Digital Storage To Survive a 25-Year Dirt Nap? 1044
AlHunt writes "I've been tasked with finding a way to bury digitally stored photographs in a small underground time capsule to be opened in 25 years. It looks like we'll be using a steel vessel, welded closed. I've thought of CDs, DVDs, a hard drive, or a thumb drive — but they all have drawbacks, not the least of which is outdated technology 25 years from now. Maybe I'll put a CD and a CD-ROM drive in the capsule and hope that the IDE interface is still around in 25 years? Ideas and feedback will be appreciated."
Re:Technology finds a way (Score:3, Funny)
It really doesn't matter. If you use any popular media the technology will still be around to use it. We live in a big world, and there always geeks who love to collect stuff like that.
Where can I find a Wang word processor?
Re:Print them (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Technology finds a way (Score:5, Funny)
What a flood of garbage (Score:5, Funny)
Alternative title: "How many bullshit redundant replies can you fit in a Slashdot thread?"
Re:Technology finds a way (Score:4, Funny)
They renamed it to get rid of that stupid joke. It's now called Genital word processor.
This calls for less technology! (Score:2, Funny)
Re:SATA, not IDE (Score:5, Funny)
Stone with the data chiseled in HEX.
Re:What a flood of garbage (Score:1, Funny)
Alternative title: ''How many bullshit redundant replies can you fit in a Slashdot thread?''
Re:Paper? (Score:1, Funny)
And if it has to be digital, use punched paper tape. Even 25 years from now, there will still be people with Teletype ASR-33s in their garages. I've got two...
Did you say redundant? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:SATA, not IDE (Score:5, Funny)
Just stick them on an Archival Gold CD, and in 25 years post this to Slashdot:
"I've been tasked with finding a way to read digitally stored photographs buried in a small underground time capsule 25 years ago. It looks like they used a steel vessel, welded closed..."
Fuck it. (Score:4, Funny)
Let the people of the future figure it out, if they're so smart. If you really want to encourage them, just label everything "porn" and leave it at that.
Re:Print them (Score:5, Funny)
Ummm... I'm sure that most of us who are 25 years old or older have pictures of themselves that are stored in bad conditions and still look decent.
Now if only we could say the same for ourselves.
Re:SATA, not IDE (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Technology finds a way (Score:5, Funny)
Assuming the bits don't decide to align on the north-south axis!!
MOO!
Re:Multiple choice (Score:5, Funny)
In fact, just bury a server with a power supply (or tie it right into the grid), and have it broadcast an open SSID. That way you don't even need to unbury the time capsule. If you're married to this "25 years" idea, you can always put on a cron job that won't turn on the wireless for 25 years. (Just make sure to fix any date rollover bugs first)
Of course, by then, you'll be old. And from my experience, old people love to force others to look at pictures of their family. So what you should do, when the time is right, is ssh into the machine, and configure it to take advantage of every single wireless exploit that exists at the time. If anyone walks by with a vulnerable wireless device, have your time capsule take it over, and force the device to do nothing but display your photos, all the while while your voice shouts "LOOK AT MY KIDS! SHE WAS SO CUTE THEN!" (with the occasional GET OFF MY LAWN)
Re:Multiple choice (Score:5, Funny)
Re:SATA, not IDE (Score:5, Funny)
Re:How about.... (Score:4, Funny)
I'm sure they'll still have AA batteries 25 years from now.
As long as the enemy has aircraft, we will have anti-aircraft batteries.
you have a WANG? (Score:5, Funny)
Only a handful of working systems in US including mine.
That's awesome! I have an old wang I would really like to get something from. Do you think I could take my wang out and put it in your system?
NSFW warning! (Score:3, Funny)
Awww man!!! I don't want to look at some guy's Wang!!!!
Re:media for millenia (Score:3, Funny)
NASA [nasa.gov] has already tackled the problem of long-term access of unsupported storage
Re:SATA, not IDE (Score:5, Funny)
Well, shit, if he can count on /. still being here in 25 years...
Just post the whole of the data, tar'd and base64 encoded, in this thread. You can probably even con a few people into modding you up to +5.
Store the URL.
Bonus points: several other posters follow suit, and post huge, base64 encoded tars of goatse.
Re:SATA, not IDE (Score:5, Funny)
Yes, but don't forget to label it "DO NOT EAT" in big letters so that some idiot doesn't find you and sue...
Re:SATA, not IDE (Score:1, Funny)
Re:SATA, not IDE (Score:5, Funny)
I'd guess the best thing to use would be a laser time domain reflectometer
A "Laser Time Domain Reflectometer"? You made that up! Admit it!
Re:SATA, not IDE (Score:4, Funny)
I suggest your write that "DO NOT EAT" in Chinese or French Canadian. So the people of the Future would understand...
Re:SATA, not IDE (Score:4, Funny)
Touche
Not the medium (Score:5, Funny)
I don't think it will be the medium that will be the problem, it will be the message. Imagine the shock of those viewing it to learn that our generation thought that there weren't WMD in Iraq or that Han Solo shot first. I'd limit the contents of this a few MP3's and photos of the Whitehouse, otherwise your time capsule will last all of 5 minutes after being unearthed before its whisked away to the Ministry of Subversive Materials.
Actually, better forget the MP3s, or you'll be tracked down by the RIAA and sued for 25years of lost song rental income.
Re:There's this stuff called "Silica Gel".... (Score:2, Funny)
It comes in little packets which generally have "do not eat" printed on them.
No matter what solution he goes with I hope he stuffs a couple of handfuls of them in there.
At least a handfull. Why? Well, you'll know after tasting them.