Date   : Wed, 29 Apr 2009 07:36:44 -0500
From   : jules.richardson99@... (Jules Richardson)
Subject: Domesday Preservation

Darren Grant wrote:
> The Domesday is an example of how quickly this data has become difficult to
> retrieve. Not through any short sightedness on the original creators, in
> fact the opposite, the creators used what appeared to be the technology of
> the future, selecting a technology that was supposed to be superior to video
> tape, not degrading over time. 

To be honest, I suspect it'll turn out to be superior to CDROM / DVD in terms 
of longevity - the problem is just that consumers abandoned it in favour of 
something more compact, and it's hard to get reliable players now.

 > Clearly something the National Archives have
> considered, but no solution has been found.

Stone's about the only thing that *really* lasts :-)

The only other option is to keep refreshing data onto the media of the day 
(actually, "media of the previous generation" is likely better as the pitfalls 
are more understood)

cheers

Jules