Paper or Digital?

[MagicManICT]

Let's not forget who even has a floppy drive on their computer OR the shelf life of magnetic media due to the natural magnetic field of the Earth will always degrade any magnetic material over time to a neutral state.

Other than that, people still have Victrolas for playing wax cylinders, 78 rpm phonographs, 8 track players, 8 and 16mm projectors... If there's a recorded media, someone has a way to play it back. Whether or not you'll keep that more and more expensive form of playback around is a personal question.

At least paper does not break if you drop it from any heigth, would love to see any eletronic device survive a 100ft drop.

Well, since you asked... in-flight cockpit recorders do survive extremely hard impacts and explosions, as well as very intense fires.

Sorry for the derail, guys. Shouldn't have gotten it started. to try and get us back on track, congrats on the forthcoming son or daughter. I hope everything goes well. There's not greater joy (or headache) than raising a child.

[trungdle]

Let's not forget who even has a floppy drive on their computer

I do.

After all who still has a VHS player?

I do.
Paper is good. Some books from the beginning of time is still read today because of paper. it's better than you think.
On the other hand, Electronic things work super efficient at storing data. My only complain is that they tend to fall off too quickly and nobody actually retain them. While paper lasted thousands of year, my Pentium II is nowhere usable after only 15-20 years of constant abusing.

[Argentis]

Let's not forget who even has a floppy drive on their computer

I do.

After all who still has a VHS player?

I do.
Paper is good. Some books from the beginning of time is still read today because of paper. it's better than you think.
On the other hand, Electronic things work super efficient at storing data. My only complain is that they tend to fall off too quickly and nobody actually retain them. While paper lasted thousands of year, my Pentium II is nowhere usable after only 15-20 years of constant abusing.

Yeah I actually still have a VHS player.... But I probably won't in 50 years. My point is that even though VHS have been obsolete for only a few decades (the 90s are starting to get old) they almost disappeared from circulation while paper has an intemporal value. Personally I'm in favor of the "upload to the Internet and pray that it won't disappear any time soon" solution.

[TotalyMeow]

Since this derail isn't ending, it's gets it's own topic. And as the initiator of the derail, Kandarim may rename it if he likes.

I vote paper and its relatives as the more durable media. We haven't even HAD digital media for 100 years yet. How many readable 5.25 in floppies are out there? Those are less than 50 years old. Books though, it's not uncommon to find books that old even in a small private library. I have several 50+ old books myself and all perfectly readable.

Parchment is even more durable and can go hundreds of years with little to no degradation in a cool, dry environment. (And you wouldn't want to store digital media in any other environment either.)

Finally, nothing beats a good inscribed clay or stone block or sheet of metal. It's the material of choice for sending aliens messages on space probes, sending radioactive waste warnings to people 50,000 years in the future, and learning about civilizations gone for thousands of years.

[trungdle]

Books are kinda depreciated nowaday since every one is literated. ****** books are everywhere. Soon when the mass move on to internet we will have our little book paradise again. Mark my words.

[Dallane]

How many readable 5.25 in floppies are out there?

That feel when the government uses the larg floppy disk for the nuke missles

[Darwoth]

i bet half of the retards on this forum would try to eat these.

[Thor]

Hmm I operate a modern laser cutter, should I start cutting text to sheets of metal then
I would obviously win by preserving my information until this planet collapses.

[DarkNacht]

You can record something digitally on paper so the fact paper can be stored for long periods of time is not an augment against digital storage.

Finally, nothing beats a good inscribed clay or stone block or sheet of metal. It's the material of choice for sending aliens messages on space probes, sending radioactive waste warnings to people 50,000 years in the future, and learning about civilizations gone for thousands of years.

Unless you are in space, Clay and stone wear down and are too easily damaged and metal corrodes, what you really want on Earth is a high durability ceramic. Also it is far more efficient to record something on metal or ceramic digitally than to use writing and in the end if you want to record large amounts of data there really is nothing that competes with digital.

[trungdle]

Sure, and that's what we're saying: highly efficient with much less longevity.