[ARSCLIST] Lennick's "EFREM"...?--was Mass Digitization

["Steven C. Barr(x)" <stevenc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Karl Miller" <karl.miller@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> ***Of course, in considerations of "what ought to be preserved," I tend to be
on one extreme...meaning that were I in charge of archival decisions my position
would be "Save it all...SOMEDAY someone might need it!"
>
>   Fine, but where are you going to put it all?
>
As it happens, our rapidly-improving technology, along with the (so far)
reliability of "Moore's Law," seems to be answering that problem (except
for preserving the originals, if they aren't/weren't digital...!). When
I first encountered digital technology (an 80286-powered home computer)
about 18 years ago, it cost me almost $300 to improve the standard 40MB
hard disk to 65MB. Needless to say, I figured I'd NEVER fill that much
space...but once I started creating dBASE III+ files, I quickly found
myself running out of room! At that time, "floppies" were either 5.25"
1.2MB, or (just appearing) 3.5" 1.44MB discs which DIDN'T "flop"
very much!

Now...just short of one human "generation" later...we can buy 1TB(!)
hard drives, and as well store data on dual-layer DVD's (about 9GB).
Agreed, digital storage methods are hardly "carved in stone" (albeit
that may, in fact, be correct, as XXI-Jahrhundert pollution renders
old tombstones illegible...?!)...but, since a 1TB drive can store
1,099,511,627,776 ASCII characters (I don't know how that translates
into pages?) it'll hold a LOT of information!

In fact, assuming we use .wav files (about 10MB/3-minute song...?),
storing the (my estimate) 3 million phonorecords (6 million sides)
we would need an array of a little less than 58 of those 1TB drives
to archive EVERY 78rpm recording EVER made...

Steven C. Barr