/05/15

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Subject: [Leica] (SPAM: ?) Re: (SPAM: ?) RE: (SPAM: ?) Re: So much for "film is forever"..
From: mark at rabinergroup.com (Mark Rabiner)
Date: Fri, 15 May 2015 15:50:29 -0400

Common sense is also a big deal with dealing with new technologies.


On 5/15/15 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




-- 
Mark William Rabiner
Photographer
http://gallery.leica-users.org/v/lugalrabs/




In reply to: Message from piers.hemy at gmail.com (Piers Hemy) ([Leica] (SPAM: ?) RE: (SPAM: ?) Re: So much for "film is forever"..)