07-25-2014, 11:08 PM | #16 |
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I use large hard drives and mirror them nightly. I also replace harddrives every 3 or 4 years and use old hard drives as backups to store offsite.
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07-26-2014, 02:00 AM | #17 |
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I keep my Calibre library in OneDrive. You can usually trust big names to keep your data safe (not private, safe).
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07-26-2014, 02:20 AM | #18 |
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I sometimes go through my ebooks and burn them to DVD once I have enough to make it worth the trouble. I just backed up my purchases over the last few yrs from Smashwords that way. 1st I reconverted them (some were epubs) to the old mobi format then I made an iso file and burned it to DVD. I've got some 2,300 odd books from them (most from their sales) and before reconverting the mobi and epubs filled 2 GB of space. Afterward they took up about half that. Of course I can't add anything to the file as it was an iso file so I only used about 1/4th the DVD but I know the file will last at least as long as the DVD does. I could have something happen to the DVD tomorrow but then an external hard drive could go bad as well.
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07-26-2014, 03:26 AM | #19 |
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Words
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07-26-2014, 05:26 AM | #20 |
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The format you first obtained the book in will be the most authentic. A conversion isn't necessarily going to keep everything it should.
Paper is the only format with a proven lifetime of more than, let's say, 20 years. OK, maybe there are some plain text data files that have been around for 50 or 60 years, but I definitely have paper books older than that. |
07-26-2014, 05:36 AM | #21 |
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07-26-2014, 07:11 AM | #22 |
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If I was looking to future proof the words in the story, I would use plain text--I have plain text files left over from the windows 3.1 days that are still easily readable. If I was worried about keeping formatting, I would use either straight html or epub, but I would keep a plain text version as backup also, because at least to me, the story (text) is the most important thing. Any images are just extra--generally I create my own images in my head anyway.
HOWEVER... Since I know that I will be (at the very least) moving these files to new media every few years, I figure that I can make any needed conversions when the files are moved, so I store in whatever format I am reading in at the time. Therefore, most of my books are stored as .mobi, some as .epub (if they're on my Aura HD) some as text, some as word docs, some straight html. Shari |
07-26-2014, 09:06 AM | #23 | |
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Quote:
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07-26-2014, 07:07 PM | #24 |
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If you are scanning the files and OCRing them yourself, whatever format you have made your corrections in would probably be best.
I use epub because I use calibre and epub is the base for many of its functions like search and replace etc. And the calibre viewer also converts non epub files to epub for display. I am not touting epub superiority, because frankly most formats seem fine to me, but epub also seems as good as any other formats to me. Helen |
07-26-2014, 10:13 PM | #25 |
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I suggest also saving at least one copy of each book with a reliable cloud storage service that you expect will be around for the long haul, e.g., DropBox or Box.net, and redundantly backing up your hard drive (which as other posters have noted, should also contain backup copies of your ebooks) in similar fashion, with a backup and restore service such as Crashplan or one of its highly rated competitors.
Last edited by Froide; 07-26-2014 at 10:18 PM. |
07-26-2014, 11:30 PM | #26 |
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I wouldn't trust Dropbox, Box or Copy for reliability. Use one of the big names like Google Drive or OneDrive.
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07-26-2014, 11:52 PM | #27 |
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ePub is most likely to be readable post zombie apocalypse and civilization reboot.
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07-26-2014, 11:54 PM | #28 |
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07-27-2014, 03:30 AM | #29 |
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I have just seen many tech companies fall. A big company is more future proof. Ubuntu One closed this month, for example. Sugarsync also closed free plans and it was one o the biggest. While Dropbox is the most reliable one after the big names, I wouldn't trust small companies like Copy at all.
OneDrive gives 1TB to Office users, that is what I use. |
07-27-2014, 11:28 AM | #30 |
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Hi All-
Thanks Everyone for your input- I, too, have txt files that have been around a few decades. I've read the covers off of stacks of paperbacks, so my love of paper is not the question. I'm having to downsize due to storage/display limits, (not to mention that moving & lifting those crates of books every time we move is getting difficult at best), and, tho I love my books, and some I will NEVER trade in for a digital edition, I still must pare them down to just a box or two. I've already lost one collection to the whims of "technological advancements" where the "new" software as well as the computers will not access the older materials. I've kept copies of the software used to create the libraries, but the newer computers won't run it, we all know the story...... For most, if not all, I WILL have txt copies of, but some, such as cookbooks math & science workbooks, etc., NEED to have some formatting retained. I think the epub / html files are going to be the way to store them.... MOST of the time HTML will display on newer systems. I'll just have to remember to go thru my library every few years, and upgrade the archive files to whatever the current standards are.... ah well. For off-site storage, Yahoo, MSN/Hotmail and Google email services have been around the longest. I've got no compuctions about emailing myself zip files of the ones I can't bear to lose, and have no on-line source for. I've moved Data onto cd/dvd discs, only to go back to them and find that the disc itself had issues and the data was unretrievable....nothing's perfect. and While I'd LOVE to have Triple-redundant storage, right now, other than dvd copies, that is a bit beyond my pocket money limits. And Barty- If we get to post-acapolypse / Zombie times..... I'm gonna be TOOOOO busy saving-my-bacon to worry about computer file formats. My survival skills library WILL be / is paper (two sets). That's why the rest have to go digital. But THAT's another discussion. Kathy the MamaDragon |
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