Computing, Even in Linux, is All About Failure

"Or rather, it is all about preparing for inevitable failures, and they are legion. Hardware failures, power failures, and most of all, storage media failures. Ever notice how fragile digital storage media are? Are we ever going to get digital storage media that can match plain old paper, and other analog media, for reliability and longevity? Let's take the example of archiving photographs. Archiving Photos

"Way back in the primitive olden times, back before everyone owned multiple computers, and high-tech fancy digital cameras, managing your personal photos was easy. You took pictures with an inexpensive film camera, and paid a shop to process your film and make prints. Then you put your photos in albums or boxes, or somewheres, and there they sat, contented. Then sometime later, maybe years or decades later, you or your heirs would go through the albums and boxes and enjoy them. (And laugh at your clothing and hair styles.)

"Now we have these fancy digital cameras that hold hundreds of pictures. How do you get them out of the camera? That part still eludes a lot of people."

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