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GitHub buries 21 TB of open source data in an Arctic archive:
While it might seem like the internet is leaving a detailed record of history, the world's knowledge is all surprisingly vulnerable to being lost in a disaster. To help keep a backup, GitHub has now archived 21 TB of public open source data and buried it in a vault in the Arctic designed to preserve it for a thousand years.
[...] The Arctic World Archive is located in a decommissioned coal mine on an island in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard.
On July 8, 2020, GitHub deposited 21 TB of data into the Archive, beneath 250 m (820 ft) of permafrost. This data drop consisted of a snapshot of all active public repositories on GitHub as of February 2, 2020, encoded in the form of tiny QR codes imprinted on 186 archival film reels.
These specially-designed film reels are developed by a company called Piql. They're made of silver halides on polyester and, according to simulated aging tests conducted by Piql, this material can last for up to 1,000 years.
GitHub's promotional YouTube video.
(Score: 2, Interesting) by looorg on Tuesday July 21 2020, @04:50PM (4 children)
Did they also include info on how to build a suitable computer? Otherwise this is nothing more then yet another shitty publicity stunt.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday July 21 2020, @05:27PM
Did they include info on how to build a suitable film projector? Otherwise this is nothing but the world's most boring movie that nobody can be forced to watch.
Did they include instructions how to make popcorn?
What doesn't kill me makes me weaker for next time.
(Score: 5, Interesting) by Megahard on Tuesday July 21 2020, @06:27PM (2 children)
There's a separate project to record all the technology to recover the information, written in 5 languages.
https://github.com/github/archive-program [github.com]
The "boot program" will be a human-readable film in those 5 languages.
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @07:16PM (1 child)
But what DRM scheme will that film use?
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @08:42PM
They'll have to throw some Sharpies in the cave to deal with the DRM.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by FatPhil on Tuesday July 21 2020, @05:05PM (1 child)
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
(Score: 3, Funny) by chromas on Tuesday July 21 2020, @06:24PM
PROOF that gubbermint 1% elites KNOW that glowbal warming is a HOAX
(Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @05:40PM
Just did a commit for an important bug fix, need to get that in, sorry
(Score: 2, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @05:52PM (2 children)
Wasting money on publicity stunts like that is indicative of how cheap money is to waste, even as our real economy is being crushed by the government.
(Score: 3, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @09:05PM
The "real economy"? Is that the thing where people work 2 jobs and still can't afford rent? Oh OK. I'll get right on saving that for you.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 22 2020, @12:44AM
This will be valuable to archaeologists after the next feudal era.
There will be myths and legends about the ancients who built the obelisks that scrape the sky, how they could fly through the air and communicate with each other instantly across the world. Well, perhaps the communication network will still exist, Word of Blake style.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @06:06PM
And by bury they mean they just disposed of 21TB worth of failed disks that crashed with a read error to make way for new storage.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday July 21 2020, @06:07PM (8 children)
I'll just spell it out.
After the apocalypse, people aren't going to have the stuff necessary to use this data. In fact, after the apocalypse, there won't be people interested in mucking around under the permafrost. They'll be much too busy surviving in the post apocalypse world.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @06:17PM
But how will civilization pick up again if they don't have a copy of fvwm ?
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @07:12PM (4 children)
How will civilization reboot without a good CoC?
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @09:07PM (2 children)
You could argue that the US Constitution is a Coc, also the Geneva Conventions.
Your precious 4th Amendment, remember that? Your precious 2nd Amendment did shit for you holding onto that.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 22 2020, @01:04AM (1 child)
They don't care about liberty. They like to push the weak around. Guns are helpful toward that end. They'll tear up the Constitution until all that's left is "the right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed" while the part about a well-regulated militia swirls around the toilet bowl. Oh, and the three fifths clause. They'll keep that part.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 22 2020, @11:41PM
The well-regulated militia is the National Guard.
(Score: 3, Funny) by fyngyrz on Tuesday July 21 2020, @11:14PM
Clash of Clans will never die, you insensitive clod.
--
If people make you sick... perhaps you should cook them longer
--Hannibal Lecter, probably
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @07:28PM (1 child)
How will civilization reboot without emacs?
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @09:18PM
I think you can download it as a plugin.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by istartedi on Tuesday July 21 2020, @08:34PM (3 children)
That's kind or ironic, when you consider the number of projects that were started due to "not invented here" or "re-inventing the wheel". Also, if you're going for durability, why film? Why not build on techniques that are known to have survived much longer. [wikipedia.org]. The only good argument for the film is that it has more information density; but based on what we know about writing from the past, an improved ceramic seems like a good candidate for something designed to exceed 1000 years in storage. Archaeologists are your most likely target audience, so it needs to appeal to them. I bet a lot of those guys are like, "Curses! Why scrolls? We'd be so much further along with this project if it were tablets".
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 2) by stretch611 on Tuesday July 21 2020, @09:16PM
So the company that made the reels self-certified them for the extend period of data retention.
Of course when their claims of longevity ring hollow the money made by the investors of the company and its founder(s) will long be gone and spent. Good luck getting a refund from their ashes in 1000 years.
Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
(Score: 3, Interesting) by fyngyrz on Tuesday July 21 2020, @11:38PM (1 child)
That wouldn't be such a problem if people would stop trying to push square wheels; wheels that don't fit existing axles; wheels that will only roll on the latest road surfaces; wheels that stop working when someone tries to back up; wheels go flat the first time you use them; wheels that can't be used if you don't let other people use them; wheels that can't be used if you do let other people use them; wheels that have no, or insufficient, instructions; wheels that you can only buy a subscription to; wheels that depend on other wheels which depend on other wheels, which...
It's not like we live in a world of quality wheel makers. Pretty much the very first thing I think when I need a wheel is "I'd better make my own out of readily available materials I have control of, so it'll fit and work as I want it to, and if it doesn't keep working, I'll be able to fix it. That's what is most likely to keep me, and my passengers, from having to walk."
And there's Weinberg’s Law, which, as an exercise for the student, should be converted to a proper wheel-based analog:
--
So you want children: "Daddy, what does Formatting 90% mean?"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 22 2020, @02:20AM
AC's corollary to Weinberg's Law: If clients expected builders to build like computer programs are written, a simple two bedroom strip home would take 10 years to build, cost millions of dollars, have 5 bedrooms on 3 floors, and every room would end up with both kitchen and bathroom plumbing after requirements changed for the 8th time.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by leon_the_cat on Tuesday July 21 2020, @09:51PM (2 children)
After they analyze java they will be happy we are extinct.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 21 2020, @09:58PM
21 TB is quite a pron collection.
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Tuesday July 21 2020, @10:23PM
"Java, Granpa? I read about that in school. Weren't there still saber toothed tigers then? It's a wonder they had time to do java!"
(Score: 2) by Subsentient on Tuesday July 21 2020, @11:44PM
When I read the first two words, "GitHub Buries", my mind instantly went to somewhere like "GitHub buries evidence of wrongdoing" or some such.
I suppose I think that way now because they're owned by Microsoft. I'm glad they haven't gone full evil yet, perhaps the cancer hasn't metastasized to the brain yet.
Microsoft is still evil, make no mistake. They're just a different kind of more sickly, flakey evil.
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." -Jiddu Krishnamurti
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 22 2020, @01:06PM
If you really care about preserving software, it might be better to help other projects.
https://www.softwareheritage.org/ [softwareheritage.org]
(Score: 2) by legont on Thursday July 23 2020, @05:09AM
These guys do it for living and quite well https://www.ironmountain.com/about-us [ironmountain.com]
Worked with them on multiple occasions. They are everywhere all the time - just watch for the logo.
Did I mention it started as a mushrooms business ;)
"Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.