23rd March 2012, 10:25 AM
I'm a big fan of t'interwebs. However having spent a couple of years trying to track down detailed pottery reports originally available on microfiche in excavation reports (sole evidence of previous existence now a smear of dried glue on the back covers), I'm also aware of the need to future-proof. CDs are old technology and I don't doubt USB sticks will be going the same way - we already have USB and USB 2.0. PDF and JPEG formats have lasted an unusually long time for the IT industry, which likes a nice regular turnaround on technology to keep the coffers full. Won't be long before someone thinks of a "better" idea and the customer will have very little say in how fast file formats (and the means to access them) become obsolete, unsupported and sidelined.
As for digital tools being free, well yes many are. But the means by which you access them generally cost money.
No medium is truly future-proof. Paper burns, moulds and rots. ALL kinds of ink fade eventually (even the "permanent" stuff). Pencil can be rubbed away. Don't be fooled into thinking the good ol' days were much safer.
As for digital tools being free, well yes many are. But the means by which you access them generally cost money.
No medium is truly future-proof. Paper burns, moulds and rots. ALL kinds of ink fade eventually (even the "permanent" stuff). Pencil can be rubbed away. Don't be fooled into thinking the good ol' days were much safer.