This has always been a danger. In as little as 5 years time, technology like CDs, DVDs and external drives could start becoming obsolete. I work for a major manufacturer, and basically, when sales slow down, they will become unprofitable for us, so we'll stop making them (just like we did with film). They will go the way of tape drives, optical disks, syquest drives, jazz drives, winchester disks and all the other storage systems we've had over the last 30 or so years. The technologies out in the cloud will also change. Will online storage suppliers transfer all your precious images over to new systems?...well, they might, but there will be a charge for the service. If the company goes out of business, then the servers will just be shut down. In my teaching days I always told my students "If it's really valuable-print it and file it". None of them ever did, of course. Interesting times ahead!
I remember when scanners and digital technology first came out my father would always say "Digital never degrades, like old negatives or prints! Our photos will be around for eternity!" but looking back... I've lost tons and tons of files since then, either to computers dying or losing CDs or just forgetting where things were stored and moving on. It almost feels worse than keeping hard copies sometimes. The file itself is theoretically good forever, but you really have to keep up with technology to keep the storage current.
So what it really means is that as in all previous generations, there will be a certain number of important records saved while the vast majority of stuff will disappear.
@danette I'm a big fan of the books, especially right after the event, so it's easy to organize and make. It's when I wait, now that's a problem! Working on Tagging all of my photos finally so I can sort, and print, and make books, calendars, cards, etc.
@danette@darylo I'm with you two. I've been book crazy over the last few years. It makes me edit the ones I want to keep and delete the others as well. I usually get a couple of copies done, and I'm sure they'll last as good if not better than any print.
Interesting article... I agree with @polarvrtx said. IMO we must migrate our information from our storages devices as technology advances to the new storage media. And I ask myself sometimes: What is the price for me of my memories stored on an aged storage device? It is better to have stored our memories in two devices better that bet for one. Also we can order a top 10 or 20 copies in good paper for each year of our best work. :)
Yes it's a problem! I don't have any kids, so keeping things for the next generation, sadly, isn't a concern. I do however print a yearly photo calendar with my favourite shots of the year, which I keep, so I guess if everything else went pear-shaped I'd have those.
If anyone lives in the States and has a smart phone, there's an app called GROOVEBOOK that you upload up to 100 pictures a month and they mail you a little book for $2.99. I've done it and they come out pretty darn good. They're even perforated so you can rip them out easily to share or to put in your own photobook. Just look it up at groovebook.com (I upload pictures I took from my camera to my phone so I can take advantage of this - you don't have to take the photo with your phone)
@not_left_handed they do have it for ipad! Seems to have changed to starting at 7.99 for a book.BUT that is still well worth it! I have spent a small fortune on shutterfly books..Also they have same day pick up at Walgreens! Cant wait to give it a try.Thank you.
Oh boy- after reading this I'm realizing I definitely need to get back into "scrap-booking" but I think I'll move into the digital album realm since so many more photos fit in them and they take up WAY less space!! Thanks for sharing the article. I save my digital info in several forms but none of them are as permanent as an album.
A while back I was at my dad's photo studio making prints from 100 year old glass plate negatives. The only technology you need to read the data from them is the light coming though your window. Like the laser disc they mention in the article so much data storage has come and gone. When was the last time you used an 8" floppy disc or a 5 1/4" or a 3 1/2" disc?
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