Google VP: Print your photos!

Oldenboard

Why the ‘Father of the Internet’ Thinks You Should Print Out Your Photos.
Time Magazine and other sources: http://photobooklet.blog.co.uk/2015/03/17/how-to-save-the-internet-s-info-print-it-out-20191180/

Do you agree with Vint Cerf that future generations won't be able to read most digital photographs?

Michael D Not Higgins

Oldenboard wrote: »

Do you agree with Vint Cerf that future generations won't be able to read most digital photographs?

No. The issue appears to be the method of storage if propriety formats are not used. Ensuring migration of data through generations using standard, non-propriety formats safeguards against this.

ScumLord

Well think of it this way. If you had 500 printed photos and you had a house fire, some of the photos might survive. If you had them on your hard drive and the hard drive gets damaged all those photos are gone, nothing survives.

There could be a gap in the historical record for future generations. If civilization stopped to morrow and archaeologists were looking back a thousand years from now this period would look weird compared to the past because there would be so little physical information.

The other problem would be you could print out all your stuff but the paper we use is of such low quality that it would rot in the same life span as the technology you back up from.


Technology is fairly fragile. The cloud helps reduce that problem but it doesn't solve it. We're not future minded like the egyptians would have been. We make nothing that can last these days.

CabanSail

There is no certainty. All records are fragile. Use as much redundancy as possible.

Most of my Negatives from years ago have gone due to storage problems. The digital equivalents are holding up better.

We also see things from the perspective of being in the present. When we look back in history we see what has survived but you do not see what hasn't lasted. There are things which were common place short time ago and they have gone. Milk Bottles are one of them, they used to be in daily use but I have not seen one in years. I am sure if you were able to travel back in time to see life during some of the major empires there would be common things which in everyday use that have not survived. That is the way of life.

An example of perspective is the Music Industry. Musician now have to make their money from live performances. In the past the live concerts would often be promoting the latest album, so the prices were lower (but not that much) as the profits came from the recording sales. Some carry on like this is a new thing. In fact it's not new at all, the aberration was the late 20th century when mass recording became possible and one performance could be heard by millions. Musical notation was the beginning but for centuries before that musicians would only get paid for their live performance.

Back on topic ..... Yes, Printing is a good idea. On archival media and well stored is ideal. Good digital management also has many advantages. Nothing is foolproof. Whenever something foolproof is made some else invents a better fool.