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I mean, sure, until Amazon and Azure decide to delete it all [0] to save money, or those companies go bankrupt and shut off their servers. None of these big clo

I mean, sure, until Amazon and Azure decide to delete it all [0] to save money, or those companies go bankrupt and shut off their servers. None of these big cloud providers is even 50 years old. "Forever" is a very long time indeed. There's a reason the UK still keeps some records on scrolls of velum: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35569281 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-35569281 [0] - https://news.softpedia.com/news/All-Videos-on-Google-Video-Will-Be-Deleted-Next-Month-195479.shtml https://news.softpedia.com/news/All-Videos-on-Google-Video-W...

tracker1 8y ago
I doubt they'd both close shop at the same time... leaving enough time to shift the data to a new second source.
tracker1 8y ago
As an aside, nothing is forever... there are a lot of points in history where records are gone for ever due to fire.
- ForHackernews 8y ago
  Sure. If I were going for "forever" storage, I would use flame-resistant clay tablets https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/01/human-knowledge-salt-mine/512552/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/01/human... or perhaps a laser-etched nickel disc: http://rosettaproject.org/disk/concept/ http://rosettaproject.org/disk/concept/ But nothing digital, that's for sure.
- ocdtrekkie 8y ago
  Sure, but if you're legally responsible for holding onto records for a certain period of time ("forever" may be 80-100 years, realistically, in a lot of cases), you're expected to employ a reasonable practice to ensure that happens. In the case of digital files, it'd be crazy not to have an off-site backup for records you're legally obligated to retain. And if you do what is reasonable, and still the records are lost (such as to a fire), you're likely legally in the clear. Whereas if you destroy them prematurely with intent, or are even just negligent as to their maintenance or care, you may be in hot water.

tracker1 8y ago

I doubt they'd both close shop at the same time... leaving enough time to shift the data to a new second source.

tracker1 8y ago

As an aside, nothing is forever... there are a lot of points in history where records are gone for ever due to fire.

ForHackernews 8y ago
Sure. If I were going for "forever" storage, I would use flame-resistant clay tablets https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/01/human-knowledge-salt-mine/512552/ https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/01/human... or perhaps a laser-etched nickel disc: http://rosettaproject.org/disk/concept/ http://rosettaproject.org/disk/concept/ But nothing digital, that's for sure.
ocdtrekkie 8y ago
Sure, but if you're legally responsible for holding onto records for a certain period of time ("forever" may be 80-100 years, realistically, in a lot of cases), you're expected to employ a reasonable practice to ensure that happens. In the case of digital files, it'd be crazy not to have an off-site backup for records you're legally obligated to retain. And if you do what is reasonable, and still the records are lost (such as to a fire), you're likely legally in the clear. Whereas if you destroy them prematurely with intent, or are even just negligent as to their maintenance or care, you may be in hot water.