Brad Jensen wrote:
> I have an entirely contrary point of view to the previous author.
>
> He said in part:
>
>> For now, there is only one sure answer for critical
>> knowledge, and it's almost antithetical to how we work:
>> maintain this information in analog form. While we sort all
>> this out, at least we'll know that knowledge workers of the
>> future will not have to depend on digital system upgrades (or
>> retrogrades) and transitions that took place in the
>> intervening years since the information was created, as the
>> ability to view and retrieve such information will always
> available.

Brad then goes on with a plan to make many redundant copies with some
crypto to ensure that the Bits are as they were at the time the Digital
documnet was "frozen In time"

I am afraid that I have one foot in each camp!

To store a documet as a analog format - implies, at least for "visual"
documents (like microfilm) that someone who stumbles across the
information, armed with no more than a Magnifier and sense of curiousity
can it least identify that they do indeed have a documnet in their
hands. Further, thay can use whatever image technology that exists at
that time and make themselves a copy of the document. 10 years ago it
would have proably been a reader printer, or even a darkroom enlarger.
today it might be a digital camera with a stack of Closeup lenes, how
knows what it would be tomorow.

The analog format would reveal the gist of the data to anyone without
them having to know the format or how the document was created. (Word
3.2 for DOS or An Underwood Upright)

The mata data would depend on how the copy was documented, and No one
could not really prove that it was indeed made at a iven time, or that
it is really authentic.

Coverting the information to Digital, or retaining the digital source
and replecating it over a diverse network DOes perhaps offer the ability
to use Crypto to be able to declare that this version WAS saved by John
H. Smith on PC 3456786 on October 27, 2006 at 23:10 EDT

Depending on the format that may be all you get. If the file was saved
in a documneted format like Open Doc, and that format has been
maintained, and If the user has a curent version of the filters and IF
they can tell from the metadata that the documnet may be of interest.
Then the digital documnet may unfold with perfect clarity. If any of
the lnks are broken, it is just so many almost random bits.

Note that a Microfilm copy even if scratched and bent, suffering for
Vinigar Syndrome, Re-dox and too much thiosulphate, can probaly still be
read. at leat enough to see if you want to treat those problems. A
damaged - or unsuported format digital document may not give that freedom.

As far as Video, "Film", audio and other data, again they can only be
used if the format is known. and if the playback equipment is available
or can be faked. (a Film Scaner can beused to trafer a 16mm Movie film
if the origianl projector is no longer available. A video tape is more
likly to have its hardware to be not available, and so if it is in a
documneted digital format that may be the way thay the future user will
recover it.

But if the Mation Picture exists as say a 35mm Negative in good shape,
the future user could scan it into the then current system, at what will
probaly be better colour depth and resoution than a scan made today for
HDTV, let alone NTSC.



--
Charles MacDonald Stittsville Ontario
cmacd@... Just Beyond the Fringe
http://www.TelecomOttawa.net/~cmacd/
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