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Interesting enough, the next generation does not care very much about what I could record for them. With the ignorance and arrogance that have been the privilege of every generation, they know everything better and doom themselves to learning many lessons the hard way. If at all.
And if you just worry about the life cycle of physical storage media: The estimates usually are very conservative. I have a box of cassette tapes with the software of my first computer. The oldest programs are from 1978 and some of the tapes are even older and of the cheapest quality I could find. Still, the old computer can load the programs and I also have written a program to reconstruct the binaries from digital recordings of the tapes. With that little program even unloadable programs could be recovered.
What I did not know when I wrote the program, was that it had found its way into science: Paper on reviving old hardware.[^]. As far as I know, this was in preparation of the New horizons mission, which is going to reach Pluto next year. A lot of now more than a decade old hardware will have to be put out of storage and reactivated by then.
The language is JavaScript. that of Mordor, which I will not utter here
This is Javascript. If you put big wheels and a racing stripe on a golf cart, it's still a f***ing golf cart.
"I don't know, extraterrestrial?"
"You mean like from space?"
"No, from Canada."
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virang_21 wrote: but the question is how long information stored in such form will last for next civilization
Using the least advanced technology. Backward compatability.
Paper and digital files. The method used to save the digit files will change (floppy disk, cd, dvd, flash drive, hd, solid state drive, etc...) but they are still digital files.
and paper, as long as the paper is archival quality and stored in a safe place, it should be fine.
redundancy. having important knowledge, stored in more than one place, should ensure its safety for future generations.
to your question, "How long?". Well, if done correctly, then indefinitely.
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They weren't all that good at it back then either. Think of how much we actually still have from them (ignore clay tablets used for inventory management, that's not knowledge), and then think about how much there used to be in the library of Alexandria. And it didn't even have everything!
We could engrave a bunch of knowledge on steel plates encased in fused quartz or something like that, and dump them in deserts around the world. But a society obsessed with hedonism at the small scale and the economy at the large scale is incapable of taking actions that it doesn't benefit from.
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And remember that although Egyptian writing survived for thousands of years, we couldn't read it until 1822: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosetta_Stone[^]
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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But a society obsessed with hedonism at the small scale and the economy at the large scale is incapable of taking actions that it doesn't benefit from.
Wonderfully put Harold.
(Still, if we last long enough, I am sure that there will be digital archaeologists around that know nothing about fingers.)
"Rock journalism is people who can't write interviewing people who can't talk for people who can't read." Frank Zappa 1980
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harold aptroot wrote: But a society obsessed with hedonism at the small scale and the economy at the large scale is incapable of taking actions that it doesn't benefit from. Is there any kind of probable human society capable of taking any action that it does not perceive it will benefit from?
If you think 'goto' is evil, try writing an Assembly program without JMP.
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Sure, I mean, it's not immediately self-evidently impossible, right?
Of course it can't spend too much resources on getting side-tracked..
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For you, sir, a short story written many years ago:
MS FND IN A LBRY
Enjoy!
(This message is programming you in ways you cannot detect. Be afraid.)
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If every random schmuck in those ancient civilizations was literate and had access to clay, writing implements, etc, we'd think humanity had always put weird clothes on their cats, traded witty insults ("Hittites suck!", "Another idiot from the Eluma Elish Belt!"). So maybe it's better when a society's trivia does kinda crumble away...
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Thanks man. I plan to keep rocking on!I mean, someone's gotta stay alive to see what article you cook up next.
Jeremy Falcon
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Jeremy Falcon wrote: someone's gotta stay alive to see what article you cook up next.
Yeah, all these newbies who don't us from a turnip! (or whatever the expression is)
Marc
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Happy Birthday Jeremy. I had one yesterday, and am quite grateful it's a week before I get paid. I feel quite sparkly this morning compared to if I'd had money yesterday.
No object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly. - Oscar Wilde
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Thanks man and happy birthday to you too then! You gotta admit, hokey or not, being Sagittarius is awesome.
Jeremy Falcon
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Happy birthday![^]
I have no idea how old you are, but you started software development 20 years ago (yes, it's been 20 years already, where did that time go?)
But don't feel bad, just drink till you've lost another 20 years!
My blog[ ^]
public class SanderRossel : Lazy<Person>
{
public void DoWork()
{
throw new NotSupportedException();
}
}
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Ha. Thanks man.
And I just turned 36. Started dev when I was 14, so yeah I'm getting up there. I unfortunately remember things like VBDOS that never should be remember.
Jeremy Falcon
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Jeremy Falcon wrote: I just turned 36 That ain't too bad. I guess this will suffice[^]
Jeremy Falcon wrote: Started dev when I was 14 I started about 10 years later... (not counting that time I wrote some code in VB4 when I was about 10 years old).
Jeremy Falcon wrote: I unfortunately remember things like VBDOS I can't even remember DOS
My blog[ ^]
public class SanderRossel : Lazy<Person>
{
public void DoWork()
{
throw new NotSupportedException();
}
}
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Thanks Pete! I should be wiser now, but I don't think it took.
Jeremy Falcon
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A [SA] man faces deportation from the UK after a judge said his British wife's salary was not high enough. More here.[^]
No object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly. - Oscar Wilde
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It's our revenge for your finding Shrien Dewani not guilty and sending him back here...
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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I should have seen that coming.
No object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly. - Oscar Wilde
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I hear that Thomas Cook are organising a new package deal to SA next summer.
You get the flights, hotel, hitman, and non-guilty verdict - all for less than the price of a divorce.
The site has personal recommendations from a "Mr. Dewani" and a "Mr. Pistorius" already!
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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