Digital BW, The Print

At 1:22 AM -0700 8/5/07, Chris Wong wrote:

>Or archive with one of the many online archive services. Then, you
>don't have to deal with the slow and cumbersome CD/DVD media.


That's right!

You don't have to make "cumbersome" copies.

_If_ you believe your online "archive service" will remain in 
business indefinitely.


But:

You _do_ have to worry about whether your "online archive service" 
will be in business five years from now.

And where their servers' hard disks will wind up after the inevitable 
bankruptcy.


Not to worry:

They'll probably be shredded during the standard asset-transfer.


There was an article about this in last week's Wall Street Journal.

The author was lucky, but that doesn't mean that everyone stupid 
enough to trust their only copies of their photos (or albums) to an 
online service will be as lucky.


Back up to CD or DVD.

Make refreshed copies at least once a year.

When new technology comes out migrate, and make more yearly copies.

(Anyone got any important files on 8" floppies? Or maybe your choice 
was 5-1/4" DOS, or 3-1/2" MFM 400Ks, or even twiggies? No? Maybe your 
choice was Zip {can anyone read 800K any more?}, or cassette tape, or 
SCSI HD with a Centronics connector, or even an HD with 25-pin SCSI, 
or...)

NEVER trust the medium -->  Backups cannot be static.

Always refresh.

Always use the newest proven media.

Always keep multiple copies in different locations.

Never trust anyone else's hard disk.

Especially the hard disks of a company far far away that may go out 
of business and destroy your photos when they nuke their servers HDs 
with an industrial "media shredder."


-=-Dennis
















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