classic33
Leg End Member
So far there's been no problems when using them. The discs aren't exactly cheap either, at around £50 apiece.
When does old stuff become obsolete.
- Thread starter grldtnr
- Start date
Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.
Like in what format?
Tiff, txt, doc, avi, jpg, xml, mp3, zip have all been around for 30 years now and I cannot think of any new software/OS that cannot handle them. A 30 year old book, tape, picture in physical format however will need to have been stored carefully.
Computers are more and more moving to the 'cloud'. My 10 year old laptop can run AAA games because high speed Internet has now enabled cloud based solutions to become viable replacements for local physical hardware. Even CPU limitations are now disappearing.
However when I do look at jpgs, or even Ai files from the 1990s it's amazing to see how much resolution and general advancements in digital processing has occurred. The files however are all perfectly readable.
Dogtrousers
Kilometre nibbler
I have my wife's MSc thesis on floppy in WordPerfect somewhere (I typed most of it). Fortunately she also has bound printed copies and is unlikely to ever want to edit it or, to be honest, even look at it.
- Location
- London
this is why I love my chromebook - I don't even have to think about backing up.
(of course google knows everything about me/my chances of getting away with a major crime are zilch)
markemark
Über Member
Because other than doc, all the files you listed are non proprietary file types (images, sound, video etc). This issue of digital obsolescence will be with proprietary software backups, eg accounting files or design work. Backup of Sage accounting or CorelDraw files for example assume those softwares still exist or that the latest version can open legacy formats or the working software version you have works with the latest OS all your devices run on.
Last edited:
- Location
- Inside my skull
Like Kodak photo disc format, like lotus .123 format, like core draw formats, like D2 video format, like the digital data storage format. Plus thousands of file formats used in business where the source code and object code of the programs that read them, has been lost, as well as file layouts.
Last edited:
It would indeed be a very rare size, as the standard very floppy disk size was 5¼" not 5½"".. I threw mine out a few months ago, as I couldn't see any way of powering it on my former Windows Vista (yuk) box, now happily converted to Ubuntu and upgraded at minimal expense with more unfashionable format memory sticks and another 500Gb hard disk. Nobody now wants disks that aren't solid state and there are dozens of moving parts drives for less than a tenner on e-bay.
Dogtrousers
Kilometre nibbler
... or 8"
I came to computing at the tail end of the life of 8" floppy drives, but the TRS computers that I used to "sell" in my very short and ill fated job at Tandy were equipped with them.
- Location
- Inside my skull
I have a 100 year old book, not stored in any special manner, it sits on a book shelf. It’s in perfect condition.
- Location
- Inside my skull
There are many websites which are now broken due to the ever changing browsers and web server software. How many businesses run old browsers or operating systems, or web servers because they need to support such things? I certainly know of plenty. It’s not just websites either, many a program that has remote connection built in relies on old drivers or network standards no longer supported. These pieces of software run on creaking versions of operating systems often on creaking hardware with no chance of external support or fixes.
It’s funny when people say the cloud is the answer when websites were one of the original things running in the cloud when the WWW turned up. Lots of stuff running in cloud before the web turned up. The one thing you’ll find is that by very definition you have no control over the cloud as it’s someone else’s remote computers and the owners can do what suits them.
It’s funny when people say the cloud is the answer when websites were one of the original things running in the cloud when the WWW turned up. Lots of stuff running in cloud before the web turned up. The one thing you’ll find is that by very definition you have no control over the cloud as it’s someone else’s remote computers and the owners can do what suits them.
Last edited:
Dogtrousers
Kilometre nibbler
The early medieval period is called the "dark ages" at least in part because the limited amount of written history. It's possible that the times we are entering will in future be another "dark age" as we stop writing things down and printing them and rely on short lived electronic media.
- Location
- Inside my skull
Another thing that will become obsolete if you are on Gmail, is old versions of Microsoft Outlook. My Outlook 2013 will no longer work with my gmail accounts from later this year. The software is only 9 years old with last updates later than that.
Of course that might have the unintended consequence that I drop gmail.
Of course that might have the unintended consequence that I drop gmail.
Last edited:
- Location
- Inside my skull
I have an external Freecom data tank I used for backing up. Guess what, it had proprietary drivers. They don’t work on Windows 10. It’s a brick for all intents and purposes. Again something less than 10 years old becoming obsolete. I can only hope that when I remove the drives inside and stick them in an external usb cradle, that the file format used isn’t also proprietary. Luckily the source drive didn’t crash before I’d backed up my data elsewhere. I suspect all I can do with the drives inside is reformat them and lose the data they currently hold. But it shows how fragile, short lived, much of digital tech is.
IanSmithCSE
Guru
- Location
- Worcester, Worcestershire
Good morning,
Yes, you're right, I did recently want some stuff from such a backup.
Bye
Ian
Window 98 came with a backup utility which has a format that is almost unreadable nowadays if you just want pop a backup cd into a modern pc/laptop (if your device even has a drive) and possibly install a download from Microsoft (but there isn't an easy to find one, if one exists at all) to read it.
Yes, you're right, I did recently want some stuff from such a backup.
Bye
Ian
