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GitHub Buries 21 TB of Open Source Data in an Arctic Archive

posted by martyb on Tuesday July 21 2020, @04:30PM   
from the that's-exactly-where-I'd-look! dept.

chromas writes:

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.

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Original Submission

• Your wheels tend to suck Your wheels tend to suck (Score: 3, Interesting) by fyngyrz on Tuesday July 21 2020, @11:38PM (1 child)

  by fyngyrz (6567) on Tuesday July 21 2020, @11:38PM (#1024795) Journal

  That's kind or[sic] ironic, when you consider the number of projects that were started due to "not invented here" or "re-inventing the wheel".

  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:

  If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker that came along would destroy civilization

  --
  So you want children: "Daddy, what does Formatting 90% mean?"

  Parent

  Starting Score:	1		point
  Moderation		+1
  Interesting=1, Total=1
  Extra 'Interesting' Modifier		0
  Karma-Bonus Modifier		+1
  Total Score:		3

• Re:Your wheels tend to suck (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 22 2020, @02:20AM

  by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 22 2020, @02:20AM (#1024837)

  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.

  Parent