Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley
\nJanuary 24, 2011 Deadline
\nMarch 2011 Issue<\/p>\n
Archives Aren\u2019t Backups: Storing Data for the Future<\/strong><\/p>\n Do you remember WordStar? Lotus 1-2-3? Harvard Graphics? If you\u2019ve been using computers as long as I have, you created documents, spreadsheets, and graphics in too many applications to remember.<\/p>\n Yes, I have 25-year-old data. I have copied those files from floppies to Iomega Zip disks<\/a>, from Zip disks to CDs<\/a>, and most recently from CDs to a trio of external hard drives. Each time I upgrade computers, I migrate data to whatever happens to be the leading archival format.<\/p>\n I migrate data every two to four years. That is important because media do fail. However, what has enabled me to use old documents is a habit of storing data in two or three formats. In my \u201cDocuments\u201d directory, I have created folders named \u201cArchives of\u2026\u201d to store data in neutral formats.<\/p>\n Recently, I wanted to use an old image created in a DOS-based application. I tried several applications, but none of them could import the image file. Thankfully, I had thought ahead nearly twenty years ago and stored copies of the image in standard formats.<\/p>\n Before discussing archival storage, let me share my current data backup strategy<\/a>.<\/p>\n My wife and I have external hard drives attached to our systems for continuous backups of our data. In addition to Apple\u2019s Time Machine, we copy some documents to an \u201ciDisk\u201d in the \u201ccloud.\u201d<\/p>\n Cloud computing refers to remote storage. Copies of our data reside on servers at remote locations for safety and convenience. Apple, Google, and Microsoft maintain \u201cserver farms\u201d in several states. When my wife or I copy a file to the iDisk, we are really sending a copy of the file to one of Apple\u2019s servers. We are depending on Apple or Google to not lose our copies. Most of my manuscripts are on the iDisk, as well as being on the external hard drive that sits on my desk. I don\u2019t store any financial data remotely.<\/p>\n The size of files, especially multimedia data, limits the practicality of storing backups to CDs or DVDs. External hard drives are larger and relatively cheap.<\/p>\n Now let me offer some tips to ensure your data are useful for years or even decades.<\/p>\n Each software developer believes their programmers have developed the \u201cbest\u201d format for saving your letters, photos, or address book. Also, new technologies mean different types of data need to be stored by new and improved applications. WordStar for DOS didn\u2019t need to store font information, for example, because there was one typeface. It was a glorified typewriter. Today\u2019s word processors have to store font changes, images, and dozens of other layout elements no simple text-editing program could handle.<\/p>\n New features lead to new file formats. As most of us learn the hard way, the old versions of our favorite applications cannot open files created by the new versions. Normally, Microsoft\u2019s Word 2000 cannot open a Word 2007 document. Forget trying to open a poster created with the Adobe Illustrator CS5 in Illustrator CS2.<\/p>\n Though you will sacrifice some features, you should save data in standard file formats for long-term archival purposes. These archival files are meant to store important information for emergencies. Standard file formats are good for sharing and archiving \u201craw\u201d data, not for storing documents or other data for daily work.<\/p>\n In most applications, you can create archival versions of data with \u201cFile, Save As\u201d or \u201cFile, Export\u201d menu choices. Read the online help for each specific program to determine how you can export different file formats.<\/p>\n Word processing documents should be archived as \u201cplain text\u201d files, which usually have the file extension \u201cTXT\u201d at the end. A file extension informs applications what data format to expect. An alternative archive format for documents, which will store some formatting features, is \u201crich text format\u201d (RTF). The Microsoft Word file formats, known as DOC and DOCX, are not standardized and should not be used for archives.<\/p>\n Spreadsheets and databases usually support a file format known as \u201ccomma-separated values\u201d (CSV). When you export data to a CSV file<\/a>, only the raw data are stored. All functions, calculations, and other features are lost. Thankfully, CSV data can be imported into almost every spreadsheet and database application in existence.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, there is no open standard format for images that works flawlessly. I suggest storing images in Portable Network Graphics (PNG) and Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG or JPG) formats. Some programs do not open PNG files properly, while JPEG is a proprietary format that works by \u201closing\u201d data to store smaller files.<\/p>\n If you aren\u2019t storing important data in archival formats, you should consider it. Today\u2019s leading word processor or spreadsheet application might vanish tomorrow, as WordStar and Lotus 1-2-3 users know all too well.<\/p>\n Archival Tips:<\/p>\n Visalia Direct: Virtual Valley January 24, 2011 Deadline March 2011 Issue Archives Aren\u2019t Backups: Storing Data for the Future Do you remember WordStar? Lotus 1-2-3?…<\/p>\n\n