Ask HN: You have 8GB to store for the future. What do you keep?
You have an 8GB microsd to stash in an impervious time-capsule. What information will you put on it?
12 comments
The english wikipedia (without edit history) is about 4 gigs, compressed. So, that.
http://archiveteam.org/index.php?title=Wikipedia
Not sure what I'd do with the other four gigs.
http://archiveteam.org/index.php?title=Wikipedia
Not sure what I'd do with the other four gigs.
How Things Work in digital version?
First things first. How long are things going to remain in your impervious time-capsule? Microsd cards are just flash memory. Over time, the information will leak away. How long that will take is hard to guess, but if you are aiming for a century or more, microsd is likely to not be a good choice. Furthermore, what is going to be used to read the data you preserve on the microsd? Do you think there will be microsd readers a few decades into the future, much less a century.
Assuming that you do use the microsd, I would use two different physical cards, incorporate multiple copies of whatever I choose to include on each of the microsd cards, and add in some heavy duty error correction codes so degraded content can be recovered.
Oh, one more thing, it might be a good idea to use a card that has write protection so that revisionist history is difficult.
Assuming that you do use the microsd, I would use two different physical cards, incorporate multiple copies of whatever I choose to include on each of the microsd cards, and add in some heavy duty error correction codes so degraded content can be recovered.
Oh, one more thing, it might be a good idea to use a card that has write protection so that revisionist history is difficult.
Assuming such a time capsule is feasible, I'd save the locations and contents of all other known time capsules.
eg, http://www.paperinternet.org
The biggest problem with time capsules is that people forget where the damned things are.
eg, http://www.paperinternet.org
The biggest problem with time capsules is that people forget where the damned things are.
1) I would store books of all kind - Science, History, Language, Economics, Philosophy etc. Also some religious writings such as Vedas.
2) If there is some space left, I would like to keep information, designs, code, etc of important products.
2) If there is some space left, I would like to keep information, designs, code, etc of important products.
My personal photos. Always the first thing to be backed up and always the first thing to save in a disaster.
Either I can use the time-capsule as a safe backup and come back to it in 60 years. Or someone else will find it in another time (far distant future) and it will be an important archeological find. Oh to be immortal.
Either I can use the time-capsule as a safe backup and come back to it in 60 years. Or someone else will find it in another time (far distant future) and it will be an important archeological find. Oh to be immortal.
Art. High quality photos from a large portion of museums. Maybe something like 500 pieces from each major art movement and time period?
Then chuck wikipedia on there, and maybe a dictionary.
Then chuck wikipedia on there, and maybe a dictionary.
Any future which can read it is not going to need any kind of "how to rebuild technology after an apocalypse" kind of information.
1) Random data. Hopefully they find an 8Gb memory stick in a mysteriously impervious container, fille with heavily compressed or encrypted data (heh heh) and it becomes a notorious puzzle.
2) Sell the space.
1) Random data. Hopefully they find an 8Gb memory stick in a mysteriously impervious container, fille with heavily compressed or encrypted data (heh heh) and it becomes a notorious puzzle.
2) Sell the space.
- Video of Leonard Cohen's Dance me to the end of Love
- Text of One Hundred Years of Solitude
and random crap.
- Text of One Hundred Years of Solitude
and random crap.
Wikipedia compressed, my personal journals, pics of the kids & family.
My dropbox folder.
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