Beyond Print Media

[Hans Tucker]

Do you ever think print media will become an obsolete method for recording information. When you look at other methods of storage Magnetic Reel to Reel, Floppy Disc, laser Disc, Cassette tape (Beta, VHS) etc ... they have their time and then they are made obsolete because in part the technology becomes obsolete so the data is at risk of being lost. Yet print has remained for hundreds of years not requiring technology other than the ability to interpret.

I read a story, whether it was true or not, that Engineers working on the Artemis project went looking through old Apollo era data but some was stored on media that could not longer be readily accessed because the data play back technology had long been made obsolete.

[xelasnave]

An interesting question...it should not but it would be possible .. remember the prediction that soon we would live in a paperless society...I always have a laugh when I see those huge trucks carrying nothing but A4.
We should have critical stuff written on brass plates or similar.
I think you are correct about much data re space is not available cause there are no machines to read the tapes.
Alex

[Hans Tucker]

I suppose when a Dinosaur like myself dies out then print media will be a thing of the past ... I like print media be it books, magazine or printing a document off to review.

I guess Print Media might be relegated to being museum exhibits

https://youtu.be/CQbkhYg2DzM

[leon]

No it wont Hans, it is all well and good to have all your photos and stuff on hard drives and any other form of storage, which is easily destroyed or lost.

One always needs a hard copy of the things they like to keep.

Look at negatives for instance, they will and do last as long as one likes and one can still today buy the products to print them on paper.

A bit like the old Vinals LP's that we all thought died and went to heaven, look how popular they are again.

Having photo's for instance stuck deep in the bowels of a computer is not what i do.

Agreed i do have some in those locations however anything I like or want is printed.

Leon:thumbsup:

[Pepper]

Bit like your computer Leon. It will be around for ever…..
And ever….. haha.
I still like the idea of Sky and Telescope being on paper.

[leon]

Bit like your computer Leon. It will be around for ever…..
And ever….. haha.

I left that wide open, didn't I. lol

Leon

[Bart]

I've tried hard to use a Kindle for reading etc., although nothing seems to come close to an actual book for me. Its hard to describe, it some how makes me feel closer to the story and the writer??

[Peter Ward]

Books don't need batteries, can last for hundreds of years, don't require an operating system, are immediately accessible, you can trade them, loan them or sell them as they are a tangible asset.

Those who snapped up the last leather bound, gilt edge versions of Encyclopaedia Britannica for a song (as after all you could get it on CD-ROM)
are certainly laughing now....No longer in print they command eye-watering prices.

The latest tech has the longevity of the spoken word which in the case of Prime Ministers and EV's for example, is also very unreliable.

The world needs more books IMHO.

[Hans Tucker]

Ok .. at the risk of coming across as a sicko, or more so than I usually am .. going into a book store stimulates the senses touch/feel, visual and the olfactory sense. I find the smell of books rather pleasant and relaxing....Bibliosmia :P The word of the day.

[pgc hunter]

Only real books for me. As far as I'm concerned, Kindle doesn't exist. I don't want to be held hostage by battery life, having to charge all the time, performance issues, and possible failure of the device. My Samsung phone, for example, died a couple of months ago after less than 2 years of use. A screen cannot compare to the experience of a real book. And yes, that "new book smell" is one of life's little joys!

[doug mc]

Yes... the disappearance of hardware to read files ect. Is called the deletion of history. A real problem.

[raymo]

Kindles just add to the plastic pollution problem as far as I am concerned.
I have many shelves of books, some of which I have had for many decades.
I frequently reread books from decades ago.
I don't like mobile phones either, and don't have one.[did you notice the apostrophes?: }
I remember some time ago NASA had to call on the services of long
retired technicians to access old information.
I hate the world of texting, trolling, PC gone mad, influencers, scammers, pollution, escalating violence on the streets, conspiracy theorists,
white supremacists, etc: etc: etc:, and will not be particularly sorry to leave it in the not too distant future. I shudder to think about what it will be like for the youngsters.
Sorry for the minor hijack.
raymo

[Ausrock]

A quote from an archivist at the Powerhouse Museum........."digital information lasts forever, or five years......whichever comes first"

This is something I have experienced......being a muso for many decades, a bit over 20yrs ago I ultimately set up a recording facility (downstairs} to record my son's band, a fairly expensive 16 track h/disc recorder, etc,. etc. All was good for a couple of years, then things started to disappear off the h/drive, we were fortunate to source a 1" 16 track R2R tape player from a local radio station and I transferred all the digitally stored music to tape.

I could waffle on about digitally stored or printed photos versus "traditionally" printed but I wont.........I still have all my traditional processing gear and I know which one will last longest.

Cheers.

[RobK]

I have been fortunate to travel, with my wife and friends, by bicycle on long distance tours. Some of our travels covered 4-5000km.

Being keen photographers we take a lot of photos.
Digital cameras have been a real bonus but the question remains what do you do with all these photos?
If they get stored on a HDD then they likely to never viewed again or very rarely. Not only that but there is always the chance of crash and you lose the lot.

My solution was to make up a photobook.
I now have several books printed on good quality art paper.
Maybe the grandkids will take an interest in what we did and achieved.

Would like to do something like that with astro photos but with this weather:sadeyes: but then that's another topic

Rob

[Hans Tucker]

Meh .. too Mormonish.

[Sunfish]

I will always prefer a book. They just look and feel right.

Never needs charging. The author gets a better cut.

You can get them wet and sandy.

I have the kindle etc for travel but the book rules.

[Culford]

Books are not going anywhere; apparently book sales are up this year.

Also, I am sure that many of us are getting "tech fatigue." Sick of the song and dance dealing with tech all the time! A paper book is a nice change from the tortured photons emmited from a device.

[Hemi]

What a great discussion…

I love all of the neurosensory stimulation that goes with reading a book in its physical form, but the e version is so much more practical. And apart from the emotional stuff probably has more advantages and is simply better, and continues to get better.

For work, I can now carry around tomes of reference books. It’s been a game changer. And books that come with videos!

I am a voracious reader on holidays, I’d rather take more Astro and photography gear in my precious luggage space then with physical books. I can have all the books I want on my iPad, and if I forget one, then I just download it again.

Ok and maybe not one for the unenlightened anti “PC” lot, but printed books are far worse environmentally.:)

Just saying…

[Hans Tucker]

That is debateable. e-goods (PC's, Kindles etc) have a finite life .. books virtually infinite depending on how they are looked after and stored. On the finished end side books are virtually 100% recyclable .. e-goods ?? 80% at best.

[Hemi]

Certainly debatable Hans, but irrefutable! :)

You can store the entirety of what’s ever been printed several times over on relatively few devices. That’s a lot of trees. The environmental cost of printing those books is huge comparatively.

[pmrid]

Perhaps there is a distinction to be drawn between printed matter intended for entertainment (novels, magazines, newspapers etc) and matter intended for academic, scientific, historical purposes.

I found the ability to quickly search and retrieve information enormously helpful in my former career as barrister and later as academic. I once thought having a wall full of books enormously satisfying but now they are merely ornamental. Almost all the data I need can be found quickly and easily on a laptop weighing a kilo or two.

On the other hand, sitting under a tree with a good book is one of life’s great pleasures.

[Hans Tucker]

Which brings us back to another point raised in the discussion. How to handle 'Obsolescence' in technology. Anyone watch Big Bang Theory ...

https://youtu.be/SczxwCSt1F8

RAAF moved to putting all their AAP's onto Tough Books .. pain in the rear trying to look at aircraft electrical schematics on a Laptop.

[multiweb]

Think about it this way. You cut a tree to make a book, you can plant another tree. So you capture back some of the CO2 and you close the loop kind of. Now if you store data on devices that need power to read/write you're using more energy. That's CO2 that we haven't figured out how to capture yet or put back somewhere in the ground. Unless your storage devices run on energy from burning trees only. Then all you have to do is plant back more trees. But I suspect all those massive on demand data centres run on fossil fuels.

[Sunfish]

Very true.
Renewable resources .
I have just finished a book , yes a real paper book, called The Wood Age.
Materials come and go but it is always the wood age.
I can lend it to you , the family can read it, which is hard with kindle.

Printing on paper is like printing on farmed grains or recycled rag, there are many things to print on.

Renewable forestry has worked for thousands of years.
Steel can be made using charcoal instead of coal. Far less pollution and CO2 and us still made that way in some places.

Don’t discount the woods just yet.