100 year data storage

[Andrew1]

There was a thread within the last couple of weeks regarding the storage of prints and data. Here is a bit more on the subject.

http://www.sandisk.com/about-sandisk...p-to-100-years

[Marty]

Nice piece of niche marketing and I'm sure it's a decent product but I'm always suspicious of so-called 'lifetime guarantees'. In reality this is a fairly safe warranty to offer. Statistically, how many people are likely to go knocking on Sandisk's door in 90 odd years time, saying that the product has failed? Will Sandisk even be there as a company for the next 100 years to take warranty claims back to when the data is lost? In an era economically volatile enough to see iconic brands like Kodak disappear, I'd say that its fairly safe for Sandisk to offer high profile eye-catching warranties such as this.

[FrankMi]

Not to mention that technology changes could make it obsolete a whole lot sooner than that!

[Andrew1]

You guys are right on both counts. My position in the past article was that proper current technology secure backups will keep your important data accessible forever. That aside, Sandisk is one of the top companies in the memory storage business. Their claims may be convenient for them but if their processes for determining the life expectancy were flawed you can bet one of their competitors would have pointed it out right away.

[rpcrowe]

I may be selfish but, I don't really care if my data is available a hundred years from now. I am also pretty sure no one will care at that time...

[Marty]

I may be selfish but, I don't really care if my data is available a hundred years from now. I am also pretty sure no one will care at that time...

Don't know how it would be selfish but it might be short-sighted!

[Andrew1]

Richard, the post earlier that this came out of was in regards to our photos after we leave this life and some of us might have someone that would be interested. While nobody may be interested in yours there were some on the discussion who did think a friend or family member might be interested in seeing who they were or conditions at the time. Part of that discussion morphed into the stability of prints, paintings, data etc. and how some of that could be kept in a reliable, secure condition. I do like looking at the photos of the people and places from 50 years ago or longer taken by people I don't even know. If some were around from a relative of my own I'd like them even more. I'd even like my own negatives from 40 years ago back. Obviously that's not for all of us though. Varying opinions and applications is one of the things that makes photography enjoyable.

[rpcrowe]

Andrew...

I can certainly agree with this position if you shoot images of your family and friends. I had not considered that when I made my comment.

I have some hundred plus year old B&W images of my ancestors that I treasure.

These images are still in very decent shape despite their age...

I also have some color images from the 1970-1990 era that are fading out drastically. I am considering scanning these images to digital.

I am afraid that we will lose a generation or two of color prints and color slides. (Kodachrome retains its color but other slide films and most prints fade out.) unless we scan our family photos. I suspect that most people have neither the capability or the inclination to do the scanning...

Realistically, I probably will not do the scanning because of pure laziness and a dislike of scanning...

[rpcrowe]

Andrew...

I can certainly agree with this position if you shoot images of your family and friends. I had not considered that when I made my comment.

I have some hundred plus year old B&W images of my ancestors that I treasure.

These images are still in very decent shape despite their age...

I also have some color images from the 1970-1990 era that are fading out drastically. I am considering scanning these images to digital.

I am afraid that we will lose a generation or two of color prints and color slides. (Kodachrome retains its color but other slide films and most prints fade out.) unless we scan our family photos. I suspect that most people have neither the capability or the inclination to do the scanning...

Realistically, I probably will not do the scanning because of pure laziness and a dislike of scanning...

[mariaramil]

Andrew...

I am afraid that we will lose a generation or two of color prints and color slides.
Realistically, I probably will not do the scanning because of pure laziness and a dislike of scanning...

You could take the middle road, though, and scan only the very best and most liked pictures... less work for you and something worthy of showing off to future generations.

A bit like separating wheat from chaff? so often neglected with digital convenience...

[rpcrowe]

You could take the middle road, though, and scan only the very best and most liked pictures... less work for you and something worthy of showing off to future generations.

A bit like separating wheat from chaff? so often neglected with digital convenience...

Thanks! Sometimes when I hear people make such a logical recommendation, I kick myself for not having thought of it... I am sure, that I would have, done this though - from sheer laziness if no other reason! But I would probably have make the decision only after I got bogged down and bored with the process.

Actually, I have scanned quite a few images to share with family members.Like this 1930's era picture of my father aboard the Battleship, USS Texas...

[Colin Southern]

Has anyone else noted the irony of a box that's good for holding images for 100 years ... and yet only comes with a 5 year warranty? If it breaks in 20 years, do they replace your missing Data?

Personally, I'd rather have a "cloud" option, with a trusted provider.

[OldFrank]

I'm about half way through digitizing my 35mm slides going back to the 50's. I built a simple light box with a good opal glass defuser and shoot the slides with my Canon Rebel. I use a tethered shutter release from LR3. Exposures run about 1/2 sec, f11, at ISO 200. Most of the orange early Ektachrome can be color corrected. The interesting thing here is that it is the blues that are missing.

[mariaramil]

Glad you married modern technology with traditional pictures.
...And the 100 years life of B/W prints will be extended somewhat longer

[tbob]

Note the proprietary technology statement. Care to share your extensive and comprehensive 8 track or Betamax collections with friends, neighbors and relatives? What price your Sandisc image vault if or when when Sandisc itself abandons the technology or vanishes into the mists of time?

[Andrew1]

Proprietary technology applies to a lot of things and in this case probably manufacturing methods. Sandisk could fall off the face of the earth tomorrow and it doesn't mean anything as far as data recording and recovery goes. It's open architecture storage. It's just a memory chip. Depending on what I'm doing my cards already get loaded and emptied using MicroSoft, Nikon, Adobe, whatever. Read, Write, it doesn't matter. I don't think Sandisk even does any software except for their RescuePro. Nor can I think of any manufacturer of publicly available memory that calls for a proprietary software. They wouldn't be around long.

[PBelarge]

I may be selfish but, I don't really care if my data is available a hundred years from now. I am also pretty sure no one will care at that time...

Richard
I recently came into a family cache of photos. They go back to the early 1900s. I just sit and stare, wondering for hours when I look at them. The individuals in the images and the people who took them were dead long before I arrived.
...so don't discount the idea that your future relatives may not be interested.