|
A discussion of longevity that focuses on what an individual does with his own files/formats misses the point entirely.
With printed materials, people stumble upon treasures when they go into grandma's attic after she's died. In 2070, however, they won't read Grandma's old Appleworks files containing her journals of growing up in the 80's and 90's.
It's important, for the future, that our files be saved in common, open standards that remain easily readable 100-150 years after creation. Our descendants will surely lament that so much was lost due to proprietary standards and rapidly changing hardware.
|